BAD RELIGION – You

There’s a place where everyone can be happy.
It’s the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world.
It’s made of candy canes and planes and bright red choo-choo trains,
And the meanest little boys and the most innocent little girls,
And you know I wish that I could got there.
It’s a road that I have not found.
And I wish you the best of luck, dear.
Drop a card or letter to my side of town.
Because there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend,
But baby I’m amazed at the hate that you can send and
You… painted my entire world.
But I… don’t have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled.
And I won’t forget it.
There’s a place where everyone can be right,
Even though you remain determined to be opposed.
Admittance requires no qualifications:
It’s where everyone has been and where everybody goes.
So please try not to be impatient,
For we all hate standing in line.
And when the farm is good and bought, you’ll be there without a thought,
And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time.
Because there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend,
But baby I’m amazed at the hate that you can send and
You… painted my entire world.
But I… don’t have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled.
And I won’t forget it.

BAD RELIGION – Voice Of God Is Government

Neighbors, no one loves you like he loves you,
And no one cares like he cares.
Neighbors, let us join today in the holy love of God and money,
Because neighbors, no one loves you like He loves you.
And what better way to show your love than to dig deep into your pockets.
Dig real deep, until it hurts. Alleviate your guilt,
Free yourself once again, because he gave to you, brothers and sisters.
Please give a 10, 25, or 50 dollar tax-deductible donation,
And I assure you your modest pledge will be used to censor TV and radio,
Ban questionable books, and contribute to many other Godly services.
No longer will young Christian Americans hedonistically indulge
In masochistic submission to rhythmic music, for with your monetary support,
There is no end to what we can achieve in this country.
The voice of God is government. The voice of God is government.
The voice of God is government. In God we trust, sinners repent!
(1,2,3,4)
Can’t you see what we believe in, all our thoughts, all our reasons,
Pursuit of life and liberty and happiness we cannot see?
Speak of truth with a mighty voice, but politics are your real choice.
Hire men to change the law, protect and serve with one small flaw.
Voice of God is government. The voice of God is government.
Voice of God is government. In God we trust, sinners repent!
If we shun God and Jesus Christ, religious love is sacrifice.
Love for God is shown in cash, the love they send is mailbox trash.
With every pamphlet we receive, more money asked for Godly needs.
Build a million dollar church, with money spent on God’s research.
Voice of God is government. The voice of God is government.
Voice of God is government. In God we trust, sinners repent!
On late night TV, God can heal, a certain force you cannot feel.
Love for money in God’s name, religion’s now a TV game!
Build a million dollar church, with money spent on God’s research.
Build a million dollar church, with money spent on God’s research.
Voice of God is government. The voice of God is government.
Voice of God is government. In God we trust, sinners repent!
Yeah!
Voice of God is government. The voice of God is government.
Voice of God is government. In God we trust, sinners repent!

BAD RELIGION – The Streets Of America

desolate and without purpose
radiating from so many septic sources
forming the fabric of a wayward people
disappearing as the vestiges of our past

scratched like tartan into virgin soil
a substrate for progress and disarray
a spreading network of broken dreams
searching for a thoroughfare to take us away

just a little tale from the streets of America (say a little prayer)
sparkled promises paved with pathos and hysteria
trenchant, weary native sons
step back
and see the damage done
meander to the horizon (shoot straight to the horizon)
the streets of America

black, tarred concrete
pine for me
lying domant
for you and country
hardened surface
cracked within
catch the sweat
from off the chin

of men and women
senior and child
who look to you
and your sterile miles
and in their stares
is bald dismay
for what you promised
led them astray

hard-cracked, daunting, lifeless veins
false hope corridors to greener pastures is all that remains

Bad Religion – Sorrow

[chordsandlyrics][Em]Father can you hear me?
[C]How have I let you d[D]own?
I [G]curse the day tha[Em]t I was born
And a[C]ll the so[D]rrow in this wo[G]rld
[Em]Let me take you [C]to the h[D]urting gr[G]ound
Where a[C]ll good [Em]men are tra[G]mpled d[D]own
Just to se[G]ttle a [C]bet that could [D]not be [Em]won
Between a p[C]rideful fa[D]ther and his [G]son
Will you g[C]uide me now, for I[D] can’t s[G]ee
A re[C]ason for the su[Em]ffering and this l[G]ong mis[D]ery
What if e[G]very living s[C]oul could be upr[D]ight and st[Em]rong
Well, t[C]hen I [D]do ima[G]gine…

