All Ages

hey brother Christian with your high and mighty 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?
I want to conquer the world,
give all the idiots a brand new religion,
put an end to poverty uncleanliness
and toll promote equality in all of my decisions
with a quick wink of the eye and a "god you must be joking"
hey mister 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
I want to conquer the world,
expose the culprits and feed them to the children,
Do away with air polution, and then I'll save the whales,
we'll have peace on earth
and global communion . . .

Do What You Want [Live] (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

hey, do what you want, but don't do it around me
idleness and dissipation breed apathy,
I sit on my ass all god damn day
a misanthropic anthropoid with nothing to,
say what you must, do all you can,
break all the fucking rules
and go to hell with superman
and die like a champion
hey, I don't know if the billions will survive,
but I'll believe in god when one and one are five
my moniker is man and I'm rotten to the core
I'll tear down the building just to pass thru the door.

You Are (The Government) (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

hey, sit down and listen and they'll tell you when you're wrong,
eradicate but vindicate as "progress" creeps along,
puritan work ethic maintains its subconscious edge,
as old glory maintains your consciousness
there's a loser in the house and a puppet on a stool,
and a crowded way of life and a black reflecting pool,
and as the people bend the moral fabric dies,
then country can't pretend to ignore it's people's cries
you are the government,
you are jurisprudence,
you are the volition,
you are jurisdiction,
and I make a difference too.

Modern Man (Graffin)

I've got nothing to say,
I've got nothing to do,
all of my neurons are functioning smoothly
yet still I'm a cyborg just like you,
I'm one big myoma that thinks,
my planet supports only me,
I've got this one big problem:
will I live forever?
I've got just a short time to see,
modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
modern man, pathetic example of
earth's organic heritage
when I look back and think,
when I ponder and ask "why?",
I see my ancestors spend with careless abandon,
assuming eternal supply, modern man . . .
just a sample of carbon-based wastage,
just a fucking tragic epic of you and I.

We're Only Gonna Die

early man walked away as modern man took control
their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was his goal,
so he built his great empire and slaughtered his own kind,
then he died a confused man, killed himself with his own mind
go!
we're only gonna die from our own arrogance.

The Answer (Graffin)

long ago in a dusty village,
full of hunger, pain and strife,
a man came forth with a vision of truth,
and the way to a better life,
he was convinced he had the answer,
and he compelled people to follow along,
but the hunger never vanished,
and the man was banished,
and the village dried up and died,
at a time when wise men peered,
through brass tubes toward the sky,
the heavens changed in predictable ways,
and one man was able to find,
that he had thought he found the answer,
and he was quick to write his revelation,
but as they were scrutinized
in his colleagues eyes,
he soon became a mockery,
don't tell me about the answer,
cause then another one will come along soon,
I don't believe you have the answer,
I've got ideas too,
but if you've got enough naiveté,
and you've got conviction,
then the answer is perfect for you
an urban sprawl sits choking on its discharge,
overwhelmed by industry,
inclined toward charity,
everyone's begging for an answer,
without regard validity,
the searching never ends,
it goes on and on and on for eternity.

Flat Earth Society (Mr. Brett)

lie, lie, lie . . .
the full moon is rising over dark water
and the fools below are picking up sticks
and the man in the gallows lies permanently
waiting for the doctors to come back and tend to him,
the flat earth society is meeting here today,
singing happy little lies
and the bright ship humana is sent far away
with grave determination . . .
and no destination, lie, lie, lie
yeah, nothing feels better than a spray of clean water
and the whistling wind on a calm summer night,
but you'd better believe that down in their quarters
the men are holding in for their dear lives,
the flat earth society is somewhere far away,
with their candlesticks and compasses
and the bright ship humana is well on its way
with grave determination . . .
and no destination, lie, lie, lie, ad infinitum.

Against The Grain (Graffin)

three thousand miles of wilderness
overcome by the flow,
a lonely restitution of pavement,
pomp and show,
I seek a thousand answers,
I find but one or two,
I maintain no discomfiture,
my path again renewed,
against the grain,
that's where I'll stay,
swimming upstream,
I maintain against the grain
here labeled as lunatic,
sequestered and content,
there ignored and defeated
by the government,
there's an oriented public who's magnetic
force does pull,
but away from the potential of the individual,
against the grain . . .
the flow is getting stronger
with smaller increments of time and eddies
of new ideas are increasingly hard to find,
you need all that the other has,
your right to seize the day
but in all your acquisitions you will soon
be swept away,
against the grain . . .
there's a common consensus
and an uncomfortable cheer,
a reverberating chorus that anyone can hear,
it sings "leave your cares behind you,
just grab tenaciously",
this lulling sense or purpose will
destroy us rapidly,
against the grain . . .

