1. |
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I can only be so convincing
I want this so genuinely
I could write a song in a day that I know you would like
But it all means so much more to me
no, simple chords or melodies
could hit a million streams but it don’t feel right
and you live 300 miles away
and you never spoke to me that way before, the occasion might arise but I’m not holding my breath
so I hope I don’t sound insincere, I’m so glad just to be here with you
who am I trying to impress?
I never thought at 23 I’d feel this bad
but I never take for granted times we’ve had
and all the time that I spent wishing I were dead
I’m gonna take it back now, I’m sorry that I never said
that you’ve made a life that’s worth living
on bad days I’ve got friends to see
on good days I forget the end is so near
so I’ll learn to appreciate the people who tell me the way they feel, I never said we had to be the best (and we’re surely not)
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2. |
Don't Start a Band
03:29
|
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Don’t start a band
unless you like spending time in a hot van (7 hours to get there, 14 dollars at door)
Don’t start a band
you oughtta invest in your future (your student loans won’t pay themselves, you should pick up more hours)
and every day I feel like a failure
sit alone at home watching Sailor Moon DVD sets
and everything just fills me with envy
always feel like my world is ending
every moment of every day
don’t start a band,
unless you like picking fights with your best friends
(“I wish you’d start playing sober,” “why don’t you ever shut up?”)
don’t start a band
you didn’t go to college for nothing (this run of records costs more than my car, these kids aren’t buying our t-shirts)
and every night I feel like a failure
drink alone and curse like a sailor
I shouldn’t drink so much
and I think that this tour just might kill me
drinking every night doesn’t thrill me
like it did in college
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3. |
Forever Endeavor
01:55
|
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I have a hard time believing this is all that we were meant for
suffering daily just to maintain a body
I want to know / how can it be?
“All is for all! If the man and the woman bear their fair share of work, they have a right to their fair share of all that is produced by all, and that share is enough to secure them well-being.” [Pyotr Kropotkin - The Conquest of Bread]
all I do is give my time to corporations
and I know that I am going to die alone
in a van, oh, there’s no way to stop the bleeding
in a park, in a parking lot or on the road
what I want is to give more power to the people
what I want is a world that we can call our own
maybe then, oh, maybe we could live forever
maybe then oh we don’t have to die alone
|
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4. |
Heather
04:48
|
|||
Hey,
I could get used to seeing you daily
do you like the clothes that I’m wearing
oh did someone give you my name?
I
oh I am known to get caught up quickly
and your picture’s making me sickly
oh I should probably think less about you
Heather
I could drive you to work in the morning
I could give you a ride in the evening
oh should I talk about something else?
Oh
even though I know you don’t even know me
I am so sure that we could be homies
how could I think about anyone else?
Heather
do I spend too much time in abasement?
Does it show my age on my face and
have I pasted my prime for you?
Heather
all these messages are making me crazy
and my words they always just fail me maybe
we could tour up north and you could come to a show
Heather
I could drive you to work in the morning
I could give you a ride in the evening
oh should I talk about something else?
Oh
even though I know you don’t even know me
I am so sure that we could be homies
how could I think about anyone else?
But it’s so snowy this time
in northern Pennsylvania
I lost my jacket and the lake effect is bad this year
you make me want to not die
on tour oh thanks a lot I
will cling towards life when accidentally I crash the rental
I’ll spin out on the highway
at 60mph
I’ll land safely inside the median and drive back to you
|
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5. |
The Great Unwashed
03:26
|
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[Lyrics taken in part from the song “Solidarity Forever” originally written by Ralph Chaplin (1915); the phrase “Ash Heaps and Millionaires” is a quote from Perfect Future’s song by the same name (2015)]
Abolish all prison,
kill all republicans,
kill all democrats too
we want single payer
health care should be a right
this world is a deathtrap
Solidarity for eternity
“ash heaps juxtaposing castles made for millionaires,”
solidarity for eternity
for the union is what makes us strong
solidarity for eternity
who what ought we hold in common with the greedy parasite?
Solidarity for eternity
for the union
is what makes us strong
solidarity for eternity
who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might? Solidarity for eternity
for the union is what makes us strong
Solidarity for eternity
“ash heaps juxtaposing castles made for millionaires,”
solidarity for eternity
for the union is what makes us strong
in our hands is placed a power greater than their gold
greater than the atoms magnified a thousand fold
we can bring a new world from the ashes of the old
for the union makes us strong
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6. |
||||
when I’m next to you
you’re a breath of fresh air
in a crowded basement
we stayed up late that night
I drove you back to Stanton Heights
you make me happy and sad at the same time (that’s fine)
and you apologized 100 times
and kissed me on my cheek
but don’t apologize
because it only makes me feel worse
I’ll never hold it against you
and you will always be my friend
you’re full of ambition
I wish you wouldn’t move to Washington
that’s really fucking far from Pittsburgh
from everything I know
I’m sure I’ll die alone
In my South Oakland slum I’m sure that I will die alone
|
||||
7. |
||||
it hurts
to know
how hard
we tried before we failed
I won’t forget
the work
and experiences that got us here
yes I may have gained your father’s trust
and your sister and you brother never spoke too much
your mother’s someone I would have loved to have met
in your room I just sat on the floor
counting crushed cigarettes and staring at your door
a feeling I know I will never forget
but now my dream girl just doesn’t exist,
things are still the same but they’ve never been like this
I’ll just think it over, and over in my head until it spins
and it hurts
I’d be amiss to say I’m not proud
oh but everything’s changing and it’s freaking me out,
and I don’t think that I can do it again
no matter how the changes play out
you’ll always be the one I’m thinking about
I promise I will always be your friend
But now my dreams are just all that exist
things are still the same but they’ve never been like this
but I am so proud oh I am glad that you exist
so please don’t remind me of any of this
I never want time to move forward just stay still, I hate this I’m shaking, I’m sick of it and it hurts
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||||
8. |
||||
I don’t
understand
how I got so lucky
and all the things you do
bring me closer to my dream
I can’t believe
(I can’t believe)
You don’t
ask too much
I would
give you anything
and all the suitors that you have
I know that you prefer this
I can’t believe
(I can’t believe)
All the free time that you’ve had
you gave away and it makes me feel bad
every phone call conversation comes back to you
and it means so much now
I know I will not forget
the friends we’ve made and the places we’ve been
all of this rests on your tiny shoulders
I cannot express to you
the thanks I have for the things that you do
I cannot express my gratitude
be it California or Kalamazoo
or Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
you’re the one who’s doing the most
Don’t pinch me
don’t pinch me
don’t pinch me I’m dreaming
(“the sky is a cotton-candy shade of blue on pink on cerulean, and I can see the tops of all the buildings”)
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