Americana

Staring at the Sun
Maybe life is like a ride on a freeway
Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way
Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing
It brings me down, but I won't let them
If I seem bleak
Well you'd be correct
And if I don't speak
It's cause I can't disconnect
But I won't be burned by the reflection
Of the fire in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun
When I ran I didn't feel like a runaway
When I escaped I didn't feel like I got away
There's more to living than only surviving
Maybe I'm not there, but I'm still trying
Though you hear me
I don't think that you relate
My will is something
That you can't confiscate
So forgive me, but I won't be frustrated
By destruction in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun
 

Pretty Fly
You know it's kind of hard
Just to get along today
Our subject isn't cool
But he fakes it anyway
He may not have a clue
And he may not have style
But everything he lacks
Well he makes up in denial
So don't debate, a player straight
You know he really doesn't get it anyway
He's gonna play the field, and keep it real
For you no way, for you no way
So if you don't rate, just overcompensate
At least you'll know you can always go on ricki lake
The world needs wannabe's
So do that brand new thing
He needs some cool tunes
Not just any will suffice
But they didn't have ice cube
So he bought vanilla ice
Now cruising in his pinto, he sees homies as he pass
But if he looks twice
They're gonna kick his lily ass
Now he's getting a tattoo
He's gettin' ink done
He asked for a '13', but they drew a '31'
Friends say he's trying too hard
And he's not quite hip
But in his own mind
He's the dopest trip
So don't debate, a player straight
You know he really doesn't get it anyway
He's gonna play the field, and keep it real
For you no way, for you no way
So if you don't rate, just overcompensate
At least you'll know you can always go on ricki lake
The world needs wannabe's
The world loves wannabe's
So let's get some more wannabe's
And do that brand new thing
 
 

The Kids Aren't Alright
When we were young the future was so bright
The old neighbourhood was so alive
And every kid on the whole damn street
Was gonna make it big and not be beat
Now the neighbourhood's cracked and torn
The kids are grown up but their lives are worn
How can one little street
Swallow so many lives
Chances thrown
Nothing's free
Longing for what used to be
Still it's hard
Hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams
Jamie had a chance, well she really did
Instead she got on speed and lost her kids
Mark still lives at home cause he's got no job
He just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot
Jay committed suicide
Brandon od'd and died
What the hell is going on
The cruellest dream, reality
 

Feelings
Feelings
Nothing more than feelings
Trying to forget my
Feelings of hate
Imagine
Beating on your face
Trying to forget my
Feelings of hate
Feelings
For all my life i'll feel it
I wish I'd never met you
You'll make me sick again
Feelings, oh oh feelings
Of hate on my mind
Feelings
Feelings like I never liked you
Feelings like I want to kill you
Live in my heart
Feelings
Feelings like I wanna deck you
Feelings like I've gotta get you
Out of my life
Feelings, oh oh feelings
The hate's in my eyes
Feelings, oh oh feelings
You're not very nice
 

She's Got Issues
I'm seeing this girl and she just might be out of her mind
Well she's got baggage and it's all the emotional kind
She talks about closure and that validation bit
I don't mean to be insensitive, but I really hate that shit
Oh man she's got issues
And I'm gonna pay
She thinks she's the victim
Yeah
Now I know she'll feel abandoned
If I don't stay over late
And I know she's afraid to commit
But it's only our second date
Oh man she's got issues
And I'm gonna pay
She thinks she's the victim
But she takes it all out on me
I don't know why you're messed up
I don't know why your whole life is a chore
Just do me a favor
And check your baggage at the door
Now she talks about her ex nonstop, but I don't mind
But when she calls out his name in bed
That's where I draw the line
You told me a hundred times how your father left and he's gone
But I wish you wouldn't call me daddy
When we're gettin' it on
Oh man she's got issues
And I'm gonna pay
She's playing the victim
And taking it all out on me
My god she's got issues
And I'm gonna pay
If you think I'm controlling
Then why do you follow me around
If you're not co-dependent
Then why do you let others drag you down
I don't know why you're messed up
I don't know why your whole life is a chore
Just do me a favor
And check your baggage at the door
 

