Lyrics: Such Promising Things

1) Floodgates

What do you sing
When someone's captured
Everything you're feeling,
You're feeling the rain,
You're feeling it soak
Into your shoes,
Squishing and completing
This mood that
You found outside,
Soaked to the bone
So you took it inside.
And you thought it would be quite nice,
If only, if only it would dry.

And there it will sit,
Dripping out, bleeding out
Its feelings in liquid form,
Spilling from counters to floors
And soon you see,
It's ankle deep
And all consuming.
Unassuming, yet still
Controlling.
And you thought that would be alright,
If only it didn't make you sigh.

But somehow it feels wrong.
It's not where you belong.
And when it reaches your waist,
You'll know that there's no escape.

I dropped by your house today,
Knowing that I had to say
That sunshine's as good as rain,
Smiles are better without pain.
But you can't hear me,
Up to your ears in misery
That you chose
But didn't know
It could be this
Wet or cold.
And you know that you'd say I'm right,
If only you had the strength to fight.

Then it covers your face,
Mouth full of bitter taste.
Regret, resentment and disgrace
Have made you their resting place.
And with that first icy breath,
You think of you, there's nothing left.

2) Emerald Eyes and Grey Skies

Everywhere I go you know I see girls look just like you,
All dressed up in rainbows with some flowers in their hair
And every time I see these girls I only want to call you
Even though I know I should just talk to them instead.

Born and raised in an awkward sort of way
Some things, you know they'll never change.

Can you spare a precious moment of your oh-so-important time
to take the words that slipped out your sighs
and divide them by their meaning,
to analyze all your short goodbyes
just to see where they are leading?

And since I've got a bone to pick I might as well just tell you
I burned up all the pictures that we took over the years
And if the stars and sky one day decide to crack wide open
I'll wish that I had saved you from the promises I made
And if I meet a patient girl who shares in my frustrations
I'll never have to write another sad song again.

Your emerald eyes reflect grey skies as you stare out your front window.
You know that you need to leave, but you've no idea where to go.
You ask me for answers I once had, I'll just shrug and say "I don't know"

3) The Chronophage


I am too naive to see these tricks up your sleeve.
Your face is a mask, and you wear it so well.
I must believe that I can't see what you mean.
Petty passive aggression leaves such a bad impression with me,

And I don't think you're who I used to see.
Times have changed, we're on different waves,
Separated by vast seas.
Fill that void, let me tell you boy,
I've already tried.

Holding on to our old ghosts,
Oh, God forbid we let anything go.
We sure do love to beat dead horses,
But it's starting to get old.
I know it's not what you want from me.

But lately it seems my share
Is adding up to much less than fair.
And I won't play the righteous fool no more.

4) Modern Machinery

It started out as this tiny idle daydream,
Merely a kind of childish fantasy
of walking away from this modern machinery
before we both split apart at the seams.
And we would dance among the world's oldest trees
Making friends out of potential enemies
And I know it sounds like I'm running away
But the truth is that I finally

Feel like I'm heading home for the first time
And if you have to say that it is wrong,
I've got no more time left for you,
Now leave me be, I've got so much to do

So we hide our smiles and we patiently wait,
Planning for the day of our great escape.
And the liberation we so desperately seek
Will sink into our souls' energies.
Whispering to us all these truths we wouldn't know
If we hadn't decided to just go and
Find our peace a million miles from anywhere,
And it could be yours too if you dare

To leave behind all of your distractions.
Modify every single action.
And perhaps it's not for everyone.
But you and I both know that we're done.

So we hide our smiles and we patiently wait,
Planning for the day of our great escape.

5) Ern Malley's Blues

And she said "If you've got any melodies pent up in your chest well
just let them out before they dissipate"
And you said "It's not so easy to sing my dear when
the whole world seems to drag me down"
And if you always argue and fight, well,
you know you're bound to be proven right.
But will you say I told you so to yourself in the mirror?

The morning after you realize, there's nothing behind your eyes
and that sallow skin you live in, is just an elaborate disguise.
You've gone and left yourself for dead but you're still alive my friend
Now go enjoy it while you can.

And she said "If you've got any memories left inside your head well
don't let them drown in all your misery"
And you're giving me answers to the questions that I haven't asked
you think but don't say, what's the point anyway?
And it's that attitude that's making everything so hard for you
You need something to change your views, Something I can't give you.

And she said "If you've got any dreams left in your heart please baby get out of this town. It'll suck you dry, and I'll wonder why you never took any of my advice. You always look so down, and I hate to see you wearing that stepped on frown. And I know you want to live too, at least as badly as I do, but do you? Do you? Do you?"

I know you'll say that we've got plenty of time to live and explore this world.
And all I have to say to you brother, is maybe we do and maybe we don't.

6) The Devil's Pawn Shop

Well I found half a screenplay
In a row of dusty typewriters.
It read like something I'd seen
At least a million times on every TV screen.

