AGAINST ME! – You Must Be Willing

Let there be a volume that cannot be denied.
Let there be an emotion that you cannot fake
The greatness unanimously acknowledged.
A lie that you just cannot tell.
Let them know hatred, fear and war. Let there be peace for us all.
With our goals one day met, let us know a feeling of great accomplishment.
With our failures complete, let us learn to survive.

Your body will know if it’s not the right way to go,
just listen closely to your heart and follow
You must be willing to abandon it all.
You must be willing to starve.

Let us challenge the wait for a day of reckoning.
Let us deny shame and guilt.
Let us know with absolute certainty that we were fools to ever second guess ourselves.
Let us know a feeling of invincibility, as real as our fragile bones.
There’s a truth to be learned, I’m sure of it,
just like I know there is nothing at all.

Your Body will know if it’s not the right way to go,
just listen closely to your heart and follow.
You must be willing to abandon it all.
You must be willing to starve.

AGAINST ME! – You Look Like I Need A Drink

In the closest alley,
in the first doorway,
he pushed up against her
and closed his eyes.
He said, “this is probably
the worst decision that I’ve ever made.”
She laughed and smiled.
she said, “I’m sure you do this all the time…right, right, right, right, right?”

And the morning came, and the city woke
into the building, people all went to work,
as their rides out of town came they parted ways
she said, “do you know when you’re coming back again?”
Dig it deeper, deeper, and farther still,
bury it up, over and into the ground,
all these lies will grow in ways that we never thought possible.

Quiet down, down, down
so soft of a sound,
you can hear it all coming back after you.
Quiet down, down, down
so soft of a sound,
you can hear it all coming back after you.

Now you want to take it back, you think you might have fucked up.
Waking dreams of concrete, deafening panic, cracked skull,
there is yelling all around, get up, get up please start breathing
and the moment will come when you finally realize
the results of decisions and choices in your life,
can you hear it all coming back after you.

Down, down down
so soft of a sound,
you can hear it all coming back after you.
Quiet down, down down
so soft of a sound,
you can hear it all coming back after you, you, you

AGAINST ME! – Y’all Don’t Wanna Step To Dis

Four sins past sainthood,
It’s like I’m dying to forget
All the sleepless nights,
Lying perfectly alone and still.
I can drink ’till victory,
I’ll drink to the mighty,
Drink until I die,
Or at least until the sunrise
When honesty,
As popular as a plague,
Comes to remind me
The dead’s winning the race
With me going nowhere.
Right down the street,
A prostitute is selling
The closest thing to love
That this country has to offer,
And Alachua still sleeps tonight,
And Alachua still sleeps tonight,
And Alachua still sleeps tonight…

So we fought for the republic
While the Catholic sun filled every eye.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean,
We drank to the mighty.
We died for oil,
We died for borders,
Killed for democracy,
Still believed every platform.
Can you handle the death,
Accept what we create together?
I still know every politician
Is a fucking monster.
Culture kills bureaucrats
And all other undesireables.
History said we died for freedom,
But today no justice was served,
And America still sleeps tonight,
And America still sleeps tonight,
And America still sleeps tonight,
And I hope it doesn’t wake up tomorrow.

So we boasted that we were champions,
Each country singing it’s own praise.
Like a rock thrown into the ocean,
Humanity was rising to the top.
Two world wars later,
Countless “military interventions”,
We erect monuments to history
And give apologies to the dead.
All that was fought for the living
Is quickly forgotten.
We don’t remember the dates,
We don’t remember the reasons.
We have no idea what’s going on,
Building histories of western corporations.
It doesn’t even turn my stomach
To see the pictures of atrocities anymore,
Going numb in the new order
Of the new century.
And Alachua still sleeps tonight,
And America still sleeps tonight,
And the world still sleeps tonight…

And Alachua still sleeps tonight…
And America still sleeps tonight…
And the world still sleeps tonight…

AGAINST ME! – White People For Peace

East and West could not agree
So their generals gave a call and gathered troops at the border
With guns ready, drawn and aimed
each side was praying to a God
to bless them with strength and courage
it was in His name that artillery lit the sky on fire
the people sang protest songs to try and stop the soldier’s gun

