1.    Leaders And Followers

2.    Markovian Process

3.    Mediocrity

4.    News From The Front

5.    Out Of Hand

6.    Running Fast

7.    The Dodo

8.    Universal Cynic

9.    Waiting For The Fire

10.  The Fast Life

11.  Lose As Directed

12.  Pretenders

13.  Queen Of The 21st Century

14.  Follow The Leader

15.  Dream Of Unity

16.  Shattered Faith

Leaders and Followers (Graffin)

There's the image of a man
who commands a high opinion
And he hides his hatred with a sheepish grin
And beside him flanking closely
are the boisterous hollow masses
who lap up whatever trickles in
This intercourse of nature,
this vulgar social pastime,
reflects the lowest mark of our progress
And the few who ride peripheral
maintain subtle advantage
fighting hard to abstain and redress
Tell me do you know your place
in the big parade?
Are you more than they?
Leaders and followers
Leaders and followers
Recognition by proximity
And a brand new face
Just a smidgen of success pie
and a pinch of social grace
You can play with the big boys
or you can tell them what to do
but sooner or latter there's another one like you
The voyeuristic public
of which we're all a part
maintains perspective on the human play
And while many have desires
of joining in the show
many turn and go the other way
Tell me do you know your place
in the big charade?
Are you fear and shame?

Markovian Process (Graffin)

You will all say that I am surely crazy
Only an unrepentant pessimist whose thoughts should be detained
But facts are sterile, not vulgar nor sublime
And they're not religion, they're for everyone
And signify the times
Today is a window, tomorrow the landscape
All you need to do is take a look outside
To know what we're bound to face
The level of disparity
The common man
The manner of destruction of the native land
The poverty of reprisal from all involved
And the scathing trajectory from the past
Markovian process lead us not in vain
Prove to our descendants what we did to them
Then make us go away

Mediocrity

I've spent my life observing and then pondering this place.
And never has confusion ever ceased.
I've also heard a lot of exaltation for our kind
and sanctimonious reverence for peace.
The stories from our childhood condition us to think
that beauty is a basic human trait.
But how are they reconciled with daily realities
like poverty and dominance and rape.
But you have to be
stone cold dead
not to see
overwhelming incongruity.
As we search for some vestige of remedy
mediocrity Mediocrity Mediocrity.
If you just sit back
and record what you see
the tragic and exquisite
are the same to some degree.
But most events depict a common theme
there's far more disorder
than there is harmony.
I'd say you've got to be
stone cold dead
not to see
overwhelming incongruity.
It is pointless to search for teleology.
Mediocrity Mediocrity Mediocrity......

News From The Front (Gurewitz/Bentley/Schayer)

Blood is a river,
Flowing darkly amidst the tangled roots of the tall shining city
Crazy flowing man tide migrations
Engorge the big ventricle of heartbroken America
So many heaven hoping, hopeful groping breathers
All tap together quietly and desperately in unison
Hey, hey, hey, is anybody listening?
News from the front
News from the front
We're living in troubled times
So many fighting for their lives
Why do the troops despise the news from the front?
Ignorance is the root of fear
Fear is the kindling of anger
War is the bringer of shame
But never has the burden lain so heavily upon the victim
Rage and desolation
Pain and loneliness
Isn't it all alarmingly familiar?
Hey, hey, hey, silence is a killer
News from the front
News from the front
Yeah these are troubled times
How many more will have to die
Before the governors can't deny the news from the front?
Break down the barriers, ally the carriers,
What is your motivation? Take a good look in the mirror
News from the front
News from the front
So many are fighting for their lives
How many more will have to die?
Why does the government decry the news from the front?

Out Of Hand (Graffin)

Don't wanna have to take your shit anymore (I finally decided that) 

Life is way too short 

The dripping of the hourglass, the tiny grains of sand, 

it beckons me like gravity, like signposts on the land, 

and you got what you wanted without force or reprimand, 

The seconds are all running out, this burden's out of hand!

