1. |
Once You Start Asking
04:00
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I've been thinking (what is it this time?)
about that ever subtle line.
Left is the cynic (with a rigid old mind)
to the right is the naive kind,
so free that it is almost blind.
I don't want to (be that old guy)
who dismantles your feelings and puts them aside.
But I don't want to (give up on trying)
to discern the truth from the lies,
and the illusions that fuck up out lives,
the confusion we're expected to buy.
(Is it true? Do we know?)
I'm hoping (hoping to strike)
that balance within my life.
The cynic dismisses (the romantic affirms)
too much of either and nobody learns.
So I'll hold all the opinions I earn,
sort through them when it comes to my turn.
And once you start asking what can be known,
you won't ever find your way back home.
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2. |
The Road Is Nicely Paved
04:31
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Last night in my dreams my house was hit by streaming waves of water
it was torn from the rock and like a floating dock it drifted to the sea
there were no more roads, no more places go
only ice cold streams in these sad wet dreams
And the road is nicely paved on the way to hell
the road is nicely paved on the way to hell
we've been living good we've been living all to well.
singing la da dee as we empty out the well.
We know we're going to go, we got to.
We know it's going to go, we got to.
With faded light comes faded night at the foot of an island
that liquid life sure gives all right, let's us burn it up all night
but we're ok the wind will blow away
our guilty thoughts, our city smog
And the road is nicely paved on the way to hell
yeah the road is nicely paved on the way to hell.
We spent so much time filling up the knowledge well
now it overflows as we're caught under its spell
as we all move to the ringing of the bell
happened so slow that we all could hardly tell.
Now we're living in a world of make believe
pushed ahead by fear and daily routine
and if we stop and ask what all of it means,
We'll we know were going to go, yeah we got to.
We know it's going to go, you we got to.
We know we're going to go.
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3. |
Doing Fine
04:55
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I know it's a cheat, I know it's lame
to write about having nothing to say.
But hey sometimes there's nothing profound
and all I wanna do is make a little sound
I find it odd how much I expect
each and every song to somehow reflect
an undying truth, some startling observation
that seems to be a lot of expectation
But I'm doing fine
straddling that line
yeah I'm doing fine
only sort of trying
They say "give it your all"
"Try 100%"
but I have a differesnt sentiment.
If you're trying too hard, everybody knows it
and sooner or later you are gonna blow it --
I fill my life with big ideas
I look to the sky to avoid my fears
Don't wanna learn my own songs
I just want to record them
I'm and impatient guy
with a tendency for boredom
But I'm doing fine
straddling that line
yeah I'm doing fine
only sort of trying
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4. |
I Need A Friend
03:41
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I need a friend to know what's going inside my head
I need a friend to help me get out of bed
as long as I'm alone I'll never know what I'm about
I leave unsaid all the things I'm scared to say
I let them ferment into a sour stew
and when someday I drink it I will give a taste to you
I'm only having fun
I'm only one in the billions of our times
You can say what you please
and if we don't agree, well that's fine
you are a different design
I need a friend, well if I'm asking for something,
let's make that ten,
you never know when you'll need a spare to fill the gap when the loneliness is there.
You and I, we're friends, if that word still means something
let's make amends before we say anymore
we can grab a bite to eat
we'll have our words for second course
I'm only having fun
I'm only one in the billions of our times
You can say what you please
and if we don't agree, well that's fine
you are a different design
I wonder how we'll combine?
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5. |
Dream
02:32
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You are a dream, yes you are a dream
nothing quite seems so real, no nothing quite seems
lost in a dream all is forgotten
nothing but you
you opened me up, you opened me up
didn't know I was stuck but you opened me up
lost in a dream all is forgotten
nothing but you
what does it mean? there's so much meaning
all cause of you
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6. |
Forms
05:23
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I used to look for consistency
I used to trust what I could see
but concepts can't contain the world as it unfurls, as it comes to be
the more I try to put it in a box, the more I am locked, stuck in my beliefs.
I used to see in black and white
solid forms moving in the light
I used to try to understand, map out the land, catch it with my pen
I saw structure as my hope, but all of them broke and I was lost again
How can we hope to be better?
How can we learn how to give? When we can tear down all the boundaries? When we can split it all into bits?
