1. |
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This is my fortress, ever cold
Where all my dreams are bought and sold
For pennies and broken hearts,
And trinkets and labored sighs
Try and show yourself around,
And should you track me down,
You'll be picked apart with mild manners and teatime chatter
Before I show you the door.
This is my palace with crystal walls
The stench of spirits fill its halls
With tapestries unfurled,
And silence lays heavy 'round.
Have you something to say,
To incline me to let you stay?
Or will I smile and not until another
Takes your place at the break of a new day?
Try and show yourself around,
And should you track me down,
You'll be picked apart with mild manners and teatime chatter
Before I show you the door.
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2. |
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Forgive me if I seem forward,
But I've not seen you here before.
You've got a look of apprehension about you,
Like you're avoiding some wicked horror.
Your glasses keep slipping down your face
As you bury it in a tattered book.
You've been searching for a quiet place,
But didn't quite know where to look.
Well, if you would humor me,
Have another cup with me,
Well, I'll sit and I'll listen for a while.
And when our ears have had their fill,
Would you hold a moment still,
While I bask in the light behind your eyes?
And when you speak to me now,
It's with all the guile of a poet.
There are galaxies rolling off your tongue,
But you're much too modest to know it.
And as we sit here in our beaten clothes,
And our lack of life's direction,
We throw away our laments for others lost,
Replaced with hymns of friend's conception.
And if your eyes would look through mine,
Please tell me what you find.
And tell me, dear, am I as radiant a sun,
As I found you to be?
And we'll sit amongst the stars,
Venus, Jupiter and Mars,
Made shared sanctuary of the universe in our eyes.
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3. |
Do You Mind?
05:53
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The mattress is cold and damp, my dear
But I don't mind.
And I don't mind the dim light,
I still see you clear.
And I don't mind the way the closeness
Brings out all your little imperfections.
And I don't mind the way we clutched
Each other's hand until they broke, oh, dear.
Throw away your trepidation, there's no need for complication
I'm right here to tell you, "Yes, I mind."
My heart is at your disposal, should you return my proposal
I'll be here to always say, "Yes, I mind."
But do you mind if I slice me open, and
Show you all my ugly innards?
And do you mind if I crash and burn and we'd
Let our tears flow as a river?
Now all is still around us, dear,
There's comfort in your piercing eyes
Might I press my lips to yours,
And together we will rise, and rise...
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4. |
A Bar Scene
05:58
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Oh, what a creep, what a bastard,
Hunched over there with his notebook full of blues
He got a weary disposition
He got no marks upon his shoes.
Oh, what a clean-cut motherfucker,
Drinking whiskey by the pint,
He got something on the inside
That brings this shindig down
What's he mean to say with that stare?
Red eyes, black hair, over there in that chair?
What's he sayin' with that cold, dim glare?
Well, a smoky aura surrounds him now.
Let him chain 'em to his death
All that liquor on his breath?
Yeah, he's surely courtin' death.
Oh, what's he mean to say with that stare?
Red eyes, black hair, over there in that chair?
What the hell's he sayin' with that cold, dim glare?
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5. |
Mantis
04:48
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A sheer clean cut from your wretched hand
Evisceration like you'll never understand
You had your way, you raised the blade
And kicked that sad fucker to the curb.
Well, I been spending so much time these days
Hoping you'll get your past-due comeuppance
But right now, it's me that's gettin' what you deserve.
Ya know, sometimes I wonder, "How did we ever come to this?
All these pieces don't fit, how do I make sense of this?"
I suppose I'll have to learn to be content without closure,
Sick in the head from exposure.
Well, I fought to believe that in my grasp was something real,
But perhaps you were just looking for your next meal.
Oh, what rotten gorgeosity it was to possess what you crave.
Well, no wonder you never came back 'round,
Once the veil was lifted and my rose-colored glasses shattered,
And the last I should expect from you is to be any kind of brave.
Well, I hope your belly is plenty full, sweetie.
I'd hate to have you rear your reptilian head again,
And try as you might to strip the rest of my bones clean.
Or even worse, to see you find another plaything in one of the local boys,
To toy with and drag along by a piece of ratty twine
As if to build a pedestal for yourself atop a mass grave, how obscene!
Once there were days I used to romanticize,
Immortalize you like that old poet did.
View you so vivid in perfect crystal sheen.
But guess what, baby?
You ain't no Suzanne, Marianne,
No Jane and no Lili Marlene.
Is this the truth, dear?
Is this your intention?
Is this the truth now?
Are you paying attention?
Is this the truth, dear?
Are you paying attention?
Are you paying attention?
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6. |
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I've brought out those old laments again
The ones we vowed to burn
Despite ourselves, we couldn't shake
The decay of time's churn
I lay me low in crystal glass
Pull the shades to those who pass.
From naught we built each other
To naught I return
Dwelling in this cesspool,
I repeat what I've learned.
Amongst the filthy tumblers,
I cry, "People ain't no good,"
And broken thoughts circle me like Jericho
And taint my blood
People call, and bells ring,
Bolt the doors, don't let them in
I lay me low in crystal glass,
Wait for all to pass,
And naught come back...
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7. |
Anchors Away
08:16
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I sat slouched in that old shop on the corner
Endless dead-eyed 9-to-5-ers shuffle 'cross the floor
My cup was empty, 'twas my third
"Aw, hell, what's one more? (Eh?)"
That girl Mary, behind the counter
Still stuck in this hole, slowly dying by the hour
She saw me, her eyes ignited, face no longer stone
She was glad to see me, but more concerned I was alone
And I,
Saw her face switch poles
As she,
recounted days of old.
And with a warming smile,
She wished me the best.
And with a light in my eye,
I comfort a newfound friend.
Do you remember how we were still,
And the world rushed all around,
And now here we are, swept up in its gale.
I like to think that one day,
Our winds will blow us by,
And if only for a moment, we'll stop and lower our sails.
And I walked out of that shop,
Started walking down that old street,
Got to the corner and then stopped,
The concrete weak under my feet.
And I looked back and saw all those dead trudging out the shop,
Sobbing and raging and without a moment of reprieve.
Then I looked down at myself and shuddered, turned the corner,
I'll take a sick day today, remember how to breathe.
And I strolled,
Alongside the Ghost of Things Long Past.
And I climbed,
To the top of my mast.
And I nearly choked as the gusts came through,
But I held my perch and gazed out at all the images,
Of things I once held dear, but have long since disappeared,
And on the wind I could hear...
Do you remember how we were still,
And the world rushed all around,
And now here we are, swept up in its gale.
I like to think that one day,
Our winds will blow us by,
And if only for a moment, we'll stop and lower our sails.
And I looked around for the source of sound,
Scanned the horizon for their flowing sails.
I listened close, but only silence fell now.
Dusk had come quick, so I descended back down.
And my feet hit the concrete once more,
And I walked back from whence I came.
And crawled back into that hole that I'd come to call home.
I'll set sail at dawn again.
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Twice As Bright
Twice As Bright is a musical project created by Michael Thomas Johnson. It is loosely autobiographical, and explores themes such as love, isolation, mental illness, intimacy, and memory.
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