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1. |
Wake Up
04:25
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Wake up, the day's begun
Reach out and take the sun
Shine it on the face of a sweet dream and make it come true
Wake up the whole world is waiting for you
Deep breath and hold it in
Breathe out and make it spin
Right up to the top of this great big impossible view
Wake up the whole world is waiting for you
We can't make a move without you
We can only dream about you
Wondering what you're keeping behind those big baby blues
Stand still and settle down
Dig deep and find the ground
Walk right to the edge with your eyes wide and take in the view
Wake up the whole world is waiting for you
Wake up the whole world is waiting for you
Wake up the whole world is waiting for you
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2. |
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Ten thousand seven hundred days
We've been accident-free
Practice my confident face
My pod's depending on me
Working hours fill the day
Spending credits when we stay
at home
So long since anyone has seen
Out past the edge of our zone
One of the friendlier machines
Says I should leave it alone
But I wonder anyway
About some things I shouldn't say
What if Kurzweil doesn't make it?
What if all the switches get stuck on destroy?
When the shuttle goes, we won't take it
When the final counter-measures are deployed
All we'll have is all this time
All we'll have is all this time
All this time
Reds for focus, blues to not get upset
Wasters and complainers get what they get
All eyes watching, no one's noticed me yet
I'll tell the secret if I speak
It's what I'm smiling about
I keep it tucked into my cheek
Til it's safe to spit out
Things are stranger than they seem
Now I remember what I dream
What if Kurzweil doesn't make it?
What if all the switches get stuck on destroy?
When the shuttle goes, we won't take it
When the final counter-measures are deployed
All we'll have is all this time
All we'll have is all this time
All we'll have is all this time
All this time
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3. |
Solid State
02:52
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Used to be the stars were too far away
Used to be the world didn't have much to say
Coming in close and talking at the same time
Small mistake, terrible crime
Using up the air, trying to set yourself on fire
Everybody there pushing into one thin wire
But it's better than solid state
Never look small, but don't get too large
You gotta let go, or you won't stay in charge
Everything's fine, but nothing's really okay
It's all messed up, it's better that way
Everyone one you know, crooked little numbers game
Where you gonna go? Everywhere it's all the same
But it's better than solid state
Watch them rise and fall (one after another)
Don't forget to follow through
You learn after all (take care of each other)
Who it hurts and how it ends, how far it goes, it all depends on you
Used to be the world was too far away
Used to be the stars didn't have much to say
All this time, and everybody's still sad
We've still got whatever we had
Everything the same, rubbing up against your skin
Everything you planned, sinking as the tide comes in
But it's better than solid state
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4. |
Brave
02:57
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Good things never last long when you've
Come to expect them
The whole world is doing it wrong and I
Can't not correct them
Slack-jawed sheeple with their eyes closed
As if I don't already have
Enough to do
There's too many of you
More than I can save
When I torch the place
Cover up my face
That will make me brave
That will make me brave
Heroes, we pay a high price, there's a
Girl who ignores me
Good guy, I used to be nice, now I
Hate til it bores me
Small-time pitiful rebellions
I'm here, puckered up, sucking on these
Sour grapes
Filling in the shapes of
Shadows in my cave
When I torch the place
Cover up my face
That will make me brave
That will make me brave
You speak and presto-change-o, great—
Now I'm the bad one
Your manifesto's strange, oh, wait—
You don't even have one
Sunlight is kicking up dust as I
Stare down the morning
Who's left? There's no one I trust and I'm
Sure it's a warning
Up late, measuring the harm done
My heart hardening, counting up the
Lonely nights
And all the little slights I'm
Taking to my grave
When I torch the place
Cover up my face
That will make me brave
That will make me brave
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5. |
Square Things
03:09
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I love the shape of square things
But in my defense
Right at the edge is where things
Started to not make sense
Inside the cube you're spinning
Colors slide into place
Just when you think you're winning
You mix up a different face
Then you wish for
Bigger fish or
Just some other thing
So you cast her
In your disaster
Yes, it hurts, but only when you sing
Like your heart is broken
Bruise at the softest touch
Best leave the rest unspoken,
Who wants to care that much?
Here's your chance, kid
Look what you did
How could I complain?
At the world's end
With a new friend
Getting high on the same old dumb champagne
Still me, quiet as a grave
I could play dumb
Walk away from
What might be something I could save
Take my chances
Circumstances won't change me much
God forbid you
Leave the grid, you
Know you must disclose
That's your one strike
What's it feel like?