Running Fast (Graffin)

How would you like to be my friend?
I thought this trip would never end
I've been away for a long long time
I couldn't wait to see my home again
'cause I'm running' fast from the world out there
you know I'm running' fast from the world out there
Ever since I ran away long ago
I never had much money to show
for what I have contributed to humanity
I feel satisfied with them believing me alone
You know I'm running' fast from the world out there
Yeah I'm running' fast from the world out there
There's things to be said for good but mostly bad
Just keeping my distance from the freaks makes me glad
And I'm trying my best to instill what was here before
but I better get a move on
'cause I'm running' fast from the world out there
'cause I'm running' fast from the world out there
Yeah I'm running' fast from the world out there
You know I'm running' fast from the world out there

The Dodo (Graffin)

I see a white haired man, he's got a suit on hand
he's telling people how they're supposed to live
nobody's listening to the politician
no matter what sage advice he has to give
He's got a clumsy, outdated m.o.
and he's come to a fork in the road
as we watch our foundations erode
there is only one direction to go
It's the way of the dodo
such a noble destiny
it's the waltz of desperation
passed along to you and me
The way of the dodo
(it's the gray stuff in your head)
(it's the pulse of the living and the voices of the dead)

The Universal Cynic (Graffin)

Catch a shooting star and put it in your pocket
then your skin will start on fire
One bird in the hand, or two birds in the bush
neither do you any good, when you're stuck in the quagmire
Show everyone you're not sure that they're telling he truth
then you can be known as the universal cynic too
Benefit your fellow man with good deeds for the day
and you'll serve your life away
pennies saved today are pennies still tomorrow
strewn upon the desk, piled up in the paper weight
Show everyone you're not sure that they're telling the truth
then you'll be known as the universal cynic too
wipe your opaque eyes and restore your crystal vision
turn another cheek and exalt in your decision
a bit of exercise for the universal cynic in you
Early to bed, and early to rise
precludes you from seeing the most brilliant starry nights
sticks and stones can break bones, words can't really hurt
unless you carry guns, and are hungry for a fight
Challenging the standards, or questioning the established rules
trying to understand how they can benefit you
showing everyone you're not sure that they're telling the truth
just a bit of exercise for the universal cynic in you

Waiting For The Fire (Graffin/Gurewitz)

two young lads on distant shores
tending to the riggers of their daily choice
their parents told them what's going on
and they're waiting for the fire
two young lads on distant shores
tending to the riggers of their social noise
the news will tell them what's going on
and they're waiting for the fire
waiting for the fire
the heat is rising and their tongues are getting drier
The culmination of an ancient tire
they are waiting for the fire

The Fast Life (Graffin)

The silent stray inertia
No burden on my back
No determinance, no ballast
No chance of looking back
It doesn't matter what's ahead
It's time I'll hit it hard
No fixing my position
No sign of retard
It's the fast life
There's nothing I can do
The fast life
Suck it in and follow through
The fast life
Just learning as I go
You might call it careless
but this fast life
is all I've ever known
Like a wispy feather
Defying gravity
Or a rolling cobble
in the middle of the stream
Propelled by a ghost force
that never shows his face
Increase the ante
of this perpetual pace
It's the fast life
There's nothing I can do
The fast life
Suck it in and follow through
The fast life
Just learning as I go
You might call it careless
but this fast life
is all I've ever known
Ever since the day
I came out of the womb
my head was always bouncing
off the walls in the room
Always scratching gravel
Covering new ground
No matter how hard they tried
they couldn't pin me down
It's just the fast life
There's nothing I can do
The fast life
Suck it in and follow through
The fast life
Just learning as I go
You might call it careless
but this fast life
is all I've ever known
Yeah it's all I've ever known

Lose As Directed (Graffin)

Little girl's eyes open wide
Two ways to go but you can't decide
Follows all rules, has no say
Ends up in somebody else's play
Close your eyes cause you just don't need them anyway
Lose as directed, don't take no chance
Don't hinge your life upon circumstance
Mystery and misery go hand in hand
So you better follow the master plan
Don't use your head, lose as directed
Little boy sitting in his master's arms
Safe and protected from any harm
Wants to be a man, wants to branch out
But he's told not to ask questions or doubt
Close your mind, it's a book of instructions now
Lose as directed don't take no chance
Don't hinge your life upon circumstance
Mystery and misery go hand in hand
So you better follow the master plan
Don't use your head, lose as directed
Lose as directed
Let's go!
Monkey see, monkey do
Just another animal in the zoo
Got four wall security
Never even have to read a recipe
But it's not exactly what you would call free
Lose as directed, don't take no chance
Don't hinge your life upon circumstance
Mystery and misery go hand in hand
So you better follow the master plan
Don't use your head, lose as directed
Lose as directed
You lose!

