lyrics

Knowledge

I know that things are getting tougher
  when you cant get top off from the bottom of the barrel
  wide open road of my future now... 
its looking fucking narrow 
All I know is that I dont know nothing
  we get told to decide 
just like as if im not gonna change my mind
  all I know is that I dont know nothing
whatcha gonna do with yourself 
boy better make up your mind 
whatcha gonna do with yourself boy
you're running out of time 
this time I got it all figured out 
all I know is that I dont know nothing...
  and thats fine


Sound System

(chorus)
sound system gonna bring me back up
  one thing that I can depend on 
try to describe to the limit of my ability:
its there for a second 
then it's given up what it used to be
  contained in my music somehow more than just sound,
  this inspiration coming and twisting things around 
Because you always know that its gonna have to go.
  you always know that you'll be back in the cold. 
point of depatrure sublimated in a song 
its always coming to give me that hope for just a second
  then its gone but 
(chorus)
static pulse inside of music bringing us escape
  its always temporary changing nothing in its wake 
just a second where were leaving all this shit behind 
just a second but its leaving just this much in mind:
to resist despair that second makes you see 
to resist despair because you cant change everything
  to resist despair in this world is what it is to be free 
(chorus)
wake up turn my box on
  bust the shade let the sun in
  times getting tougher bout time to start runnin
  box in my hand music by my side 
skanking to the rhythm of the music by my side


Jaded

something breaks inside of you
with the spectacle of all the shows 
with fifteen fights and your six bucks 
has gone up some promoters nose 
jaded eyes see clearly but only half of whats there
  good old days are left behind whats left is boredom and despair
  but sometimes every once in a while 
its beautiful I would say, I wouldn't have it any other way
  if I said different it would be a lie
what was once rebellion is now clearly just a social sect
  but are you just upset because your own social clique has left
  leave when you want because I know that someday I will too 
but I wont burn my bridges and be just another jaded fool


Take Warning

stand by your freinds, wrong or right
  can't call that justice when its just a stupid excuse to fight
  single out and attack the ones who got no defense 
you call that a new way of thinking i call it regression to ignorance 
take warning 
theres a new generation coming
  and we really gotta stand up to them
nobodys got a thing against you 
unless youve got something to prove
  we dont need no set of standards, 
we dont need a new set of rules 
heard all that shit before 
about stomping out any difference
  we say stand together 
(not to fight just to exist) 
take warning 
intimidation coming
  and we really gotta say no to them
  enough is enough is enough 
why dont you just ease up 
I saw another beat down last nite take warning
  who's the next to hit the ground tonite take warning


The Crowd

wrenched into the world, deanaesthetized
blurry images fiht their way through halfway opened eyes
  awakened by alarm fifteen minutes of hygeine 
twenty minutes of eating thirty seconds to the door 
I looked outside I looked into the eyes 
of the impersonal mob I've seen a thousand times before
  feeling under covers like books on a shelf
  if we're scared of one another
  must be scared of ourself
  more than just another crowd
  we need a gathering instead
  drink drink in the badland liquid bread for the poor
  another member of the crowd goes down to drown at the liquor store
  choose your escape in the heartland 
of product and demand when you feel like a wasp in the swarm
  you gotta get away anyway that you can


Bombshell

down in south oakland
  off east 14th its raining 
six a.m. on sunday and the bums are praying
  met her at a party we were drunk now were sober
  she said its cold got a long walk home come over 
shes a bombshell 
I've retraced my steps a thousand times
  seems I've spent hours asking all my freinds about her
  been six months but ill never be the same
  nobody remembers her name
  shes a bombshell


Unity

theres a war going down between my brothers tonight
  I dont want no war going down tonight 
civilization ha I call it as I see it
  I call it bullshit you know I still cannot believe it
  our evolution now has gone the way of hate 
a world evolved resolved in this stupid fate 
stop this war 
all so different yeah I say were all the same
  all caught you know in the division game 
self destruction fast impending like a bullet 
no one can stop it once its fired no one can control it
  stop this war 
a final word, wait it's not a call to action
  we aint no sect we aint no fucking faction 
unity unity youve heard it all before
this time its not exclusive we want to stop a war
  unity as one stand together
unity evolutions gonna come


