1. |
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2. |
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A new beginning, the ending's old
A sadder story than I've been told
Another cycle? Well, here we go
Whatever glimmers might just be gold
What kind of people are we to just give up when times are tough?
Are we not men? We are Chumbawamba on this blessed day.
I've spent enough of my life lying flat on my back to know just how easy it is to get back up.
This is not the end for us.
A new beginning, the ending's old
A sadder story than I've been told
Another cycle? Well, here we go
Whatever glimmers might just be gold
What's past is prologue.
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3. |
Float On Top Of It
03:06
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Water and oil, and cyanide?
Get a load of this, why don't you!
It's not as if life itself's a solution to the problems it presents itself.
Bubbles and layers of trauma
Heavy metal sinks, I tell you
Soon you'll see a lighter side - when I'm down, it's only feathers to me
I just float on top of it
Float on top of it, baby
Just float on top of it
Just float on top of it, baby
Baby, be buoyant
The first eight clouds were a thrill ride
Learning to fly is a lifetime commitment
A splatter against the ground is better than a clipping of the wings
Plummet and tubthump a handstand
Or learn to lean and turn a cartwheel
Soon, you'll learn to float as I - as deliberate as Zero and Gene
I just float on top of it
Float on top of it, baby
Just float on top of it
Just float on top of it, baby
Baby, be buoyant
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4. |
The Man Who Sold My Face
04:04
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I never thought I was that much to look at
People would tell me I wasn't that great
Am I nothing more than a kitsch piece of pop art
That's good for a laugh but not selling upstate?
I don't see the price you'd pay for me
I never thought I was that good a person
People would tell me I needed to change
Am I an invention that nobody asked for
For six easy payments of minimum wage?
I don't see the price you'd pay for me
But none of that mattered to the man with the frame
An eye for a shutter and impeccable aim
No one could capture this poor wretch's grace
As the man who sold my face
His fingers turned black as he wrestled the canvas
A war of attrition, lopsided, it's true
And unlike the smudge I've placed over my own life
The work of the master seems flawless and pure
Still, I can't see the price you'd pay for me
The rain in the window is simple yet potent
Nostalgic and tragic, poetic and sour
And though beauty fades like a rainbow in sunshine
Emotions like love can endure through the hours
Still I can't see the price you'd pay for me
But none of that mattered to the man with the frame
An eye for a shutter and impeccable aim
No one could capture this poor wretch's grace
As the man who sold my face
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5. |
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Sunlight shimmers down through my Venetian blinds
It stripes the mattress where I'm resting my behind
Half of my face warms up and my skin starts to shine
What a wonderful world is this world of mine
Glow while you may
Seize the day's today before it's yesterday
Glow while you can
You don't have to be from Krypton to be a Superman
Streets are clean and grass is green to my brown eyes
Boys are riding bikes and girls are chasing butterflies
Gone are smelly memories of garbage and flies
What a wonderful world is this world of mine
Glow while you may
Seize the day's today before it's yesterday
Glow while you can
You don't have to be from Krypton to be a Superman
I know it's hard to keep a perspective
When the rain comes pouring down
Tomorrow may be Armageddon
But I don't plan on skipping town
If we let ourselves get pushed around
Or moan and groan and cry and frown
It's you and me against the world
But catch the wave and ride it out
Stick sour lemons up your snout
And you and me could be like birds of a feather
Or planes in good weather
Or Superman that oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Glow while you may
Seize the day's today before it's yesterday
Glow while you can
You don't have to be from Krypton to be a Superman
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6. |
Elsa And Spider-Man
04:00
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Vietnam scarred the baby boomers
Generation X had Reaganomics
My tribe, the 90s, had the screen revolution
Generation Z had Parkland
But can you imagine PTSD before the age of three?
These kids so young won't know what hit them
Drinking the milk of Elsa and Spider-man
Laceration
Urination
Reckless alcohol abuse and sexual grooming
Johnny? Johnny? Yes, papa
Can you imagine PTSD before the age of three?
These kids so young won't know what hit them
Drinking the milk of Elsa and Spider-man
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7. |
Brighter Now
05:05
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It could have gone worse
But then, it could have gone better
I was stupid, I got hurt, but now there's just
A pushup between me and where I want to be
After weeks of the world's saddest stress dreams
I'm ready to face another human face to face to face to face
I was the king once and I can be again
This is my throne and I'm gonna reclaim it
I'm brighter now
A little bit brighter now
A little bit brighter now
Or not as dark as I used to be
I'm brighter now
A little bit brighter now
A little bit brighter now
Or not as dark as I used to be
Either I'm deaf or no one's talking to me
Either I'm blind or no one's walking with me
Either I'm dead or no one's helping me up
I drink the dregs of a bitter cup
Maybe I'm dumb 'cause no one's talking to me
Maybe I'm lame 'cause no one's walking with me
Maybe I'm dead 'cause they've left me to rest
But I'm heading toward the light, I guess
Call off the band, tell the florists they can suck it
Things had got out of hand, but now it's just
A battle between me and my own history
After months of the smell of the garbage chute cutting
The air of the hall outside my place to place to place
I was the king and I will always be royal
This is my throne and I will reclaim it
I'm brighter now
A little bit brighter now
A little bit brighter now
Or not as dark as I used to be
I'm brighter now
A little bit brighter now
A little bit brighter now
Or not as dark as I used to be
Either I'm deaf or I stopped listening
Either I'm blind or I don't notice anything
Either I'm dead or maybe just dead inside
Am I introverted or just drowning in my pride?
