1. |
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All-American Reality Show
The warehouse closed down on our side of town
Living on this state check is rough
When we ask if you’re able to help with food on our table
You’ll say we didn’t try hard enough
Now we’re out in the streets getting beat up by police
Unless you’re white just do what you’re told
They’ll send thoughts and pray and say it’s OK
As long as you fit the right mold
Oh, oh it’s the same old
All-American reality show
When the rives are ruined they say what are you doin’
Raising a stink with your signs
You just want the attention and didn’t we mention
Your land has all been reassigned
All our childrens’ hands couldn’t meet their demands
Sowing seeds where nothing will grow
But they’ll bail out their friends to keep their dividends
Going till their pockets overflow
Oh, oh it’s the same old
All-American reality show
Burned our Bibles for belief commander in chief
Spewing speech that’s designed to divide
Using bigotry and hate to make this country great
They’ll package it all up as pride
Franchise church in our town wants to help when you’re down
A free sticker for your car that won’t go
If you’ve got cash to give they’ll tell you how to live
Streamed live from their tax haven home
Oh, oh it’s the same old
All-American reality show
They’ve got big dreams to sell ya but didn’t they tell ya
There’s no room for diversity here
Your daughters and sons can love anyone
As long as it’s not what they fear
Can’t have boys loving boys and girls that enjoy
Something more than watching kids grow
Now they all act confused when we refuse to be used
As a scapegoat on a nightly news roll
Oh, oh it’s the same old
All-American reality show
Livin’ war to war we’re not sure what for
Now an end can never be found
Force feed ‘em some freedom that’s how we’ll beat ‘em
So it’s cheap to drive our SUV around
Tap into the feed let’s watch ourselves bleed
Shouting soundbites instead of our thoughts
We’ll share and we’ll tweet it makes us feel complete
Using people as a patsy potshot
Oh, oh it’s the same old
All-American reality show
Oh, oh we’ve been here before
All-American reality show
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2. |
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When do we get back to normal?
That's all anybody says anymore
At least we got to get drunk in a beer garden
Before we start the next civil war
It's all unreserved and informal
Using headlines to make headway
Who said regurgitating social slang
Would make all our problems go away
Dug a ditch debating the details
When did we all become so smart?
A reclining chair revolution
Patriarchal performance art!
Give us bars restaurants and retail
The holy trinity of excess
GI Joe cosplay with loaded AK's
For Daddy's first protest
Our hearts fought to wait inside
Our Brains bought into the great divide
Better luck next year, I hope we'll all be here
We rolled the dice and paid the price
The jackpot went to the profiteers
Better luck next year
Sacrifice thousands of lives
Is that the price to see economies thrive?
Pitiful priorities of where our money belongs
A stock market of scratch off tickets
And a station that plays the same old song
I was poor in a small town
I worship billionaires in a small town
I'll probably die drunk and dumb and damaged in disbelief and denial
in this small town
Where no one can question my beliefs
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3. |
The Wish/The Well
04:02
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How did it come to this?
I confused fervor with forever but it was just a few nights of bliss
Where do I go from here?
The echoes of this empty house recall the day he disappeared
How do I make you see?
The God you believe you speak for could never be so cruel to me
When will all this end?
An affinity for empathy can make a black heart beat again
I don't need you to blame me, I don't need you to shame me
I can stand here on my own, like a rose in the shadow of a stone
This choice could make or break me whole
It's just one more thing you think you can control
I don't know if this spark should glow
I can't tell is this the wish or the well?
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4. |
Winter In May
02:23
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I had a dream I was in San Francisco
I climbed up to the highest place I could go
There were poets and singers that died in the gutters
In the sunset were silhouettes of fading memories
It was all so beautiful to me
On a downbound train to sweet Chicago
Where I'll burn down every bridge that led me back home
Where our fortunes told the truth but they cried out a warning
Where the streetlights lit up the night for all lost souls to see
It was all so beautiful to me
I don't wanna sleep, but there's nothin' left to do
These long nights seem to chase away these days we outgrew
The wind is cuttin' through me, a mercurial midwest day
I'm like the snow, I don't know if I should leave or I should stay
Can you believe it's winter in May?
I had a dream I hit the road where I belong
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5. |
Let Me Take My Time
03:31
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It was coffee in the morning, beers at The Brick all night
Work your hands down all day, just to swing em up in a fight
You showed us love was bigger than all of our last names
We watched as blood and water all became one in the same
Burned on the bedroom window, your fadin' fingerprint still shows
A little pill to calm me and I will pack up your boots and clothes
Memories in the doorway, where you used to call my name
Wander in like ashes around the smoke without a flame
I hope it rains in heaven all night long
Somewhere there's a fastback drivin' and Percy's singin' a song
I hope it rains in heaven all night long
I don't think that I can forget you, I can never let you leave my mind
These rooms are full of reminders like a mountain I can't climb
So I hope that you don't mind
If I have to say goodbye let me take my time
I hope it rains in heaven all night long
Somewhere there's a fastback drivin' and Percy's singin' a song
I hope it rains in heaven all night long
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Brett Conlin Bloomington, Illinois
Like many of his songwriting colleagues, Conlin started off playing in punk rock bands and slowly evolved into the self- reflecting persona he holds dear today.. A few chords and catchy melodies provide the soundtrack. Personal highs and lows, the increasing value of friendship and the helplessness of outliving your youth are all abundantly present in these songs. ... more
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