There will [Em]be s[C]orr[G]ow
Yeah there will [Em]be s[C]orr[D]ow
And there will [Em]be s[C]orr[Em]ow, [G]no m[D]ore
W[Em]hen all sol[C]diers lay their w[D]eapons d[G]own
Or when all k[C]ings and all q[Em]ueens rel[G]inquish their c[D]rowns
Or when the [G]only true me[C]ssiah rescues [D]us from ours[Em]elves
It’s e[C]asy [D]to ima[G]gine…

There will [Em]be s[C]orr[G]ow
Yeah there will [Em]be s[C]orr[D]ow
And there will [Em]be s[C]orr[Em]ow, [G]no m[D]ore
[/chordsandlyrics]

BAD RELIGION – Struck A Nerve

There’s an old man on a city bus
Holding a candy cane
And it isn’t even christmas
He see’s a note in the obituary
That his last friend has died
There’s an infant clinging
To his overweight mother in the cold
As they go to shop for cigarettes
And she spends her last dollar
On a bottle of vodka for tonight
And I guess it struck a nerve
Like I had to squint my eyes
You can never get out
Of the line of sight
Like a barren winter day
Or a patch of unburned green
Like a tragic real dream
I guess it struck a nerve
Every day I wander
In negative disposition
As I’m bombarded by superlatives
Realizing very well that I am not alone
Introverted
I look to tomorrow for salvation
But I’m thinking altruistically
And a wave of overwhelming doubt
Turns me to stone
And I guess it struck a nerve
Sent a murmur to my heart
We just haven’t got time
To crack the maze
Like a magic speeding clock
Or a cancer in our cells
A collision in the dark
I guess it struck a nerve
I try to close my eyes
But I cannot ignore the stimuli
If theres a purpose for us all
It remains a secret to me
Don’t ask me to justify my life

Bad Religion – Skyscraper

[chordsandlyrics][Ab]Come [A]let us make bricks and [E]burn them har[B C]d
[C#m]We’ll build a [A]city, with a [E]tower for the [B]world
And [E]climb so we can [B]reach, any[C#m]thing we may [A]propose
[E]Any[B]thing at a[A]ll..

Build me [C#m]up, tear me [B]down, like a [A]skyscraper[E]
Build me [C#m]up, then [B]tear down these [Ab]joining walls[A]
So [E]they can’t [B]climb at [A]all

Ab
[Ab]I know [A]why, you [E]tore it down that [B]day[C]
[C#m]You thought that [A]if you got caught, [E]we’d all go a[B]way
Like a [E]spoiled little [B]baby, who [C#m]can’t come out and [A]play
[E]You had [B]your reven[A]ge

Build me [C#m]up, tear me [B]down, like a [A]skyscraper[E]
Build me [C#m]up, then [B]tear down these [Ab]joining walls[A]
So [E]they can’t [B]climb at [A]all
[/chordsandlyrics]

BAD RELIGION – Punk Rock Song

have you been to the desert?
have you walked with the dead?
there’s a hundred thousand children being killed for their bread

and the figures don’t lie they speak of human disease
but we do what we want and we think what we please

have you lived the experience?
have you witnessed the plague?
people making babies sometimes just to escape
in this land of competition the compassion is gone
yet we ignore the needy and we keep pushing on
we keep pushing on

this is just a punk rock song
written for the people who can see something’s wrong
like ants in a colony we do our share
but there’s so many other fuckin’ insects out there
and this is just a punk rock song
(like workers in a factory we do our share
but there’s so many other fuckin’ robots out there)

have you visited the quagmire?
have you swam in the shit?
the party conventions and the real politik
the faces always different, the rhetoric the same
but we swallow it, and we see nothing change
nothing has changed…

10 million dollars on a losing campaign
20 million starving and writhing in pain
big strong people unwilling to give
small in vision and perspective
one in five kids below the poverty line
one population runnin’ out of time