Generator (Mr. Brett)

like a rock, like a planet,
like a fucking atom bomb,
I'll remain unperturbed by the joy and the madness
that I encounter everywhere I turn,
I've seen it all before,
in books and magazines,
like a twitch before dying,
like a pornographic sea,
there's a flower behind the window,
there's an ugly laughing man,
like a hummingbird in silence,
like the blood on my door,
it's the generator
oh yeah, oh yeah, like the blood on my door,
wash me clean and I will run until I reach the shore,
I've known it all along like the bone under my skin,
like actors in a photograph,
like paper in the wind,
there's a hammer by the window,
there's a knife on the floor,
like turbines in darkness,
like the blood on my door,
it's the generator.

Anesthesia (Mr. Brett)

everybody is talking about the girl
who went and killed the delivery man,
but she looks so kind and gentle,
it just doesn't stand to reason,
I saw her right there just the other night
as stately as a slot machine,
but when she looked my way something mad
as hell came over me,
anesthesia, Mona Lisa, I've got a little gun,
here comes oblivion,
I never loved you, how did you find me?
the cops will never complicity now, anna . . .
all good children go to heaven!
I remember your face that august night
when we lied about the beautiful time to come
and that crazy old man who came much to late
and caused a chain reaction,
I've been hanging out there for eleven long years
like a church mouse where the cat has gone,
and looking at you now
is driving me to distraction.

Suffer (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

did you ever see the concrete stares of everyday?
the lunatic, the hypocrite are all lost in the fray
can't you see their lives are just like ours?
an unturned stone, an undiscovered door
leading too, the gift of hope renewed,
eternity for you,
the masses of humanity
have always had to suffer
the businessmen whose master plan
(controls the world) each day,
is blind to indications of his species
slow decay
people blow their minds
(they choose to resign),
this deformed society is part
of the design it'll never go away,
(it's in the cards that way),
the masses of humanity
will always have to suffer!

Faith Alone (Graffin)

heard a sermon from a creaky pulpit with no one in the nave,
I paid a visit to the synagogue and I left there feeling blame,
no one could tell me what to do,
no one had the ability to answer me,
what the world needs now is some answers to our problems,
we can't buy more time because our tender isn't valid,
if your soul needs love you can get consoled by pity,
but it looks as though faith alone won't sustain us anymore,
watched the scientists throw up their hands conceding,
"progress will resolve it all",
saw the manufactures of earth's debris ignore another green peace call,
no one could tell me what to do,
they had not the capacity to answer me,
what the world needs now is some accountability,
we can't buy more time because time won't accept our money,
if your soul needs love you can always have my pity,
but it looks as though faith alone won't sustain us no more . . .

No Control (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

culture was the seed of proliferation
but it has gotten melded into an inharmonic whole,
consciousness has plagued us and we can not shake it,
though we think we're in control
questions that besiege us in life
are testament of our helplessness,
there's no vestige of a beginning,
no prospect of an end
when we all disintegrate it will all happen again,
time is so rock solid in the minds of the hoards
but they can't explain why it should slip away,
history and future are the comforts of our
curiosity but here we are rooted in the present day
if you came to conquer you'll be king for a day,
but you too will deteriorate and quickly fade away,
and believe these words you hear
when you think your path is clear . . .
we have no control,
we do not understand,
you have no control,
you are not in command.

21st Century (Digital Boy) (Mr. Brett)

I can't believe it,
the way you look sometimes,
like a trampled flag on a city street,
oh yeah,
and I don't want it,
the things you're offering me,
symbolized bar code quick id,
oh yeah,
I'm a 21st century digital boy,
I don't know how to live (or read)
but I've got a lot of toys,
my daddy is lazy middle class intellectual,
my mammy's on valium,
she's so ineffectual,
ain't life a mystery?
I can't explain it,
the things they're saying to me,
going yayayayayayaya,
oh yeah,
I tried to tell you about no control,
but now I really don't know,
and then you told me how bad you had to suffer,
is that really all you have to offer?