Protest Songs in a response to Military Aggression
Protest songs to try and stop the soldier’s gun
But the battle raged on……

Sirens filled the air and the ground shook with war
Civilian casualties has been a cost that was predetermined
when interviewed for report victims pleaded in frustration
Their claim: That this was a war without reason
Bureaucrats engaged in debate to try and reach a resolution
the people sang protest songs to try and stop the soldier’s gun

Protest Songs in a response to Military Aggression
Protest songs to try and stop the soldier’s gun
But the battle raged on……

The Broadcast like their prayers went unanswered and ignored
god, like the rest of the world, just watched in silence
There was purpose to be served, there were fortunes to be earned
before a peace could be called to stop the fighting

Protest Songs in a response to Military Aggression
Protest songs to try and stop the soldier’s gun
But the battle raged on……

AGAINST ME! – What We Worked For

Lost the confidence to write a song,
So I found three simple chords
And held them together with my weak voice
On an out of tune guitar
My father gave to me.

And may Elvis turn in his grave
And Les Paul kiss my dirty, calloused fingers
And may the likes of this song never make
One fucking dollar,
leave it for a demo tape
To be played until it’s broken,
Then remembered only for what it was.

That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell

That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell

To my friends and enemies who could of been anything,
Titans and heroes who found survival in cause and effect.
Behind counters,
Behind windows,
Striving just
To be people
With bitter ideals of justice.
Do we only need to keep working because it pays rent?
Sleeping under plastic stars glued to ceiling,
Muscles burning alcohol and nicotine
Every morning.

But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell

But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell

There’s a height beyond skyscrapers,
There’s a distance beyond the freeway,
More than pictures in a magazine,
More than tragedy in a rock and roll song.
It’s more than the actions you know are safe to make.
It’s more than money could ever buy.

Are we living to work and die in American cities?
And working to live and die in American cities,
And dying for what we worked.

AGAINST ME! – We’re Breaking Up

This is the only voice I know.
These are the only words I have.
This is the only way I know how to say, we’re not in love anymore.

It’s the same way that it’s always been,
the dynamic to the relationship never changes.
It’s the same way that it’s always been,
the dynamic to the relationship never changes.

We used to like all the same bands.
We used to have all the same friends.
What do we have left in common?
Just shared memories of good times long since past.

It’s the same way that it’s always been,
the dynamic to the relationship never changes.
It’s the same way that it’s always been,
the dynamic to the relationship never changes.
You can’t get what you want from me, and I can’t get what I need from you.

This is the only voice I know.
These are the only words I have.
This is the only way I know how to say, we’re breaking up.

It’s the same way that it’s always been.
It’s the same way that it’s always been.
I’m not giving up on us.
I’m not giving up on us.

AGAINST ME! – We Laugh At Danger (And Break All The Rules)

It was a birthday gift
of a Mexican Telecaster
And from this day on I will play along
to all my young pioneers records
And there will be a poetry
spoken silently between me and the stereo
I’ll work mornings
and you can work through the night
Mary, there is no hope for us
If this GM van don’t make it
across the state line
we might as well lay down and die
Because if Florida takes us
we’re taking everyone down with us
Where we’re coming from (yeah)
will be the death of us
And I cannot help but hold on
to a handful of times
when what was spoken
was a revolution in itself,
and what we were doing
was the only thing that mattered
And how good it felt
to kill the memory of nights spent
holding your shirt for the smell
I heard you used to cry
when you made love to him
but this band will play on
Because all we can do is what we’ve always done.
And on and on and on…

A-HA – Barely Hanging On

I used to be so sensible on my own
Now I’m so sensitive it’s a joke
I’m getting by on decibels like a drug
And greet every brand
New day with a shrug

I’m barely hanging on

I used to be so comfortable in a suit
Almost presentable next to you
I used to be so confident in a crowd
Now I can’t say my own name aloud