Soft and round, but sometimes even those
Things are shaped like square things
Corners where you can hide
Sometimes you can't repair things
Everyone choose a side
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6. |
Pictures of Cats
02:47
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All at once it fills up my feed
More bad news that I didn't need
I can't stop reading but I wish that I didn't know
Still too soon there's not much to say
They don't know, they talk anyway
All of the pieces and none of the places they go
So I am looking at pictures of cats
I am looking at pictures of cats
Too close, so I'm pretending I'm far, far away
Not now, I didn't want to be useless today
Find your feet, bend at the knees
Hold your breath, these things come in threes
Try me tomorrow, today has been laying me low
So I am looking at pictures of cats
I am looking at pictures of cats
I am looking at pictures of cats
I am looking at pictures of cats
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7. |
Ordinary Man
03:50
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After it happened, when all the smoke cleared
How did it feel to you, did it seem weird?
Such a charmed life, nothing ever mattered
Everything was yours to take
One mistake, and
Everything fell apart, everything changed
Sitting there bleeding out, isn’t it strange?
When they hit you, you can feel them hit you
Weaknesses they all can see
Just like me
Now your heart’s all done
But your head won’t let you run
You’re dying where you stand
All this “wait and see”
All this “what will be will be”
That sounds like the plan
Of an ordinary man
You say no one tells you the ending
But it ends this way
You can take it back if you want it
But it might be over anyway
Haven’t you done enough saving by now?
Can’t they take care of each other somehow?
All the questions: is it really over?
Is he gonna take the fall?
Worst of all, you
Start to think maybe they’re right about you
Maybe it’s over now, maybe it’s true
And you know you’re never gonna stand up
Be who you’re supposed to be
Just like me
Cause your heart’s all done
But your head won’t let you run
You’re dying where you stand
All this “wait and see”
All this “what will be will be”
That sounds like the plan
Of an ordinary man
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8. |
Robots.txt
03:15
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Half the day to clear away the day before
Stand and stretch and turn to catch the light
Walkabout, work it out
More or less a second guess, a little more
Breath and take the time to make it right
Make it spin, fill it in
Shapes on shapes, wasted time
Pointless points along a line
Head down, straight on, you’ll be fine
Once you thought that waiting ought to be enough
Keep the pace, you’ve got to chase it down
Try and then try again
Do your best ignore the rest, you leave it rough
Once you know you’ve got to go to ground
Anyway, another day
Shapes on shapes, wasted time
Pointless points along a line
Head down, straight on, you’ll be fine
Shapes on shapes, wasted time
Pointless points along a line
Head down, straight on, you’ll be fine
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9. |
Don't Feed the Trolls
03:10
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Lucy had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell
Lucy went to heaven
She still felt like hell
And so she only gave it two stars
Worst place ever
She’s the kind of person
Anyway, she tries
Always disappointed, so she never feels surprised
When she is always disappointed
She holds my hand like I’m a barbed wire fence
Dance like they’re watching you
Because they’re watching you
And when the bright lights find you
Don’t let your heart get lazy
Keep all the worst behind you
That stuff will make you crazy
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
Hello operator
Please give me number nine
And if you disconnect me
I think that would be fine
Because all I can hear is talking
So much talking
Appreciate the outrage
I did the best I could
I thought about your think piece
I don’t think it’s any good
And anyway I didn’t read it
Who writes this stuff? Because it makes no sense
I just checked my privilege
And it looks fine to me
And when the bright lights find you
They’re gonna shine right through you
Keep all the worst behind you
Don’t let the words get to you
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
The flies are in the meadow
The bees are in the park
The girls and boys are kissing
As we stumble in the dark
And we don’t have a lot of time left
You clutch your chest, you fake a heart attack
Laugh it up, nothing looks good on me
Somebody called, they want their something back
I’m not a piece of meat
I guess I’d like to be
And when the bright lights find you
Bro, come on bro, don’t taze me
Keep all the worst behind you
That stuff will make you crazy
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
Don’t read the comments and don’t feed the trolls
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10. |
Your Tattoo
02:41
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Black and blue
Every time I lean into you
You think the words don’t mean what they do
Killing me so slow
So it's home instead
Memorize your scars in the bed
Making me see stars in my head
Baby, you don’t know
One rough summer and too much sun
The lines get blurry and the colors run
And the red bleeds out with the blue
A secret in the shape of the way it hurt
Planning an escape from beneath your shirt
Do you know I love your tattoo?
Your tattoo
Your tattoo
You were there
Little sparks and wire in the air
Everything on fire everywhere
Punishment and crime
Black and white
That’s keeping me up late every night
Thinking I can’t wait but I might
Everything in time
Gray gives way to the deepest black
Promises you made and can’t take back
When you look too long you see through
Over on the edge where the ink is thin
Coming up close against your skin
Do you know I love your tattoo?
