1. |
No Gods, No Bastards
02:42
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No god, no bastard
Can force a fence around my home
No boss, no pastor
Can turn a heart into a stone
On Friday I was sure of everyone
Dancing at the bar to some sing along songs
We laughed and shared a shot while the band played on
Hopeful and assured of the days and the weeks to come
No god, no bastard
Can force a fence around my home
No boss, no pastor
Can turn a heart into a stone
You forced a couple words between the tears
Talked of disappointment and all these newfound fears
I said, "let it overcome you for a day or two,
Then use your desperation to improve, not succumb to."
No god, no bastard
Can force a fence around my home
No boss, no pastor
Can turn a heart into a stone
It didn't take a president with darker skin than mine
For me to give a shit about other people's lives
That ain't gonna change, that's never gonna change
This land is your land, this land is mine
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2. |
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On the other side of heaven
By the twilight's last gleam
I was working for a dollar
They were charging by the seat
While all the admiration
Was wasted on defeat
My brother, my mother
They were expecting me
There can be light without darkness
There can be truth with no lies told
There can be days spent apart from love
Without a need for something new to hold
I stood in shallow water
While I stared long at the sun
The words that I recited
Were written for someone
Enlightened and excited
For what they thought would come
I let my head fall slowly
But sang no hateful song
There can be joy without failure
There can be hope with no remorse
There can be lives lived completely
Without others knowing what they were living for
There can be light without darkness
There can be truth with no lies told
There can be days spent apart from love
Without a need for something new to hold
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3. |
Monolith
03:58
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A needle in hay, a word to a god
Who never seemed to listen unless we were doing wrong
In the eyes of his messengers, decent & pure
Who sold us salvation with a four letter word
Now all my fear is truth, so be warned
I know color & value, and sift through the loam
For purity & spectacle, and cast off the stones
Of my nation, my anger, and all of my wealth
Through the eye of a needle in the deserts of hell
Because all my children need a place to dwell
From Niña to Santa María
The medicine takes some time to leave you
Bathe in the light
The light of our kingdom
And watch these walls
Secure our freedom
The leaves on the tree mean nothing to me
The roots & the branches are all i need
Give me the name of a martyr, the trust of my flock
The stripes of my flag folded up in a box
For the reach of my empire, noble & broad
Cut from the cloth by the teeth of a god
Who says all my precious blood could not be wrong
And all my heed my word, it won't be long
I am the mason, the mortar, the bricks & the mud
The sheep of my master swept away in the flood
I am a wall, a monolith, a line in the sand
With the belt of the Bible pulled tight between my hand
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4. |
Serve Not Leader
04:33
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There’s a place I do believe
Where people choose their company
Based on hopes, not enemies
And they say luxury
Is how much time a person can
Spend on helping out a friend
And a friend can be someone
They never met
I will teach my unborn son
To be proud of where he’s from
But to be confidently weak if need be
To serve not leader, but country
We memorize the lines
Of the pledges and the Bibles
To remind us of the people we’ve become
Distracted by routine
And fabricated stories
Used to harbor hate and fear
Instead of love
I will learn from my mistakes
I will learn to disengage
When my motivation strays from unity
Serve not leader, but country
For all the times I sat and spoke
Another Howard Zinn quote
When a kid had no schoolbooks to learn from
For every glass of wine I’ve raised
To celebrate a raise
When my better can’t afford to get drunk
I will clench my fist and fight
For honesty and civil rights
I will sing a battle cry if need be
Serve not leader, but country
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5. |
The Spring of '17
01:53
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I am not pleased to meet you
I will never say
We’re all pretty good people
We just think in different ways
While you beg for recognition
From the wealthiest of men
I will do my own persuading
Like a good American
I won't expect too much from you
If you don't expect from me
Respect and admiration
A tear when you're impeached
These words will never reach you
That isn't their intent
We all care, we all work
Those for whom they’re meant
Your ears could never hear me
Let alone your soul
My home is not a casino
My treasure is not gold
This song should not have be written
I hope it's only need
Is to hastily eulogize
The spring of 17
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6. |
Trust & Believe
02:55
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It must have been God's will
For cancer to arrive
A month before I celebrated
30 years of life
It must have been God's will
