Against The Grain

Everybody's 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 prove 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 too late and caused a chain reaction,
I've been hanging out here for eleven long years like a church mouse
wondering where the cat as gone
And looking at you now is driving me to distraction,

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 prove complicity now,

Anna..........,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
All good children go to heaven!

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 (walk away) I'll be a parade,
And I'll be determined that no one shall dissuade
On my way (dissuade) 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 he was trying,
He told me about the weather and something old to pay,
'But tomorrow,' he said, 'I'm gonna surely walk away,'

Walk away (walk away) I'll be a parade,
And I'll be determined that no one shall dissuade
On my way (dissuade) I'll take my sweet time,
And burn all the bridges that I leave behind,

Walk away (walk away) I'll be a parade,
And I'll be determined that no one shall dissuade

Let's gather 'round the carcass of the old deflated beast,
We have seen it through the accolades and rested in its lea,
Syntactic is our elegance, incisive our disease,
The swath endogenous of ourselves will be our quandary,

We've nestled in its hollow and we've suckled at its breast,
Grandiloquent in attitude, impassioned yet inept,
Frivolous gavel our design, ludicrous our threat,
Excursive expeditons leave us holding less and less,

So what does it mean?
When we tell ourselves it's only for a while we've been deceived
And it's only for a moment that the treasures of our day
Make life easier to complicate, the treasure thrown away,

I'm so tired of all the fucked up minds
Of all the terrorist religions and their bullshit lines,
Of all the hand-me-downs from all industrial crimes
All the weeping mothers and those who are led so blind,
From the plastic protests and the hands of time
And the pursuit of mirth and all hating kind

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 am 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 myself 'Why?',
I see my ancestor spend with careless abandon,
Assuming eternal supply,

Modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
Modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
Modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
Modern man, pathetic example of earth's organic heritage,
Just a sample of carbon-based wastage,
Just a fucking tragic epic of you and I

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,

'Cause I'm a 21st Century digital boy,
I don't know how to live but I've got a lot of toys,
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual,
My mommy's on Valium, so ineffectual,
Ain't life a mystery?

I can't explain it, the things they're saying to me,
It's going yayayayayayaya, oh yeah,

'Cause I'm a 21st Century digital boy,
I don't know how to read but I've got a lot of toys,
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual,
My mommy's on Valium, so ineffectual,
Ain't life a mystery?
I tried 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?

See I'm a 21st Century digital boy,
I don't know how to read but I've got a lot of toys,
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual,
My mommy's on Valium, so ineffectual,

That's what I yearn for (21st Century digital boy),
Neurosurgeons scream for more (21st Century digital boy),
Innocence raped with napalm fire (21st Century digital boy),
Anything I want I really need (21st Century digital boy),
21st Century schitzoid boy (21st Century digital boy),
21st Century video boy (21st Century digital boy),
21st Century digital boy (21st Century digital boy),
21st Century sofa boy (21st Century digital boy)...

Note: The first four lines in the last stanza are 'stolen from King Crimson'

Flying through a dark prismatic tunnel on a carousel,
The earth is turning and you know it very well,
Your mind is reeling like ten helicopters wheeling
And you're gonna hit the ceiling like a mallet on a bell,

Hey, Blenderhead, they're starting to ask questions,
Your transgressions are a danger flashing sign,
Challenge conventions and radiate your splendor
And feel those flywheels turn your blender... head (yeah)

Tally up the gleaming ventured on a wishing well,
Each shining trinket has a story it can tell,
Your moments pining like those tales all intertwining
Can become the rusted lining of a deep neglected shell,

Hey, Blenderhead, you ask so many questions,
Your confusion's a life-affirming sign,
Break from tradition and carry on with valor
And feel those flywheels churn your blender... head (yeah)

Let's gather 'round the carcass of the old deflated beast,
We have seen it through the accolades and rested in it's lea,
Syntactic is our elegance, incisive our disease,
The swath endogenous of ourselves will be our quandary,

We've nestled in it's hollow and we've suckled at it's breast,
Grandiloquent in attitude, impassioned yet inept,
Frivolous gavel our design, ludicrous or threat,
Excursive expeditions leave us holding less and less,

So what does it mean?
When we tell ourselves it's only for a while we have been deceived
And it's only for a moment that the treasures of our day
Make life easier to complicate,
The treasure thrown away,

I'm so tired of all the fucked up mind
Of all the terrorist religions and their bullshit lines,
Of all the hand-me-downs from all industrial crimes
And the weeping mothers and those who are led so blind,
From the plastic protests and the hands of time
And the pursuit of mirth and all hating kind

It is an S.O.S. sent out telepathically,
Signs of our distress don't allow complacency,
We need restoration now of our integrity
And a drastic bold reminder of our morality,

The rectifying troop is here, the ones we've needed all these years
To stop the heinous wrongdoings and verify our moral benevolence as a people

Operation, Operation Rescue,
They're here to right our fall, they've heard a troubled call,
Operation, Operation Rescue,
You wonder where they come from, but I just wonder why they're here at all,
Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya (x3) Ya-ya-ya-ya

Life ever-after is what they're in business for,
See them brandish the key to their kingdom's door,
It's persuasive, it's a part of you and me
But it's not overwhelming as they wish it to be,

If no one believed in fairy tales, there's nothing they could do but fail
Yet everywhere we look someone is trying to reassure our
moral benevolence as a people,

Operation, Operation Rescue,
They're here to right our fall, they've heard someone's troubled call,
Operation, Operation Rescue,
You wonder where they come from, but I just wonder what compels them all,

Operation, Operation Rescue,
Operation, Operation Rescue,
You may wonder where they come from,
But I just wonder what compels them all,
Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya (x3)

I had a friend who kept a candle in his pocket,
He used to touch it when the wind was blowing high,
I guess it made him feel like he could buck the system
And when it flickered out we laid him down to die,

Turn on the light,
Turn on a million blinding brilliant white incendiary lights, (yeah)
A beacon in the night,
I'll burn relentlessly until my juice runs dry, (yeah)

I'll construct a rack of tempered beams and trusses
And equip it with a million tiny suns,
I'll install upon the room of my compartment
And place tinfoil on my floor and on my walls then I'll

Turn on the light,
Turn on a million blinding brilliant white incendiary lights, (yeah)
A beacon in the night,
I'll burn relentlessly until my juice runs dry,

And I'll burn like a roman fucking candle
burn like a chasm in the night
burn for a miniscule duration,
ecstatic immolation, incorrigible delight

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?