Maybe I'm dumb 'cause I can't get it through my thick skull
Lame 'cause I've had it up to here with my bull
Dead 'cause this isn't really living, is it?
Is it really living if it isn't really living?
I'm brighter now
A little bit brighter now
A little bit brighter now
Or not as dark as I used to be
I'm brighter now
A little bit brighter now
A little bit brighter now
Or not as dark as I used to be
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8. |
Canadian Girlfriend
02:51
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I'm the coolest kid at my junior high
Nerdy and obese and I'm awkward and shy
The other kids tell me that I'm dying alone
And I won't be found for weeks, there'll be no calls on my phone
They tell me no one'll ever love me and I say
No way! I've got a Canadian girlfriend!
No way! I've got a Canadian girlfriend!
No way! She lives in Canada
And you can't meet her
Everybody's talking 'bout their dates to the prom
The boys are talking up the girls with makeup on
The other kids tell me that I'm bringing a doll
A silicon or mylar belle of the ball
They tell me one one'll ever have me and I say
No way! I've got a Canadian girlfriend!
No way! I've got a Canadian girlfriend!
No way! She lives in Canada
And you can't meet her
Guess what? I became a rock star
Not even the sk8er bois can touch me
Guess what? I became a rock star
They tell me that they really love me and I say
No way! I've got a Canadian girlfriend!
No way! I've got a Canadian girlfriend!
No way! She lives in Canada
And you can't meet her
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9. |
Mosh Pit Of One
04:05
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June
Of a couple years ago
I got on stage for you
It was my very first rock show
I saw you standing
On the empty floor
But you're a crowded individual
You kept screaming for me
And so I played
You danced and sung
I'll always remember you
My mosh pit of one
It's true
Just a couple months ago
I saw a hero of mine
At the Whisky-A-Go-Go
He saw me standing
On the empty floor
I was a crowded individual
I kept screaming for me
And so he played
I danced and sung
He held his mic out to my face
And laughed like, "Where was everyone?"
I knew the feeling
I'd already done
This kind of concert
With a mosh pit of one
And so he played
I danced and sung
And I became to him
A mosh pit of one
And so he played
I danced and sung
And I became to him
A mosh pit of one
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10. |
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11. |
Cut The Cord
04:07
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Cut the cord
The metaphorical cord
Yes, I know there's not a real cord
And there hasn't been one in a long long time
Slam down the phone
By which I mean, press the red button with your thumb
And slide the phone in your pocket, grunting in exasparation
Frustration
Modern convenience has made inconvenience inconvenient
And the fact that I could reach out at any time paralyzes
So cut the cord
The metaphysical cord
That which used to be a real cord
And yet, still is in the mind's eye
Burn that bridge
As if helicopters and aeroplanes were insufficient
As if arson weren't a felony
As if your every action weren't being monitored for quality assurance
Modern convenience has made inconvenience inconvenient
And the fact that I could cross back at any time paralyzes
So cut the cord
The apocryphal cord
That may have been a real cord
But no one's seen one in a long long time
They told me "Adios" meant forever
But what is forever? It's a small world, after all
And if it's possible to be "after all"
Then there is no forever, not ever
Not ever, after all
But still, we try to cut the cord
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12. |
Marine Fossils
00:27
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We learned to dance from the dinosaurs
Everything that we do must seem so primitive
Let me tell you about our grandfathers
They made it work, and now you're here
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13. |
Through Feeling Blue
05:06
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The happiest day of my life hasn't happened yet
The saddest day of my life is still yet to come
I thought I was done with the angst, with the sadness
I thought I was through feeling blue
Until I heard that song...
The one I used to love when I thought life was hell
Life is not a linear struggle, it's not a steady grade
Life's a cesspool and a puddle to jump in when it rains
If I had a rewind button, I'd just as soon hit play
And I won't listen to rebuttals, I will have my say
So DJ!
DJ, play that song!
The one I used to love when I thought life was hell
I always get it wrong
Whoever wrote that song seems to get me so well
The happiest day of my life was listening to that song
Sometimes we make bad decisions, then we change our minds
Sometimes we chase vain ambitions, then we waste our time
If I were on television, would I fall in line?
Or would I plead career revision, never satisfied?
Oh, DJ!
DJ, play that song!
The one I used to love when I thought life was hell
I always get it wrong
Whoever wrote that song seems to get me so well
The happiest day of my life was listening to that song
The saddest day of my life is now come and gone
I'm finally done with the angst, with the sadness
I'm finally through feeling blue, and all thanks to you
You and that awesome song
The one I used to love when I thought life was hell
I always get it wrong
Whoever wrote that song seems to get me so well
So DJ, play that song!
The one I used to love when I thought life was hell
I always get it wrong
Whoever wrote that song seems to get me so well
I need to hear that song
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14. |
I Was A Teenage Optimist
04:14
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Kevin Calaway Seattle, Washington
I could while away the hours conferring with the flowers, consulting with the rain - but who has time for that? I regulate my mood with musical catharsis and publish my diary on the internet for the whole world to hear, wearing my heart and my influences on my sleeve like a man who really needs to do laundry. ... more
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