Song Lyrics
Broken Roads (the Chaz Song)
You're working hard for the second chance you never had.
You paid your debt and it shakes my faith in rehabilitation.
You're working hard to keep your head above the rising tide.
Well hold on tight, I can see a long, long road ahead of you.
It seems you've been chosen to set an example
For all the young girls to come.
Surrounded by privilege, and left unattended,
You ventured out on your own.
You found only trouble, and trouble can lead you
Down so many broken roads.
If you can be patient, I know you deserve this
You'll find your way home.
I know you'll find your way back home
Feel the Discontent
Every year or so, there's a season so it goes
And there's a wind that starts to blow
That tells me, "Run."
And every setting sun sounds like the
Ticking of a clock
Whose hands are bearing down on me.
When this season changes,
I'll need to crawl outta' my skin
And away from everyone I know.
But before I'm out the door
I'm sure I'll burn a couple more
Of the bridges that I've built along the way
'Cause things never look as good
Once I get where I'm going,
As they did when they passed by
In my rearview mirror.
And I knew when I set out
It's just another foolish detour.
But I can't control my need to
Run away.
Once frustration takes a seat
Near the front of my mind,
I can feel the discontent rise in my throat.
It's this unforgiving taste
That keeps me on my toes,
Always looking for a better place to go.
My search for greener pastures
Will undoubtedly fall short
Of the lofty expectations I'd reserved.
And once I've left a faint impression
Of the ghost of my face,
The life I've made since I arrived
Goes up in smoke.
'Cause things never look as good
Once I get where I'm going
As they did when they passed by
In my rearview mirror.
And I knew when I set out,
It's just another foolish detour.
But I can't control my need to
Run away.
Detroit
"Hey, any of you guys ever hear of Detroit?"
"Soitenly. That's where Motown started."
"It's also got the highest murder rate in the country."
- from Goonies
The streets put on a show.
Each corner is a landmark commemorating
Our delinquent, drunken reveries
A less nostalgic mind could easily forsake.
But once the novelty expires,
The flames of discontent are
Fanned by the streetlights that
Wash the night with their unholy orange glow.
When we'd left our homes we'd known
Things would never be the same again.
But our footprints in the snow
Wouldn't live to see the end of the season.
Between the three of us we've got
Enough to just recount for days on end
The stories that make us feel
So much older than we should.
And yet somehow we're still surprised to think
How long it's been
Since we spent our summer nights
Driving east into the city.
Or that 4th of July when
We climbed the chain link fence on the overpass
To watch the fireworks sink
Behind a skyline only blocks away.
Reflecting off the dirty river,
The lights looked twice as bright
Even from a mile away.
Way To Go (Asshole)
Whittling down your circle of friends til nobody's left
On top of your lonely mountain,
What could you see and who would you tell
Even if your blind eyes were open afterall.
So study hard, this knowledge is a weapon.
And you wield it so well, your protégés
Are docile and unsuspecting.
It feels pretty good to use what you've learned against your friends.
It must feel enormous to betray that kind of trust.
What a lovely life you've made for yourself
Criticizing everybody else
In such a persuasive fashion
That we don't recognize ourselves.
So study hard, this knowledge is a weapon.
And you wield it so well, your protégés
Are docile and unsuspecting.
It feels pretty good to use what you've learned against your friends.
What could you see and who would you tell
Even if your blind eyes were open afterall?
Strawberry Shortsong
I've got a feeling this is just an indication of things to come.
I'm not even 23 years old, and I know my days are done.
Like the fall, I can feel the winter closing in on me.
My leaves are falling faster than I can pick them up.
And I know by the time the snow hits the ground,
I'll be gone.
'Cause the days are getting shorter,
And my patience will never last.
And with every winter comes,
Another summer's pass.
And I can't shake this feeling
Like I'm going nowhere fast.
'Cause this wind can blow right through me
And like thoughts of you my day has come and gone.
Creep-o
I've taken a long time to think about things.
And all I can say, is I'm not the same.
I see what you mean, when you say
Around here, there's nothing to live for.
Nothing to live for.
I understand this is a sickness.
And I forgive you but I can't make myself forget.
It's taken a long time for my eyes to adjust
To the context, to the nonsense.
I wasn't prepared for submersion in this culture.
Nothing that I've learned applies in this place,
Applies in this place.
I'm just out of context.
I understand this is a sickness.
And I forgive you but I can't make myself forget.
I've spent such a long time running.
And I've had no sleep for a week at least.
I catch myself watching my window for your figure,
Listening for footsteps my ear to the door,
My ear to the door.
I know you're out there.
I understand this is a sickness.
And I forgive you but I can't make myself forget.
The Mandatory Love Song
I know I promised you a love song
In return for the one you wrote me.
But when I tried it was oh so short
And full of lies.
So non-specific, and unrealistic,
And nothing like the screaming I heard inside.
Every time you demanded more from me.
Truth be known,
I only meant to help you, but you
Had to go and ask me if I loved you too.
But, I never had the heart to let you know:
I never had the heart.
I never had the heart.
So here's your fucking love song,
A little late and much more honest than you'd hoped that I would be.
No sugar-coated sonnet, just what I felt scribbled down in pencil.
I'm telling you the truth:
I felt obligated to all the plans that you'd made.
And I'm suffocating beneath this life that you've laid over me.
I never had the heart.
This Song Reminds Me of You
Sorry, I tried to write you this song at least six times.
There's something that died inside our friendship I don't know when.
But you can't talk to anybody and that includes me too.
Maybe it's time to forget what happened. I hope that won't mean you.
I hope that won't mean you.
I'm singing a song for somebody who doesn't want one,
But like it or not I'll still sing it anyway.
And then when you're gone I can do this at the top of my lungs
Cause nobody's listening and that reminds me of you.
I can do this at the top of my lungs
If you think leaving can make this any better you should go.
I can do this at the top of my lungs
Cause nobody's listening and that reminds me of you.