Your tattoo
Your tattoo
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11. |
Ball and Chain
03:21
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Did you say it was black tie?
I lost a button, but it fits just fine
Remind me what time
Do you kids still high five?
Cool Dad is fun, cool Dad’s your favorite guy
Watch me on the floor
Ball and chain what would I be
Without this weight that’s pulling me
Down and out and back again?
Don’t ask me
Don’t ask me
So I’m giving you these keys
Ten minutes more no matter what I say
Then the Irish goodbye
And the seat’s up too far
Back roads, I’m spinning with the starry skies
You pour me out at home
Ball and chain what would I be
Without this weight that’s pulling me
Down and out and back again?
Don’t ask me
Don’t ask me
I’m a little bit surprised
I sleep for fifty years and you’re still here
Taking up my side
And the sun moves so fast
Too fast to see, too bright to look too long
I open up my eyes
Ball and chain what would I be
Without this weight that’s pulling me
Down and out and back again?
Don’t ask me
Don’t ask me
Don’t ask me
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12. |
Sunshine
04:38
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We were blind to every sign
That we should have seen
In a clear unbroken line
Machine to machine
Our mistakes were the future
But no one could tell
Long on bitcoin and regret
With not much to show
The roaches took the kitchenette
We just let it go
Walked away as the skyline
Crumbled and fell
We could have stayed
Inside the city the machines had made
But we took our time
Here in the sunshine
Cast the shadow of a world that’s gone
Sunshine
Paint the edges of the road we’re on
Sunshine
Every bit was filed away
The world on a drive
They lost Steve but they got Ray
If he’s still alive
We don’t hear from the inside
Not anymore
When we watch the wall at night
The tops of the trees
Reflect a cold and blueish light
A sudden unease
If there’s nobody left
Then who was it for?
We soldier on
Such a short ride
Light bulbs and batteries are almost gone
Down a steep slide
Watch the world unwind
On the outside
Here in the sunshine
Cast the shadow of a world that’s gone
Sunshine
Paint the edges of the road we’re on
Sunshine
The color of a sky, the shape of a kiss
Everything I have and not what I miss
All this time the world was waiting for this
All the rest have slipped away
Just me and the wall
I won’t last another day
And here where I fall
Marks the end of a great big beautiful thing
And who will see?
Such a short ride
There’s no one left who can remember me
Down a steep slide
But today is mine
On the outside
Here in the sunshine
Cast the shadow of a world that’s gone
Sunshine
Paint the edges of the road we’re on
Sunshine
Cast the shadow of a world that’s gone
Sunshine
Paint the edges of the road we’re on
Sunshine
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13. |
Solid State (Reprise)
02:35
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The crackle and the buzz that makes up that sound
It's breaking up nice, but it won’t break down
Pretty sweet ride, as long as you can hold on
Here right now, and gone when it’s gone
The signal in the noise, the pieces of the world they’ll find
The echo of a choice, the static that you leave behind
It’s better than solid state
It’s better than solid state
One after another
It’s better than solid state
Take care of each other
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14. |
Pulled Down the Stars
02:54
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You dreamed of me
I made a dream for you
And I dreamed that you were in it
I lit up the sea
I pulled down the stars for you
And you made me wait a minute
Spinning in a distant place
For a thousand years
Dizzy when I see your face again
Even though you move so slow
Can you almost see
Anywhere that I might go
You come with me?
You dreamed of me
I made a dream for you
And I dreamed that you were in it
I lit up the sea
I pulled down the stars for you
And you made me wait a minute
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15. |
All to Myself (Part 1)
02:04
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Rise and shine
Heavy head
Drowned in wine
Saved instead
Mine
I want you all to myself
Sun and stars
Dark and day
All is ours
Stay this way
Mine
I want you all to myself
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16. |
All to Myself (Part 2)
02:24
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!
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17. |
There You Are
01:41
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A great remove
A slow decay
The views improve
Several times a day
I observe
As lines of light
Caress the gentle curve
Coming home
Falling far
There you are
There you are
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Jonathan Coulton Brooklyn, New York
Jonathan Coulton is from the Internet. While a struggling music industry fell to pieces, he independently amassed a small army of techies, nerds, and dedicated superfans. He's known for his songs in the “Portal” games, plus an eclectic catalog of masterful songwriting on subjects from zombies and mad scientists to sad parents and dissatisfied software engineers. ... more
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