I’m barely hanging on

And now I guess you’re
Wondering why
We never could see eye to eye
Oh but never mind
And now I guess it’s hard to see
What has gotten into me
Oh but never mind

I’m barely hanging on

AGAINST ME! – We Did It All For Don

Please tell me why we couldn’t stay
Don’t let this feeling ever go away
Let this memory forever be inside of me
Through every hour of every day
It’s with the company of these friends
That we drove on through the night
We were carried by the wheels of armageddon

We’re gonna force ourselves to live
Thankful it’s hurt more than we’ve ever felt
It’s just our means to an end

Please tell me why we couldn’t stay
Don’t let this feeling ever go away
Let this memory forever be inside of me
Through every hour of every day
It’s with the company of these friends
That we drove on through the night
We were carried by the wheels of armageddon

And honestly we were armed with our best intentions
Maybe those intentions alone
are just enough to get us anywhere but here
In the middle of America
Six cylinders will take us further than any president
The same promises that we forgot the last time
There’s no difference between staying and a bullet in the head

So fucking tell me why we couldn’t stay
Don’t let this feeling ever go away
Let this memory forever be inside of me
Through every hour of every day
It’s with the company of these friends
That we drove on through the night
We were carried by the wheels of armageddon

Maybe it’s gonna come from the radio
Or the next 8 hour day
Driving to the next town
A collect call home to your best friend
We are the company we keep
We could live off of dumpsters if we have to
Sell our blood by the pint to make rent
This kind of dignity doesn’t come easy
But you’ll never find it for sale

And that’s why we couldn’t stay
But never let that feeling ever go away
Kept to memory, inside of us
Through every hour, through every day
Until we die
It’s with the company of those friends
We drove on through the night
Behind the wheels of armageddon

AGAINST ME! – Walking Is Still Honest

Dear mother,
This is just survival.
Cannot promise your children everything,
But you would lie so they can sleep tonight.
Defeat tasted nothing like you said.
Still 22 days left till the end of the world.
My legacy was making you a man
For a justice I could not change.
This is one voice not to forget;
“Fight every fight like you can win;
An iron fisted champion,
An iron willed fuck up.”

Can anybody tell me why God won’t speak to me?
Why Jesus never called on me to part the fucking seas?
Why death is easier than living?
You can be almost anything
When you’re on your fucking knees.
Not today,
Not my son,
Not my family,
Not while walking is still honest,
And you haven’t given up on me.

Dear shithead,
This isn’t happening;
The sky is really falling,
The paint’s all made of lead,
There’s asbestos in the walls,
Hell’s coming to rip off the doors
To your priveleged heaven.
Do you want to love and feel it?
You can look but you can’t taste it.
You can reach but you’ll never have it.
We are untouchable;
Untouchable is something to be.

Can anybody tell me why God won’t speak to me?
Why Jesus never called on me to part the fucking seas?
Why death is easier than living?
You can be almost anything
When you’re on your fucking knees.
Not today,
Not my son,
Not my family,
Not while walking is still honest,
And you haven’t given up on me,
And you haven’t given up on me,
And you haven’t forgotten me…

AGAINST ME! – Wagon Wheel

Headed down south to the land of the pines,
I’m thumbin’ my way into North Caroline
Starin’ up the road,
Pray to God I see headlights

Oh, I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin’ me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I’m a hopin’ for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

Runnin’ from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time string band
My baby plays the guitar
I pick a banjo now

Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin’ me now
Lost my money playin’ poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain’t a turnin’ back
To livin’ that old life no more

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

Walkin’ to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly
Had a nice long toke
But he’s a headed west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee

And I gotta get a move on fit for the sun
I hear my baby callin’ my name
And I know that she’s the only one
And if I die in Raleigh
At least I will die free

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

AGAINST ME! – Violence

Lock the door, to your room.
Pray they don’t find us, pray they don’t kick it down.
Oh you’ve been keeping secrets,
and these kind of lies have consequences.
So many possibilities for this to all end badly.
It’s almost guaranteed.
Nothing but shame and paranoia.
A slightly desperate feeling to calm you to sleep.