Take it apart and then rebuild
realize that all your concepts can be killed
pick through the pieces of your skull, patiently mull, put them into piles
you are free to pick and choose, kick off your shoes, it's going to take a while
How can we hope to be better? How can we learn how to give?
When we can tear down all the boundaries
when we can split it all into bits
everything so easily pulled apart
everything all on its own
take those shards and rebuild your window
make a stained glass of broken beliefs
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7. |
I Gave Up Keeping Along
03:12
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I stopped watching the news
it was giving me anxiety
I gave up being in touch
pulled the covers over my little life
it was all just too much
everything was losing its meaning
why write songs all day long
waste my time on what is selfish and fleeting?
I know that I'm missing the point and I've got it all wrong
I know it's important there's value in writing a song
I love making music cause music is where I belong
it gives me my purpose without it I wouldn't be strong
so I ducked my head and I gave up keeping along
someday I will return
I'll keep up with the world as it burns
but for now what do I see?
I see a world that is new and exciting
such interesting people, so many in one small city
a pile of memories all here in this town by the sea
it isn't all good but it isn't all bad I should say
despite my complaints I'm grateful I landed this way
who knows if we're fucked? at least I live a good life today
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8. |
Nothing
03:15
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when we discover the truth we will feel nothing
postpone the fire of our youth, we will feel nothing
it's no use remembering
into my memories I'll sprinkle the salt of a new disbelief
tucked in behind all the pages I keep
in journals stored under my bed, things I once upon a time wouldn't have said
nevertheless written to be reread
when we discover the truth we will feel nothing
boundless our boredom will chew
through to the nothing
who's waiting and humming
a song that we all recognize
slowly it brings the tears to our eyes
reminds us that living is a compromise
a story that's well lubricated by lies
a friend who has never removed his disguise
a song with a meaning you can't recognize
means nothing at all
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9. |
Half Of Nothing
04:38
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I am sitting by the road, watching people come and go,
kneeling in the dirt and broken glass.
Four-ways flashing on the van, while we wait hatching a plan,
in the shade beneath the overpass.
Wish we could stop and press rewind so we could make the show on time,
no we don't like it when our plans are smashed.
How does order settle in amongst the noise, amidst the din,
how do we amount to anything?
Why haven't we all given up trying to fill that half-full cup,
when half of nothing isn't anything?
Now I'm cirling a spot, spinning round the empty spot
where a lover once had laid her head.
Oh how lonelyness can live deep inside a happy skin,
dormant till the proper words are said.
How does order settle in amongst the noise, amidst the din,
how do we amount to anything?
Why haven't we all given up trying to fill that half-full cup,
when half of nothing isn't anything?
Now there are times when you are stuck, waiting for a pick-up truck
in the hairy hands of circumstance
It's a wonder, it's a ball, that anything can work at all
when so much of life is random chance
How does order settle in amongst the noise, amidst the din,
how do we amount to anything?
Why haven't we all given up trying to fill that half-full cup,
when half of nothing isn't anything?
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10. |
Little Lies
03:06
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I told a lie it was only half the truth
I don't know why I didn't mean to
I'm sorry guys, to deceive you
and now it's fiction I'm living through
maybe I'm scared, or just imaginative
you never know what's gonna give
to spin a tale, to make a wish
the sliding scale is out of dish
alone again I'll write bad fiction
I'll live inside it's friction
this black earth will grow the seeds
my little lies, my darling weeds
my little lies, my darling weeds
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11. |
Take Your Pick
06:13
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we can't have it all, you know
either or will have to go
take your pick: truth or sex
what's written in the subtext?
love is so easily confused
trust is so easily abused
take your pick: truth or sex
what's is in the subtext?
take your pick: truth of sex
good ideas get drowned in tears
honesty gets plagued by fears
take your pick: truth or sex
what's is in the subtext?
take your pick: truth of sex
then you'll know what to do next
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12. |
Whistle Tune
03:17
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So in conclusion: you have to learn everything on your own. Each of us face the unknown. Don't wait for someone else to say what is the only proper way. We're all on our own and though you can be shown, you will not learn unless you want to learn. All of your answers are something you earn. Don't just listen to me. I don't have any secret key. I'm just saying what I see.
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Jake Nicoll St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Jake Nicoll is a musician currently living in windy old St. John's Newfoundland. Jake plays drums in a number of bands in town and writes songs on piano, guitar, synthesizer and anything else that's around.
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