BAD RELIGION – Part II (The Numbers Game)

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
It’s superficial progress, they call it liberation.
With opiates of silicon, Big Brother schemes to rule the nation.
We’re one nation under God, we stand above the rest;
With mighty high technology, we’re never second best.
Our specialty is infiltration!
Prepare yourself for subjugation,
Victory through domination.
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
The trepidatious throngs all fears the big eye in the sky.
The government observes them with their own electric eye.
We’re one nation under God, we stand above the rest;
With mighty high technology, we’re never second best.
Our specialty is infiltration!
Prepare yourself for subjugation.
Automatons, illiterates, and indigents of every shape and size
Don’t stop but aid this cruel crusade, participate in their own demise.
We’re one nation under God, we stand above the rest;
With mighty high technology, we’re never second best.
Our specialty is infiltration!
So pack your bags you third-world nation,
Victory through domination.

BAD RELIGION – No Substance

History doesn’t make something right
Consensus is not a fact-based exercise
You’re tied and bound to this selfindulgent enterprise…
We call America
A brush with a star, a token of love
A name in the sand, enough is enough
A diet of air, a face on the net
A fish your palm, your television set
Once you convince yourself
The universe falls into place
You’ve got your ideas
And your posse of friends
You all make up rules
And the fun never ends
But still there’s a problem that leaves you gasping for air
You look for some meaning, blank smiles are all that’s there
And still water stales a soft summer breeze
You cling to your hopes while your drop to your knees
There’s no substance
Once you convince yourself
The universe falls into place
You’ve got your ideas
And your posse of friends
You all make up rules
And the fun never ends
But still there’s a problem that leaves you gasping for air
You look for some meaning, blank smiles are all that’s there
And still water stales a soft summer breeze
You cling to your hopes while your drop to your knees
There’s no substance

BAD RELIGION – No Direction

A sullen figure walks along a dusty road
his life was holy and he couldn’t bear the load
he left his people and a simple life behind
he raised his torso and he looked into the sky
shouting his questions
looking for directions
“what do I do now?”

now a confused school girl stares at the TV tray
the stresses of maturing compound every day
she glances up to see her favorite video
and gets ideas from Madonna’s nasty clothes
in need of affection
she craves a direction
her heroes offer her

everyone is looking for something
and they assume somebody else knows what it is
no one can live with the decisions of their own
it seems so they look to someone else
to tell ‘em what to be
tell ‘em what to wear
tell ‘em what to say
tell ‘em how to act and think and compel others compulsively
until the world is all like them

a righteous student came and asked me to reflect
he judged my lifestyle was politically incorrect
I don’t believe in self important folks who preach
no Bad Religion song can make your life complete
prepare for rejection you’ll get no direction from me
you’ll get no direction from me
you’ll get no direction from me

BAD RELIGION – I Want To Conquer The World

Hey Brother Christian with your high and might errand,
Your actions speak so loud, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.
Hey Sister Bleeding Heart with all of your compassion,
Your labors soothe the hurt but can’t assuage temptation.
Hey man of science with your perfect rules of measure,
Can you improve this place with the data that you gather?
Hey Mother Mercy can your loins bear fruit forever?
Is your fecundity a trammel or a treasure?
And I want to conquer the world,
Give all the idiots a brand new religion,
Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness and toil,
Promote equality in all my decisions
With a quick wink of the eye
And a “God you must be joking!”
Hey Mr. Diplomat with your worldly aspirations,
Did you see the children cry when you left them at the station?
Hey moral soldier you’ve got righteous proclamation,
And precious tomes to fuel your pulpy conflagrations.
And I want to conquer the world,
Give all the idiots a brand new religion,
Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness and toil,
Promote equality in all of my decisions
I want to conquer the world,
Expose the culprits and feed them to the children,
I’ll do away with air pollution and then all save the whales,
We’ll have peace on earth and global communion.
I want to conquer the world! [x4]

BAD RELIGION – Infected

Now here I go,
Hope I don’t break down,
I won’t take anything, I don’t need anything,
Don’t want to exist, I can’t persist,
Please stop before I do it again,
Just talk about nothing, let’s talk about nothing,
Let’s talk about no one, please talk about no one, someone, anyone