Vulnerability

I saw this guy go down
  wasn't time for fear 
before his body hit the ground
  (chorus)
our vulnerability is all our insensitivity
  car that hit him pulled to a stop
driver hid the bottles 
he anticipated cops 
(chorus)
crowd assembled to take a look at death
  shattered skull fragile body 
blacktop running red 
(chorus)
people looked bored
  like expecting more 
people looked bored like expecting more
  (chorus)
and sympathy is only freindships whore you know
  and maybe we dont know who we are anymore 
another spectacle and its respectable 
to take it lightly like another tv show 
so desensitized so dehumanized 
why stop and think when you can find someplace to go
  were drowning 
(chorus)
and its gonna be the death of us just you wait and see


Gonna Find You

well i saw this kid get beaten down because he was out of luck
  in the lottery of acceptance in the school of growing up 
saw a bunch of convicts doing time inside a cage 
got locked in factories w/in the school of paid wage 
(chorus)
saw this boy so strung out that his body sweats and shakes
  from his field education in the school of cheap escapes 
got told the school of human thinking teaches only truth 
and one of its educations is gonna find you 
(chorus)
saw a civilization where grabbing onto wealth
  was the only guarantee of freedom peace and health
dollar sign value system upheld as the truth 
and if you cant find a place its gonna find you 
(chorus)
saw the paranoid response to all of the examples
  of the ones that dont fit in this way of living geting trampled
  success is obedience to a structured way of life 
you cant ignore the structure because were all within its sight


Bad Town

they call it a scene I call it disaster
  down here the kids grow up faster
  scared they're scared to the bone 
  like a pack of wolves they don't run alone
  one on one they won't look you in the eye 
  but when the pack's together there's a battle cry
   I saw it fifteen on one 
  when the crowd dispersed the kid was done
   no (no more) 
  no (bad town) 
  no more bad town 
  yeah down there you gotta have a label
   just like a cattle in a stable 
  knee jerk reaction I call it violence
  why speak out when you could be silenced
   down there on the dance floor 
  too much violence I dont want more
   down there out on the street 
  I can see the air I can see the heat 
  (chorus)
 
 
Smiling

  at the party at the bus stop at the bar
   you're looking at women because your score is under par
   when you find her it doesn't mean anything 
  you wonder why your life is so boring 
  a mind is a terrible thing to waste
   you would gladly waste it just to save face
   her desire is your wish with out it you are lost 
  integrity is fragile but you ignored the cost 
  smiling when your freinds are watching you 
  one night stand car keys in hand 
  you've fullfilled your gender's sexual demand
   are you feeling insecure and empty 
  when you're rushing to report it to your peers!?!?
 
 
Caution

  caution is a word that i cant understand
   c-a-u-t-i-o-n was a word i could not understand
   walked the dog with a real short leash 
  turned around saw the dog walk me 
  stainless steel and painted glass give me 
  a pulse like a hammer and a mind to match 
  no relief no food no sleep 
  when you're king for a day 
  you're a whore for a week 
  I didnt get it then
   I think I got it now 
  caution my freind 
  dont step in the water 'til you know you can swim
 
 
Freeze Up

  empty factories to the east and all our waste
   the shape of things that came shows on the broken workers face
   to the west you'll find our silicon promised lands where 
  machines replace our minds for systematic profit plans 
  the course of human progress staggers like a drunk 
  its steps are quick and heavy and its mind is slow and blunt
   I look for optimism but I just dont know 
  its seeds are planted in a poison place where nothing grows
   its 1989 stand up and take a look around 
  weathers bitter tension it seems is sinking down
   drunk with power and fighting one another 
  every hour shows the winter getting harder 
  theres a freezeup coming 
  one nation stands the tallest radiating blinding light
  plastic and fluorescent energy robbing us of sight
   set in our way content with our decay 
  we wave the flag of freedom as we conquer and invade
   ever ask yourself wheres my place in this hell 
  but no ones there to tell you cuz they dont know that themselves
   the well rehearsed lines from our elated politicians 
  no longer offer solace we can see the self destruction 
  just one political song to drop into the list that is years and years long
  