Atomic Garden (Mr. Brett)

everybody wants do dance in a playpen,
but nobody wants to play in my garden.
I see the hippies on an angry line,
guess they don't get my meaning,
I'm enchanted by the birds in my blossoms,
I'm enamored by young lovers on the weekend,
I like the Forth of July,
when bombs start flashing,
and I wish I had a shiny red top,
a bugle with a big brass bell would cheer me up,
or maybe something bigger that could really go pop!
so I could make the gardening stop
come out to play, come out to play,
and we'll pretend it's Christmas Day
in my atomic garden
all my scientists are working on a deadline,
so my psychologist is working day and nighttime,
they say they know what's best for me,
but they don't know what they're doing,
and I'm glad I'm not Gorbachev,
'cause I'd wiggle all night,
like jelly in a pot,
at least he's got a garden with a fertile plot,
and a party that will never stop,
I hope there's nothing wrong out there,
I'm watching from my room inside my room.

No Direction (Graffin)

a sullen figure walks along a dusty road,
his life was holy and he couldn't bear the load,
he left his people and simple life behind,
he raised his torso and looked into the sky,
shouting his questions, looking for directions,
"what do I do now?"
now a confused schoolgirl 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's looking for something,
and they assume somebody else knows what it is,
no one can live without the decisions of their own,
it seems so they look to someone else,
to tell them what to do,
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.

Automatic Man (Graffin/Mr.Brett)

he's the latest super hero with powers so profound
he can leap a dotted line in just a single bound,
I know you must have seen him in books and magazines,
he's the quintessential mindless modern epicene,
his life is meaningful because he get things done,
bang bang he's dead
chalk up another triumph for our hero,
the automatic man
it's true you must have met him, he's your best friend and your foe,
his opinions are determined by the status quo,
a true creature of habit, he smokes three packs a day,
when he has an original thought he forgets it right away
he's a paradigm of carefree living,
he's our mentor disturb him if you can,
he's the answer if your peace of mind is lacking,
he's our savior,
he is the common man
so if you are troubled by the daily bump and grind,
then take a careful look around your brother
you will find . . . the automatic man.

Change Of Ideas (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

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 rosy hues
for we don't wish to admit what it is
we have to lose
millennia 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're 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.

Sanity (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

there's a watch in my pocket and its hands are broken,
the face is blank the gears are turning,
confusion is a fundamental state of mind,
it doesn't really matter what I'm figuring out,
I'm guaranteed to wind up in a state of doubt,
and sanity is a full-time job,
in a world that's always changing,
and sanity is a state of mind that you believe in,
sanity
there's a shadow on the wall where the paint is peeling,
my body's moving forward but my mind is reeling,
depression is a fundamental state of being,
it doesn't really matter how my day has turned out,
I always end up living in this world of doubt.

Walk Away (Mr. Brett)

shut off the TV and peel off those Sunday gloves,
and I'll stain the clean that you've been counting,
old Mr.. Fletcher passed by here today,
after 40 years of toil he just up and walked away,
fantastic the panic that showed in his eyes,
he shrugged when I asked him about it,
he said "young man pay heed, you listen well to what I say,
now there comes a time for a man to walk away",
walk away, I'll be a parade,
and I'll be determined that no one shall dissuade on my way,
I'll sure take some time to burn all the bridges that I'm leaving behind,
he passed by again and he was shivering from the cold,
I'm not sure but I think that he was trying,
he told me about the weather and something old to pay,
"but tomorrow", he said, "I'm gonna surely walk away".

Best For You (Graffin/Mr. Brett)

Above us lay the burdens,
Below us lay the truth,
We're somewhere in the middle,
And we're all discontent too
Is someone watching over you?
Inside, they know what's best for you
Judgments not tomorrow,
It's today (yes, now it's here),
But no it isn't Jesus,
Take a look at all your peers,
They're all looking down on you,
Inside they know what's best for you . . .
Everybody knows what's best for you,
Everybody knows what's best for you,
Everybody knows what's best for you,
Everybody knows . . .

Fuck Armageddon . . . This Is Hell [Live]

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
We're living in the denouement 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.