You and me have a disease,
You affect me, you infect me,
I’m afflicted, you’re addicted,
You and me, you and me

I’m on the edge,
Get against the wall,
I’m so distracted,
I love to strike you,
Here’s my confession,
You learned your lesson,
Stop me before I do it again

You’re clear – as a heavy lead curtain want to drill you – like an ocean,
We can work it out, I’ve been running out, now I’m running out

Don’t be mad about it baby,
You and me, you and me,
I want to tie you, crucify you,
Kneel before you, revile your body,
You and me, we’re made in heaven,
I want to take you, I want to break you,
Supplicate you, with thorny roses,
I want to bathe you in holy water I want to kill you,
Upon the alter, you and me, you and me

BAD RELIGION – Fuck Armageddon… This Is Hell!

There’s people out there that say I’m no good,
‘Cause I don’t believe the things that I should,
And when the final conflict comes, I’ll be so sorry I did wrong,
And hope and pray that our lord god will think I’m good.

Countries manufacture bombs and guns
To kill your brother for something that he hasn’t even done.
Smog is ruining my lungs, but they aren’t sorry they’ve done wrong,
They hide behind their lies that they’re helping everyone.

In the end the good will go to heaven up above,
The bad will perish in the depths of hell.
How can hell be any worse when life alone is such a curse?

Fuck Armageddon, this is hell [x3]

We’re living in the denoument of the battle’s gripping awe,
So what’s the use of being good to satisfy them all?

How could hell be any worse? Life alone is such a curse!
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell [x5]

BAD RELIGION – Epiphany

A new age of reason
Brain treason to trick the mind
What good is searching
if nothing’s there to find
We arrive at this place
of no return my brothers
Only to discover that our minds have led us away
so far from the painful truth
of who we are

What’s right is wrong
what’s come has gone
what’s clear and pure is not so sure
It came to me
All promises become a lie
all that’s benign corrupts in time
The fallacy
of Epiphany

Come forth bear witness
see the profit from your loss
Beg for forgiveness
only after you tally the cost
We arrive at this place
of no return my sisters
Only to discover that our values ran us aground
on the shoal in the sea of what
we could be

What’s right is wrong
what’s come has gone
what’s clear and pure is not so sure
It came to me
All promises become a lie
all that’s benign corrupts in time
The fallacy
of Epiphany

If it’s real for me do I have to prove it to you
Why do revelations fade to cold blue untruths
It’s oh so relative
Subservient in total to one’s perspective

What’s right is wrong
what’s come has gone
what’s clear and pure is not so sure
It came to me
All promises become a lie
all that’s benign corrupts in time
The fallacy
of Epiphany

BAD RELIGION – Change Of Ideas

Well the sheaves have all been brought, but the fields have washed away,
And the palaces now stand where the coffins all were laid,
And the times we see ahead, we must glaze with rozy hues,
For what don’t wish to admit what it is we have to lose.
Millenia in coming, the modern age is here.
It sanctifies the future, yet renders us with fear.
So many theories, so many prophecies,
What we do need is a change of ideas.
When we are scared we can hide in our reveries but
What we need is a change of ideas.
Change of ideas, change of ideas,
What we need now is a change of ideas.

BAD RELIGION – Broken

She said
Thanks but I’m broken
I guess
You must have misspoken
What a laugh
I’ve never been chosen by anyone

She was barely a teen
Hanging out in between
Just a part of the scene
With mercurial smile
And incurable style
She was only a dream
How’s that
He didn’t know a thing about
Making love to the kind of girl you read about

He said
I’m bound to be broken
My Daddy bet
That I’d amount to nothing
He won’t let anybody show him anything

He was a troubled child
Had been down for a while
Always kept to himself
No she couldn’t defend
He only wanted a friend
Now he’s made something else
It’s so sad no one saw it coming
The paper said that he hit the ground running

Oh yeah
I know I’m not broken
A little cracked
But still I’m not broken
I wanna laugh but I think that I’m choking on reality

When the
World is turning for you
Don’t turn on me
Who are you here to repair
Well I don’t know what you mean
You could never resist
Glorifying despair
Well now it’s coming to you and I don’t really care