Pretenders (Graffin)

I give to you, you take from me
We live in perfect harmony
But I know you can't give me what I need
With subtle care and rosey hues
We duke it out, we change our views
We hold so dear our unanimity
Oh...
We are just pretenders
We are just pretenders, lost in this charade
We are just pretenders, characters on stage
We are just pretenders, trying to break free
We are just pretenders, hiding so no one sees
We try to find our peace of mind
Just a vestige we left behind
But ignorance takes far less energy
And if you please, I'll look to you
Because I need somebody who
forgives me for my harsh reality
Oh...but
We are just pretenders
We are just pretenders, we're trying to break free
We are just pretenders, we'll lose them easily
We are just pretenders, trying to break free
We are just pretenders, hiding so no one sees
You standing there
playing with your hair
Trying to ignore
but peeking in the mirror
Re-living the scenes
from books and magazines
Craving the life
you live in your dreams
And I'm standing here
Thinking that it's queer
But fearing that I am the same
You ask me how I feel
It's so damn surreal
I think it's finally time we ended this game
'cause we are just pretenders
We are just pretenders, lost in this charade
We are just pretenders...

Queen Of The 21st Century (Graffin)

From the time she could crawl she was all draped in macrame
She was preened and redeemed in a church that tried to show the way
She was taught to never ask for more
They had no idea of what she had in store
She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a ghost of what her parents thought a little girl should be
Analog heart, analog nerves, analog brain
but a fixture of the digital domain
From the time she could read she could see that there was urgency
No debate, just a spate of ignorance in a splintering community
She could never meet their expectations
Then she came to symbolize the nation
She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a shred of what her parents thought a little girl should be
Steeped in spite, coddled in fear, drenched in novelty
but masterful at sensual technology
She's the queen, no rules in her empire
She's the queen, just libido and desire
She's the lean, mean, fighting machine, the stuff of modernmedia lore
And she always knows the score
She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a ghost of what her parents thought a little girl should be
Fallen star, Black and Blue
Broken hearts, Wasted Youth
Rusted cars, twisted roots
Mental scars, the ugly truth
She's the queen of the 21st century
and she's a modern day polemic
a walking controversy
She's the queen!

Follow The Leader (Graffin/Bentley/Schayer/Baker)

A loose cannon on your shoulder
You've got a strawberry on your hips
And you've got some phantasmical images
And you've got, you've got your rich hips
Because, you're all looking for adventure
And you've got earphones on your bicycles
There's people watching over
And you got a bong in your pocket
Follow the leader (4x)
Put some leader on the tape
Give batman back his cape
Don't ask for a sucker
You stupid mother fucker
I've got a lot of problems
'Cause I sound like Beck
What I do over in Germany
Is order a lot of Speck
You know what I'm talking about
When you go home for dinner
You gotta keep on your shoulder
Follow the leader (4x)
We're not the Foo Fighters
On Saturday, we like our grinders
If you go home for pizza
You kiss mother Theresa
She is in her coffin
Lady Diana's coffin

Dream Of Unity (Graffin)

I had a dream of Unity
Where we would work side by side
But today I see that it's only me
Just trying to get by
Sometimes we strive, undeterred
To walk as one toward our goal
But as people stray toward more selfish ways
We see we have no control

Shattered Faith

The scientist purported that there ain't no purpose
and the theologian told me that it's all been designed
and I'm trying to maintain objectivity
The world won't illuminate what really matters
and I'm an imperfect modal/moral meaning extractor
processing the complexity
Born of the Earth (Are we blind?)
We weren't given a choice (There's no way)
What about free will? (What we have)
Do we have a voice? (Is shattered faith)
See them run in place (Here and now)
in the human rat race (No reward)
So much dead weight (No debate) to our disgrace (Accept your fate)
Life begins when you accept your fate
Paralysis from forces raging out of control until
my confidence and will are at an all-time low
Just directionless wandering
Eternal life, eternal truth, eternal secrets
Isolated hopes and hypotheses just
Leave me feeling so hungry
Born of the Earth (Are we blind?)
We weren't given a choice (There's no way)
What about free will? (What we have)
Do we have a voice? (Is shattered faith)
See them run in place (Here and now)
in the human rat race (No reward)
So much dead weight (No debate) to our disgrace (Accept your fate)
Life begins when you accept your fate
Right or wrong,
the main criterion is what you do and not what you say
The roads you take, the friends you make and those you throw away
The method is a simple synthesis of the past and present state
You never lose if the path you choose is one you can easily navigate
I had a dream, light and carefree
But now there's doubt and gravity
But I won't run in place (Are we blind?) in the human rat race (There's no way)
I can set the pace (What we have) and accept my fate (Is shattered faith)
Shattered faith (Here and now)
Shattered faith (No reward)
the part of me (No debate) I can't erase (Accept your fate)