What could we have done to deserve the violence like this?
What could we have done to deserve the violence like this?

And we’ll watch the light, coming under the door.
Listen for footsteps coming down the hall.
Are you gonna wake up screaming through a slit throat?
Young flesh searing on a twin mattress.
But it doesn’t have to be, the way things end.
We don’t have to give up just yet.

What could we have done to deserve the violence like this?
What could we have done to deserve the violence like this?

AGAINST ME! – Up The Cuts

I can’t sleep.
Dry red eyes wide open.
Stare at the white stucco ceiling.
I turn on the TV,
watch music on television.
Have I heard this song before?
Did this already happen?
Derived influence in style of dress.
Similar trends in camera technique and editing.
Sync up the cuts to the bass drum kick.
All the taste makers drinking from the same glass.
Is there anyone thinking what I am?
Is there anyone thinking what I am?

Are you restless like me?

All the insiders rumor over the decline in sales.
All the buzz is happening in the new digital market place.
FBI warning printed on the flipside.
Under penalty of law piracy will be prosecuted.
In MRR someone asks the question,
“With the instant availability of information
and content so easily obtainable
is the culture now a product that’s disposable?”
All the punks still singing the same song.
Is there anyone thinking what I am?
Is there any other alternative?

Are you restless like me?

AGAINST ME! – Untitled

You tell me actions all that I, could ever do or say,
And me and my jealousy have stole your songs and passed them off as my own.
As much as I would like for it not to show,
You can smell the stink on my breath and in my clothes, its so obvious.

If I could only be, half the things you write about in your songs,
If I could only mean half as much to anyone.

And in my arrogance I write, pages of anger, hate and spite,
All of the reasons I have to trust, absolutely no one.
Today I heard you on my stereo, and it shamed me, and it shamed me to think,
That I could be so unoriginal.

Well I could only be half the genius that you are.
To feel such honest one, to show love. I would show you love.

Well if I could only feel half as resolute in my beliefs.
If I could only sing with such bravery.
I cannot explain how much you mean to me.
Without your words I would be lost.

AGAINST ME! – Un-thought Of Heros

Where are we going to be? It’s getting so hard to remember to feel. Struggling more and more to recall six minutes worth of a dream, you forgot when you woke up. Died-in-the-wool to last, for the sake of Christ you ask,”What am I to do?” Who is there to trust with one leg already six feet deep? Fighting the current of man’s existence of the conciousness you can’t fucking grasp. To give, or to take for yourself? Another night spent in silent rage, set against. Set against yourself.

Un-thought of heros.

Poured out and flowing over, at the same time bottled up, then pissed out. Company of misery; introspect of the fool, to your dreams you shed a distant effort. While you rid the sense of mobility and shatter all that could set you free. Never could set your hands on comfort in the wars end being your own personal revenge. Yet escaping every sense of consequence. No this is nothing personal; this is just who I am. Another night spent in silent rage, set against. Set against yourself.

Un-thought of heros.

AGAINST ME! – Unsubstantiated Rumors Are Good Enough For Me (To Base My Life Upon)

[Spoken:] It’s getting warm.

I don’t wanna talk about it,
I don’t think you’d understand,
How things can get so fucked up
With such good, good intentions.
And if roofs turn to sky,
Held by the gravity of nothing,
An ironic and literal making of a bed.
You can walk away~,
But there is a reason to stay.

They make bad, bad jokes, it’s okay not to laugh.
For every push forward, you get the same fucking push back.
You had nowhere to go,
So you found someplace,
You had nothing to say
You start lying

What the fuck were you thinking
I’m not sorry
I’d do it all again.
All the lines between hate, love, and revenge
It’s just dead, it’s dead, it’s dead, they’re just dead feelings.