Walla Walla
Goodbye my friend, you've messed up again
You're going to prison, you're off to the pen
You've gotten off easy so many times
But I guess no one told you how to get a life
The judge wasn't lenient like he was before
You got three to five and a kick out the door
The public defender really did try
Too little, too late, you didn't get a life
Hey, in Walla
I'll see you in Walla Walla
Slap on the wrist? Well, not this time
Hey, in Walla
I'll see you in Walla Walla
Folsom prison is the destination
Hey, in Walla
I'll see you in Walla Walla
Slap on the wrist? Well, not this time
In the scheme of life, we're all just brothers
Rehabilitate with all the others
Well, I'll see ya
That car looked so tempting, so easy to drive
Just like that apartment that you burglarized
You started to run, but didn't get far
Cause under your arm was a VCR
Ho ho, not this time my friend
You'll be in lockdown by ten
I'm afraid you can't talk your way out of this one, son
Now four walls are your 24-hour-a-day, constant companions.
Hey, in Walla
I'll see you in Walla Walla
Slap on the wrist? Well, not this time
Hey, in Walla
I'll see you in Walla Walla
Folsom prison is the destination
Hey, in Walla
I'll see you in Walla Walla
Slap on the wrist? Well, not this time
In the scheme of life, we're all just brothers
Rehabilitate with all the others
Well, I'll see ya
Have a nice life
 

The End of the Line
When the siren's flash is gone
And we're left to carry on
All the memories are too few
When the pastor's music plays
And that casket rolls away
I could live again if you
Just stay alive for me
Please stay now, you left me here alone - it's the end of the line
Please stay I can't make it on my own - it's the end of the line
Make it on my own
It's the end of the line
Now that you are dead and gone
And I'm left to carry on
I could never smile cause you
Won't stay alive for me
Finally,
Your final resting day
Is without me
I weep
And think of brighter days
What about me?
You can't take back, the one mistake
That still lives on after life it takes
In that one day, that changed our lives
And bitter memories are left behind
 
 

No Brakes
Lay awake
I don't give a shit
If I even ever wake up in the morning
Down below
There's a pile of sin
Always waiting for a
Waiting for a warning
Burned at the stake
Inside I'm blistering
Not a whisper
Looking in you'd never know it
Miles below
I look up again
When you snap they say
Before you never show it
Someone said it's all right
Save it now, don't say it for my sake
Someone said it's all right
Faster now, you know I got no brakes
Fuses glow
Wounds festering
Till the wind comes up
And takes it to the last pow
Back and forth
Staring at the wall
This room's a cage
I know that something's got to give now
Someone said it's all right
Save it now, don't say it for my sake
Someone said it's all right
Faster now, you know I got no brakes
No brakes
 

Why Don't You Get a Job
My friend's got a girlfriend
Man he hates that bitch
He tells me every day
He says "man I really gotta lose my chick
In the worst kind of way"
She sits on her ass
He works his hands to the bone
To give her money every payday
But she wants more dinero just to stay at home
Well my friend
You gotta say
I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
Why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way, no way
Why don't you get a job
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
To keep her bill collectors at bay
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
Cause that girl's got expensive taste
I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
Why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way, no way
Why don't you get a job
Well I guess it ain't easy doing nothing at all
But hey man free rides just don't come along
every day
Let me tell you about my other friend now
My friend's got a boyfriend, man she hates that dick
She tells me every day
He wants more dinero just to stay at home
Well my friend
You gotta say
 
 
 

Americana
Well i'd like to tell you all about my dream, it's a place
Where strip malls abound and diversion's mere moments away
Where culture's defined by the
Ones least refined
And you'll be left behind
If you don't fit in
It's all distorted
In americana my way
Well my dream has come true
My vision has come true
Now give me my cable, fast food, four-by's, tat's right away
I want it right now cause my generation don't like to wait
My future's determined by
Thieves, thugs, and vermin
It's quite an excursion
But it's okay
Everything's backwards
In americana my way
Well my dream has come true
My vision has come true
I'm a product
Of my environment
So don't blame me, i just work here
My rights are denied by
Those least qualified
Trading profit for pride
But it's okay
Everything's backwards
In americana my way
My nightmare has come true
My nightmare has come true
Yeah, it's all coming true
 

Pay the Man
See the way the wind blows
Lives are intertwined
Watch the way the world goes
The man deals out our plight
Jester in the corner
Laughs without a sound
Jester in the corner
Malady abounds
In our souls
See the way the sun sets
Twilight of this life
The man is making little bets
Playing with our lives
All that I believe now
Anything is possible
A simple explanation
For the evil in this world
And in our souls
In our souls
Come down to sorry and sable
It's always the man
Always keeping you down
Bow down cause I see it before me
Shadow and light
That always keeps you running
Shut up you talk too much
Pay the man
Shut up you talk too much
Look at you and your struggle for freedom
But you ain't nothing
We all pay the man for living
Wouldn't it be nice for a change now
To be unchained
My life is for me now
But this is life
Pay the man
Shut up you talk too much
Pay the man
Shut up you talk too much
Pay the man