 
Artificial Life

  hes got a song about a love thats gone away
   sometimes his eyes shed tiny teardrops when he plays
   his touching ballads are just there sitting to buy
  they call it music but it seems more like a lie 
  artificial life in the marketplace 
  epic ballads by the musical whores 
  life is so boring project theirs onto yours 
  hear the anthems of the pepsi generation 
  see the martyrs of our spiritual degradation 
  artificial life in the marketplace 
  american culture disneyland freak show
   screen in your living room 
  a window for your tomb 
  if you cant compare to the world sitting there
   repress your insecurities watch and escape 
  give me artificial give me superficial 
  give me a commercial life that can't be bought
   this I say to you what I say is true 
  emotions aren't a product to sell and cannot be consumed
    *coming attraction its coming real soon 
   prince is having lunch with pat boone 
   want to know where all the bullshit goes 
   it goes down the sewer to be disposed 
 
  Room Without A Window

  the position being taken is not to be mistaken
   for attempted education or righteous accusation 
  only a description just an observation of the pitiful 
  condition of our degeneration 
  walls made of opinions thru which we speak and never listen
   ceiling made of pride vicious and self satisfied 
  door thats made of rage hard and slowly aged 
  always closing tighter with every war that's waged
  room without a window cant see out... 
  floor is made of lives wed gladly end to stay inside
   corners made of borders, borders made of law and order
   painted with the words of politicians and religion 
  plastered with the wreckage of our cultural division 
  room without a window cant see out... 
 
 
Big City

  concrete and chaos rise up
   spiderweb across the land 
  like a giant rash
  forests lie down below
   foundations of buildings in a bed of ash
   some people here got it real good 
  cuz the glass towers bring prosperity 
  other people starve in the street 
  because concrete knows no sympathy
   big city its a wishing well,
  big city its a living hell 
  this town its fucking insane
   how one will starve and another will gain
   like a giant mechanical brain 
  and the people are cells and the streets are veins
   it thinks only of itself 
  a thousand limbs crawling as it expands and grows
   and still the concrete sits there 
  sits there stark grey and cold 
  and I think I wanna be a brick layer
   so I can put another brick in the wall 
  its sanitary rational happy and sane
  growing like a flower to surround us all 
 
 
Missionary

  I start it, I end it
   I kill and words will defend it
   got big plans 
  blood stained hands
   wanna see my name on the map
   on my way to save the world 
  got a brand new set of words the going rate is cheap
   unconditional devotion unquestioning belief 
  words carved in stone chiseled in with sharpened bones
   of the ones who thought my righteousness was something to oppose
   can you see the flag rising up beyond the smoke 
  of dying authors burning books there was a problem with what they wrote
   the flag is hard to read because all flags start to look the same 
  when covered w/the blood of the faithless and insane 
  man of many names but the motives stay the same 
  my actions are a means to an end 
  my actions are a means to...
 
 
Junkies Running Dry

  I always looked up on the ones who walked away
   choosing themselves over preset 
  ways of looking at a future that had no room for the
   questions they lived for 
  always knew i never could have walked away myself
   my self worth was beyond any help 
  and i didnt care to test it against the rejection i had seen before
   but those i loved so much they underwent a change 
  they're working fourty hours they got caught in the game 
  like junkies running dry, the vulnerability
  they're always there on time 
  we're never satisfied like junkies running dry
  this wonderful generousity 
  a third of our lives to do what we please
   doesn't look that great to me
   in fact it doesnt even look fair  they call it youthful idealism
   and even I would have to agree with them
   except some of us grow up and its still there
   I grow up too slow I don't wanna go 
  but now i'm working just like everyone else
   but ill get out of here
 