AGAINST ME! – T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)

The party’s over
A CD skipping
It’s the same hook repeating
Grows more grating with each passing second…

And the walls contain a resonation, laughter, and conversation.
It was fun while it lasted, but now we should be going.
I hope everybody had a real, real good time
The hospitality’s partaken, my head is flying my heart’s racing to keep up.
And I hope I haven’t overdone it nooo…
I hope my body can take it. I hope I make the occasion.
It’s only this fucked up.
I start realizing all this living is just dying
and if these are my friends, if this is my home,
if this is how i spend my nights, how I communicate, and demonstrate a love of life.
My eyes roll into the back of my head, if these are the last words that I’ve ever said
No I’m not ready to die just yet.

AGAINST ME! – Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners

Everyone’s a critic, but hey they really respect your talent.
Have your manager call my manager, and we’ll make records together.
At this level of success in entertainment, there are certain connotations.
It’s a “you give we take” relation.
No the kids wouldn’t understand it.
Come on now, how long do think this is really gonna last?
How long can you hold their attention before they move on to the next band?
On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?
On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?

Coordinate the marketing, label, publicity, touring.
Consult on, timing and presentation.
Go ahead put this in context.
It’s 3 points on production, 15% to management,
10% to the agent, 5% to legal representation.
We call it our insurance plan to stretch the inevitable as far as we can.
Gotta make your money while you got the chance,
do whatever it takes to sell it.

On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?
On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?
(Let’s go)
Just how desperate can we be?
Go buy our record and see.
Just how angry can we seem?
Go buy our record and see.
Just how fucked up can it get?
Go buy our record and see.
Just how much can we bleed?
We’re completely irrelevant on LP and compact disc.

On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?
On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?
On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?
On the inside.
On the inside.
On the inside.
Do you wanna know how it feels on the inside?

AGAINST ME! – Turn Those Clapping Hands Into Angry Balled Fists

Sleep on pillows made in Singapore
Wrapped in comforters
Sweating through sheets
Drinking coffee in the morning
Floating on Airplanes across the vast seas

And your house is made of wood
Central air, central heat
You got your furniture of particle board
Your doors are locked for, for safety

And you walk in leather shoes
Pants of denim, a black cotton sweatshirt
And you do what you do
because doing can start to form a habit

And you drink all night long
And you sleep through the morning
And if something doesn’t break
I’m just gonna go, go fucking insane

And you sweep up the floor when it’s dirty
You do the dishes, when the sink’s full
And when the refrigerator’s empty
well it’s time, it’s time, it’s time, it’s time to go the store

You put your books on a shelf
Clothes arranged in the closet
You hang the things on the wall that you don’t wanna be so easily forgotten

I hate these songs
I hate the words
That the singer is singing to me
I hate this melody
I hate this stupid fucking drum beat

But I’m not gonna tell anyone
What I’m really thinking about
Keep them conversations on the surface
Just keep on smiling
Just keep on saying
Everything’s gonna be alright
It’s gonna be alright [x2]
Alright [x11]

AGAINST ME! – White Crosses

I wake up in the morning and I drink from the fountain.
I wake up in the morning with the same unanswered questions.
I don’t know what’s going to cure my unsettled stomach.
Street kids collect spare change in a conch shell on the side walk;
their teeth are yellow, their hair is tangled.
Their minds are vapid and they laugh wild in their depravity.

I’ll make my way back home to you, head north on San Marco Avenue.
White crosses on the church lawn, I want to smash them all.
I want to smash them all.

Pony tails swinging back and forth behind beach blonde college girls out for a jog.
Saint Augustine, shine your light down on me!
Pop hits from the 90′s echo out of tourist filled bars.
I am met with arms crossed under dirty looks, I am treated like a common thief.

I’ll make my way back home to you, head north on San Marco Avenue.
White crosses on the church lawn, I want to smash them all.
I want to smash them all.

Eaves-dropping in on conversation, I wander aimless leering at strangers.
Strung out on the amphetamines that you gave to me.
Eye-balled with suspicion by a pencil skirt in high heels,
you realize that you’re talking to yourself.
Cannon fire explodes out over the bay.

I’ll make my way back home to you, head north on San Marco Avenue.
White crosses on the church lawn, I want to smash them all.
Looking for context and perspective, looking for some kind of distraction.
White crosses on the church lawn, I want to smash them all.
I want to smash them all.