Placed in time
A place and time your fellow
Man can't find
Find yourself inside.

Time and space
Timed in case they cannot
Keep the pace
Fall behind the human race.

There's a fire, I can clearly see
Bird's eye view, security.
Stay in the lines, what have we become?
My God, tell me what have we become?

We're living in a house of steel and glass.

Entertain
Endure pain, or say that
God's to blame
Blessings all to claim.

Starved again
Starve to gain until we
Break the chain
Break the serpent's game.

There's a fire, I can clearly see
Bird's eye view, security.
Stay in the lines, what have we become?
My God, tell me what have we become?

We're living in a house of steel and glass.

Ten points if you can figure out the meaning behind the words...I'm not even sure that I can figure it out.

The music for this song has been lying around for nearly two years, and because I really really dig the guitar riff (in my head it's the greatest guitar riff of all time...like a combination of the ones for "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Sweet Home Alabama," and the "Stairway to Heaven" solo), I've been too afraid to ruin it with a bad lyric. So today I decided to stop being afraid and come up with something. Thoughts?


*Granted, a two-bit lyricist who still has a long ways to go...but a lyricist, nonetheless.

( from a familiar source )

...

In a little over 13 hours, I'll be in Nashville. I'll have something insightful to tell you sometime, but not right now. As you can guess, today's goodbye-ing has taken its toll on me. That, and I'm still packing.

Time to share silly pop music lyrics that may or may not speak on my behalf right now!

I think it was bound to happen: Chris Martin mentions in Entertainment Weekly that one of Coldplay's new songs--The Hardest Part--is a "tribute of sorts to R.E.M.," and I end up loving the song. Surprised? I'm certainly not.

It really does sound R.E.M.-ish, though. To the point that my mind ocassionally tricks me into temporarily thinking it really is an R.E.M. original that Coldplay covered for the album. Another article even suggests that the band almost left the song off X&Y because it sounded too much like Losing My Religion.

Anyway, enough pontificating. This song's been rockin' the iPod a lot lately, and I can relate to the lyrics more than I'd like to admit:

( lyrics behind the cut )

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. Here now are the lyrics--they're some of my favorite, most depressing R.E.M. lyrics--for you to read, and interpret freely:

( Don't read into them too much, though, lest you think I'm a miserable wreck. )

Since it's a slow day with little to talk about, I think I'll share some brand new lyrics that I'm working on. As usual, I debated about posting them; I realize it's too easy for me to hide behind the excuse of, "oh, I can't post the lyrics of a song that isn't complete yet," because in truth, that's a guise for the real excuse, which is, "oh, I can't share my work 'cause people will laugh at me."

¡Que ridiculo!

Anyway...Brief intro: This is a song I'm writing for my 13-year old "sister" (but don't tell her!). She happens to read a lot of those teen fashion/celebrity gossip magazines, and this should give you an idea as to what I think about the impressions they leave her with. Apologies to Madonna for hijacking one of her most well-known hooks.

( Read silly, semi-incensed lyrics here. )

...Engine Driver by The Decemberists.

Achingly beautiful and sad. I listened to it for the first time this morning as I was on the subway en route to work, and then listened to it again. And again. And again. Something about this song really struck a chord with me; most likely because the words--specifically, the chorus--are a paraphrase of something I recently had to tell someone:

I am a writer, a writer of fictions
I am the heart that you call home.
And I've written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones.

It's my favorite song off of Picaresque thus far, though after one listen through, I can say that the whole album is wonderful.

And now, to utilize my LYRICS page: ( find the rest of the songs' lyrics here )

[UPDATE: 12/23/05] I'm noticing that this page in particular has been getting a TON of hits recently, and I can't figure out why. The quality of my lyrics certainly don't merit this much attention (though, perhaps the lack of quality does, providing an example of how NOT to write!). Would someone be so kind as to leave me a comment with a quick head's up as to where the traffic's coming from? Thanks!

As many of you know, often times I like to share lyrics on this LJ, be they mine or someone else's. In the case of others' lyrics: sometimes I'd rather just throw up a set of lyrics that you can interpret a hundred different ways, rather than tell you what's really going on (though you can usually tell). And as for my own stuff: sometimes I get up the nerve to post them, even though they usually aren't very good, in my honest assessment. In the last year, however, I've written some songs that I'm rather proud of. Still, I've debated whether or not I should even posts the words to those songs, or if I should just wait until I have a complete song--lyrics and music, as in an .mp3 or something--to share instead. I think I've come to the conclusion that I'd rather let people read my lyrics, and if you think they're lame, you can save yourself the trouble of listening to them if and when I post the .mp3s (which I think I may do in the future).

So this page is going to be a storage facility, of sorts, for lyrics. Or, rather, the links to other pages with lyrics on them. I'll be adding links to the page as time goes on, in much the same way that Jonathan does with his 100 Things... list. It's a bit of an experiment, I guess...we'll see if it actually serves any real purpose in the weeks and months to come. At any rate, feel free to comment with thoughts on the lyrics. Now, let's see what we got lying around here:

DT ORIGINALS
- The Endgame (early version here)
- Governor (early version here)
- Sandcastle Builder
- Gravity Wins Again (a very, very, very early version)
- Glamorous Lie

R.E.M.
- Leaving New York
- Sad Professor
- So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)

OTHER LYRICS
- Coldplay - The Hardest Part
- The Decemberists - Engine Driver
- Willie Nelson (w/Leann Womack) - Mendocino County Line
- Newsboys - Lost the Plot
- Matt Redman - Blessed Be Your Name
- Snow Patrol - Chocolate

Bring me back inside
This hallowed hall of messy lies
Give this poor man a drink
Before the gallows spill his time
Kindergarten teachers teach
the art of playing fair
How much further do we have to go my friends?
How much longer until we're there?

It's an illusion
You're feigning confusion
But this resolution
Will send me to the dust.

Governor. Governor. Governor.
Grant me reprieve.
Oh, grant me reprieve.

So bring me back inside
It's not too late to sell your pride
Some shelter from the rain
There's acid in the air tonight
Mine's a sentence as a trial
Your lips have been locked all the while
What a cruel game you play
An execution for your wedding day.

Now, it's an illusion
You're wearing confusion
But this resolution
Will send me to the dust.

Governor. Governor. Governor.
Grant me reprieve.
Oh, grant me reprieve.

Revenge is not my style
But I like the look if for a while
Betrayal with a kiss
Only heightened by a friend's denial
I am weighted down by chains
And I'm praying I'll be spared.
Would You take my hand and lead me through the pain
'Cause I know that You've been there.
Governor. Governor. Governor.

I want to see miracles
To see the world changed.
I wrestled the angel
For more than a name.
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause.
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You.
You're raising the dead in me.

Twenty-four oceans, twenty-four hearts
With all of my symphonies in twenty-four parts.
Life is not what I thought it was twenty-four [months] ago.
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms.
Yeah, I'm not copping out.
Not copping out.
Not copping out.

--Switchfoot, Twenty-Four