The clerk spoke up from across her desk,
She said you should read the rest,
Yeah you should read the rest.
It will take your breath away
And shake you to your core
With what it has to say.

And then she flashed me the wickedest of smile.
And I caught a glimpse of the devil that dwells inside her.

But I knew I had to read the end.
So she bared her yellowed fangs again.
And said, "Do we have a deal my friend?"

7) Strange Moons

So you came in from the cold,
Cheeks windburned to the bone.

And they almost matched your hair,
The finest color that you could wear.

And our eyes met for the first time,
Across the room your smile shone so shy.

Then I asked your name,
You tell me and then we parted ways.

Yet somehow, you haunt me
In dreams of antiquity.

And your voice is sweet and clear,
The only sound to fill my ears.

And we dance in ballrooms,
In castles under strange moons.

And I call your name,
Like it's the only thing I can remember.

This vision will leave me
By the time that I wake completely.
Small fragments will linger
To be stirred up by your features.

But how I dreamed of you,
Is something I'd like to be forgotten.

Oh how I dreamed of you,
Smiling so sweetly beneath strange moons.

8) Spiders

Snakes and mice are natural enemies,
That's just fine, that's how it's supposed to be.
And all the dolphins in their big glass tanks
Will put on a pretty show for a couple of scraps.
Lions and tigers must be locked in a cage,
Sometimes we teach bears to ride bikes in a parade.
What does that say?

Yet the spiders will have their revenge
On all of those housewives shoving brooms through their webs.
An elephant never forgets
The face of the hunter who shoots down her children.

And all those ants that you step on,
Someday they're gonna step on you.
And all those pretty dogs we keep
Might bite our veins in two.

Watch yourself girl-
It's a savage place out there.
Why should we expect not to find
Evil bones inside?

9) Stick Figures

My days are swiftly becoming years,
I wonder what it is I'm doing here.
Trapped in the same old mess again,
The world tries to teach, but I ignore the lesson.
But I guess I am content enough
To leave things alone tonight

And maybe we're both right to
See the present with a touch of hindsight.
But chasing ghosts has worn out my soul.

I watch these stick figures
Being drawn all across my life, yeah.
Pardon me if I seem bitter,
Never had much to work with here.
Lately these things seem clearer
And I find that they're just basic outlines.
Such promising things with no future.

10) A Leaf's Perspective
(lyrics by Ian Aughinbaugh)

I'm green with envy throughout summer of a life I've had before.
Waiting to shed these colors in favor of ones that suit me more.
I'm green with envy waiting my turn to show the world my most brilliant form.
Declaring my favoritism to a season which holds power and lore.
I will color to flame
And bring about shame
To every dying flower.

11) Epiphany

The sun sets a slow blood red,
Creeping over his weary head.
He opens his eyes to find
The night lurking in tops of trees
And broken buildings.
Rolls over and lights a cigarette,
All the while reaching for his mask again.
And there in the back of his mind,
A tiny question will rise,
"Will it end?"

Curse these endless nights
Of wasting my time cleaning up slime,
Knowing it will be back by sunrise,
I am tired of hiding in gutters
And always hearing people sputter
These half-assed lies and alibis.

And here we see the exact moment
When he became so disenfranchised.
Saw the moment when his whole life came
Crumbling down before his eyes.
And there in the back of his mind,
He wonders if he should have even tried.
"Every moment spent thinking is a moment
Spent not acting," He decides.

12) Lies


This is me washing the grime
Off this soul of mine and
I know that it's only a matter of time
Before it's dirty again, but

If I could be honest with myself just this once,
I have no idea the things I'd say.
The mind is such a fragile construct
In so many ways.

We layer ourselves in all these meanings
That we know can't be.
Donning lies like nooses tied
To drag us to hell.
We'll smile all the way and say "Oh well..."

We can't escape, no we can't escape,
No we can't escape ourselves.
We try and try and try to hide,
But we always find ourselves.
At the source of my frustration,
Misery reigns in extrapolations.
I'm not seeking explanations,
Just some much needed change.

Lately I've felt much too manic,
I scream but you can't hear my panic.
So I bury it deep inside
To braid it in with all the other lies
I've fashioned for myself to live by,
Only one tiny voice asks, "Why?"

13) Cittágazze

We can live here without fear,
If we never grow old my dear.
The streets are bathed in gold,
And specters that eat old souls.
We're safe if we can't see them,
In this city of children.

But sometime, we will have to leave this world behind.

I know that it seems so perfect,
But there's always a catch.
Nothing that we love can stay,
It's all doomed to drift away.
As long as our hearts are beating,
Our youth is receding.

The kids here are as cruel
As the world is so beautiful.
There are beaches with white sand,
While buildings stand abandoned.
In a tower sits a knife
That will bring this world back to life.

Here in the tower of angels
In the middle of gorgeous hell.
Lost two fingers to the knife,
Proving that it's my birthright.
And I screamed, "Oh why me?
I don't want this responsibility."

Come now, let us leave, and fulfill our destinies.