Well I’m not
The kind to insist
You couldn’t have missed
We must co exist
So please listen to me
There is no such thing as human debris

Oh yeah
I know I’m not broken
A little cracked
But dad I’m not so nothing
I wanna laugh
I’m not joking

I’m unbroken
Oh yeah I said I’m unbroken
I said I’m unbroken
A little cracked it’s just a token
I’m really not broken
What a guess I’m unbroken

BAD RELIGION – Bad Religion (Theme Song)

See my body, it’s nothing to get hung about.
I’m nobody except genetic runaround.
Spiritual era’s gone, it ain’t comin’ back.
Bad Religion, a copout, that is all that’s left
Hey Mr. Mime, stop wasting my time,
With your factory precision.
Factory precision is your
Bad Religion, regurgitate
Indecision, it’s not too late.
Bad Religion, Bad Religion.
Ay!
Don’t you know the place you live’s a piece of shit?
Don’t you know blind faith through lies won’t conquer it
Don’t you know responsibility is ours?
I don’t care a think about eternal fires.
Listen this time, it’s more than a rhyme,
It’s your indecision.
Your indecision is your
Bad Religion, regurgitate
Indecision, it’s not too late.
Bad Religion, regurgitate
Indecision, it’s not too late.
Bad Religion, Bad Religion,
Bad Religion.

BAD RELIGION – Them And Us

despite that he saw blatant similarity
he struggled to find a distinctive moiety
all he found was vulgar superficiality
but he focused it to sharpness
and shared it with the others
it signified his anger and misery

them and us
lobbying determined through a mire of disbelievers
them and us
dire perpetuation and incongruous insistence
that there really is a difference
between them and us

hate is a simple manifestation
of the deep-seated self-directed frustration
all it does is promote fear and constrenation
it’s the inability
to justify the enemy
and it fills us all with trepidation

them and us
bending the significance to match a whimsied fable
them and us
tumult for the ignorant and purpose for the violence
a confused loose alliance forming
them and us

I heard him say
we can take them all
(but he didn’t know who they were,
and he didn’t know who we were.
and there wasn’t any reason or
motive, or value, to his story,
just allegory, imitation glory,
and a desperate feeble search for a friend)

BAD RELIGION – 1,000 More Fools

I heard them say that the meek shall reign on earth,
Phantasmal myriads of sane bucolic birth.
I’ve seen the rapture in a starving baby’s eyes,
Inchoate beatitude, the Lord of the Flies.
So what does it mean when your mind starts to stray?
Kaleidoscoping images of love on the way.
Brother you’d better get down on your knees and pay.
1,000 more fools are being born every fucking day.
They try to tell me that the lamb is on the way,
With microwave transmissions they bombard us every day.
The masses are obsequious, contented in their sleep.
The vortex of their minds ensconsed within the murky deep.
So what does it mean when your mind starts to stray?
Kaleidoscoping images of love on the way.
Brother you’d better get down on your knees and pay.
1,000 more fools are being born every fucking day.

BAD RELIGION – American Jesus

i don’t need to be a global citizen
because i’m blessed by nationality
i’m member of a growing populace
we enforce our popularity
there are things that
seem to pull us under
and there are things
that drag us down
but there’s a power
and a vital presence
thats lurking all around
we’ve got the american Jesus
see him on the interstate
we’ve got the american Jesus
he helped build the
president’s estate
i feel sorry
for the earth’s population
‘cuz so few
live in the U.S.A.
at least the foreigners
can copy our morality
they can visit but they cannot stay
only precious few
can garner the prosperity
it makes us walk
with renewed confidence
we’ve got a place to go when we die
and the architect resides right here
we’ve got the american Jesus
overwhelming millions every day
(exercising his authority)
he’s the farmers barren fields
the force the army wields
the expession in the faces
of the starving children
the power of the man
he’s the fuel that drives the clan
he’s the motive and conscience
of the murderer
he’s the preacher on t.v.
the false sincerity
the form letter that’s written
by the big computers
he’s the nuclear bombs
and the kids with no moms
and i’m fearful that
he’s inside me