 
Here We Go Again

   *it's not the ending
     its the beginning 
    the ground is moist and it rained last night
     smells like smoke and it smells so clean
    the sun is shining down like a freindly white light
     here we go again 
  analyzed the world I was born into
   but I could never understand 
  knew I never wanted to grow up if that meant being a "man"
   dominating strict competition is the meaning of our lives 
  stomping on the weak keeps us the winner of the battle in our minds
   tensions in our lives that are attacking our minds 
  unite themselves together to make our conciousness blind
   conditioned to self-interest with emotions locked away 
  if that's what they call normal i'd rather be insane 
  relax yourself from giving what you want to do with your life
   ease up from giving up things like control of your own mind
   if you never ask any question 
  then you're never gonna get no answer
  always be wondering what do you want 
  while you keep getting older faster 
  here we go again
   another test of manhood just when you thought youd won
   the more we keep competing 
  the more the battle has just begun
 
 
Hoboken

  i'm in this prison built for you
   in this situation I don't know what to do
   can't make a connection get a reaction 
  there's this wall and I can't get through 
  you're dying some guilt with no words 
  what did I say what did I do 
  youth hostels I lodged 
  kept seeing you as a mirage
   flashesof you were everywhere 
  hoboken new jersey 
  I'm in this prison built for you
   in this situation I don't know what to do
   always something makes me think 
  things dont have to be so wrong 
  you put up walls with nothing spoken 
  in your weakness you're so strong
 
 
Yelling In My Ear

  never had a reason for the attack
   it's impulsive and insane 
  when I wanna talk sense to you
   it's like spitting back at rain 
  I've come to know that when i first saw you
   I should have ran away 
  I've kicked myself a thousand times
   but now its too late 
  yelling in my ear you try to control me
   you look but you don't see 
  yelling in my ear 
  you got a big mouth are you ever gonna get a clue
  youre loud obnoxious when youre gone I still hear you 
  always spewing shit with you irritating voice 
  I dont wanna listen but I got no choice 
  quit acting like youre nuts, just shut the hell up
 
 
Sleep Long

  one day I saw a man asleep
   in a doorway on the street 
  thru walls of sheltered 
  inhibition I perceived his 
  condition dying of hunger 
  and exposure, food and shelter
   two blocks over within 
  this place we breed and 
  dwell in we've created living hell
   sleep long sleep well 
  only to awake in hell 
  city sleeps and pigeons flutter
   vagrant dies in the gutter 
  pride
 
 
Healthy Body Sick Mind

expensive vitamin pills and
wheat germ on your windowsill
your schedule's hectic and you got no time to kill
youre earning money and spending it the right way
youre just in such a rush you dont know if its night or
day
5:30 get up and you run, run, run
then you work eight hours slaving under the gun
  your little worlds based on lies lies lies
  always rushing but youre never ever satisfied...
  healthy body sick mind
  youre working overtime
  healthy body sick mind
  too hectic too hectic
  healthy body sick mind
  its just a matter of time
  sick body sick mind
  the money you spend on running shoes could feed me
  for a week
  your plans are laid well you cant even sleep
  pursuit of happiness got your life locked under material law
  you got everything to lose so youre paranoid about some
  fatal flaw
 

Officer

  why do you have to force yourself with power and control
why do you have to live your life playing up a role
intimidating people with your wall of sight and sound
you and your kind destroy our underground
all the happiness you destroy
all the brutal tactics that you always employ
all the fucking bullshit when will it ever stop
the comparison is obvious: you're just a fucking cop
officer - you act like an animal you're out of control
officer - what the hell is wrong with you
wear a tie if you want to wear a uniform
join the army if you want to conform
tough guy asshole do what you can
whatever you destroy we'll create it again


I Got No

when you're-dying giving up hope
living for smoking dope
singing that same old song
yeah yeah yeah it's always the same
i got no - nothing in mind
i was trying a new adventure
buying that old peer pressure
wasting my mind away
but I saved it just in time
no reason I was going mad
i was hating my more and dad
riding a sinking ship
thank god I never did slip.


Hangin Out

The Bricks
  construct
the place in which I self destruct
my eyes
they see
the zombies limp abreast to me
structues ascend
channelling wind
we beg for change in the valley within
waste away
hanging out
coffee acid cigarets and matches
stairway
cafe
were adrift for another day
how far we surpass the nameless mass
in endeavors so meaningless I look for some kind of meaning
all my actions seem so self-defeating
waste away
hanging out
two friends
some pens
sixty five cents
real life brings it to an end
  how far we surpass the mass
in endeavors so meaningless