For the letter to arrive
from Blue Cross & Blue Shield
Saying I'm denied
But I trust, I believe
In the powers that be
For men of God don't slaughter their own sheep
It must have been God's will
that my beautiful wife
Should fall asleep on her drive from work
In the middle of the night
It must have been God's will
that she take the extra shift
To pay for all my bills
And prescription medicine
But I trust, I believe
What I hear on Sunday morning
And know that my president will help me
Whoso stoppeth his ears
At the cry of the poor,
He also shall cry himself,
But shall not be heard
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7. |
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I don’t want to have to move to Mars
I don’t ever want to say I miss the view out of my car
As I pass through Colorado, Tennessee or New Orleans
I like to sit outside at bars
I don’t want to move to Mars
I don’t want to live on a spaceship
I don’t ever want to look down and just point at where I lived
Or tell my children’s kids about swimming in oceans
And climbing old oak trees
I don’t want to live on a ship
I don’t want to have to move to Mars
I don’t want to live on a ship
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8. |
No Color Anymore
03:13
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Flying high above a schoolyard
A cotton cloth raised for a call
Tiny eyes are filled with the sky
And their hands cover their hearts
I wonder what'd be like
To be so innocent
Pledging to a nation
Run by greed and lead by sin
Cause I see stars and bars
They've got no color anymore
No color anymore
Burning brightly in a street where
We'll stop to take a stand
So hold stead fast with your sisters
And take your brothers hand
Cause I see stars and bars
They've got no color anymore
No color anymore
Cause I see stars and bars
They've got no color anymore
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9. |
Company
02:55
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I drank a little too much and could hardly play the show last night
I forgot the words I wrecked my head trying to write
I made an ass out of myself to the ten friends who showed
So I gave them booze so tomorrow they might know
Me for my generosity
And not my inabilities
Maybe in 50 or so years some younger drunk
Will stumble towards these stories of highways and hazy loves
Hear an Undefeated song and try to change the world
Or hear a quiet one and want to raise their baby girl
But for me, I think it might be time
To let sleeping dogs lie
I'll take my daughter to the festivals my band used to play
I'll sing along to records I once thought that I could make
And though I'll still write all the time, I'll keep my litte rhymes
In an old, dusty hard drive
You see, if they don't command company
They don't deserve a longer life.
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10. |
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11. |
Ray
03:11
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I haven’t a lot to say
All we do is wait
I’m the sergeant
Of the guard again today
They took Ray to England
So maybe he can make
The trip, though his strength
Will never be the same
He is a good friend
I’d venture to call him the best
Soon you’ll see Massachusetts
In the fall when the leaves turn red
That’s when he says is the best time to visit
Though it’s quiet you flinch
When you hear an accident
Like they lied
And it’s still not over yet
Then you smile and swear
At anyone who is there
A halfhearted chuckle you share
No more of my time
Will I spend in those old dives
Though I’ll go if dad would like
As he’s told on careless nights
I’m not the same guy
They will remain
Good friends of mine
And I’d like to see them
From time to time
But with all that I’ve seen
And all that I’ve tasted
In the days since our concerns
Were feeble kind
I don’t need to be wasted anymore
To occupy my time
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12. |
Election Day
03:51
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It was good to be alive in 1989
I was barely ten years old, I played basketball each night
We had George Bush the first, but weren’t talking abut war
The government was poor, the economy would dive
But it was still good to be alive in 1989
There can be no story
Somebody else writes
That defines or determines my life
It was good to be alive in 1999
A twenty year old kid drinking beer every night
They say the president lied when he cheated on his wife
We refused to give up nukes, let our history die
It was still good to be alive in 1999
There can be no story
Somebody else writes
That defines or determines my life
It was good to be alive in 2017
I earned another name, I sang for her some things
I saw the stars and stripes willfully divide
At the scream of lonely leaders all to eager to compete
It was still good to be alive in 2017
Hope for those who don’t
Love for those who won’t
Trump hate that has no place
Trump fear forced in your face
Die at 95
With your daughter and wife
At your side
For there can be no story
Somebody else writes
That defines or determines their lives
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13. |
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14. |
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15. |
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