Category LYRICS

people tell you what they want, what they want
and people tell you what you need, what you need
and the way they say to you what you want, what they need
is supposed to somehow say who you ought to be

if i told you what i want, what i want
oh, would you run away from me, from me?
and would i let that change what i see, what i see
if you ran away from me?

chorus
o, let your light shine bright for a moment
just let your light shine bright for a moment with me
o, let your light shine bright for a moment
if you just let your light shine bright

i will tell you what i want, what i want
and i will let you say what you need, what you need
to the best of your ability
would you tell me what you need?

chorus

new jim crow
where we wanna go?

you know that man jimmy
took that boy to jail
made it so his mama
never make his bail
you know in that jailhouse
ain’t no room to rock
once they shut that door on you
make sure it stay locked

then that old man jimmy
came up in my bed
taxed me twice for lovin’
listen what he said:
“in my righteous nation
one thing you should know
i decide what you deserve
bible tells me so”

now that old man jimmy
came up in my hood
shut down all the factories
for a greater good
letter from the courthouse
trying to take my home
never saw that trickle down
now i’m on my own

Verse 1
It is raining in the south
taste of oil in my mouth
been smellin it for days
and the tide is cashing in
all that dirt we’re diggin in
we wagered in a craze

prechorus:
and the puddle gets bigger
not little by little
i’m telling you it grows
and the sea gets thicker
and your heart beats quicker
and everybody knows
everybody knows

chorus:
that there is one patch of sky
the needle of its eye
you only see it when it rains
and there’s a single spot of sea
touched the greed of you and me
you only see it cuz it’s gone

postchorus:
and the birds of a feather
they’re all stuck together
they can’t fly away
you say it’s not here in my way
i can go about my day
it’ll all be okay
if it’s not here in my mind
i can leave it far behind

verse 2:
now the clouds are rollin in
let the hurricane begin
d...

There’s a load I was born to carry
Yea, I was born to town this line
Until I take that lonesome ferry
You’ll find me holding this piece of mine

On this road, this road less travelled
A constant stranger and fool am I
Under my feet, just dust and gravel
Over my shoulder this piece of mine

My true love, she smelled of cotton
Her skin of honey, her lips of wine
Empty words are ne’er forgotten
And empty pleasures kill more than time

For seven long years she would not marry
For seven years she was not kind
Her youthful breath my hands did bury
Her heart for no one if not for mine

If these long years could pass more gently
If true love were truly blind
Cold hard eyes could ne’er resent me
And leave me holding this piece of mine.

Piece of mine, lord, piece of mine
Yea, I’ll be holding this piece ...

Suffering and alive
This mind of mine always feels so heavy
Suffering and alive
This mind of mine it is so empty
Searching for a life
Or a line to walk through
To find something real
That feels just like this mind of sorrow

Suffering and alive
This world of mine sometimes seems so hollow
Created to abide
Not given a mouth but still asked to swallow
And you could swallow all the lies,
Let them take you by surprise
Or climb upon the clouds and
Wait for your sun to rise
You could stampede all the earth
Just to wind up in the dirt
Or fall asleep again and again and again
You are dreaming But like the sun
You are gleaming

And I cry
I’m alive
I can’t hide
I’m alive

You could foresee all the lies
From the twinkle in your eye
You could ride out and meet t
The formidable fleet
You could stand up an...

Hollow, haunted river full of mud
Where the beat of the sunlight beats out your blood
The grass breaths steam and the ground sinks low
There are those who still remember we must heed the flow

Filthy, dirty waters keep our deathly stink
And ferry it to those who have no relief
Pity was not born of me take my shit to the sea
Never to return again until it rains down on me

Well, life is full of the unexpected, the unwanted
But to the river none is left behind

Chorus
So where’s it going
Where’s it growing
Where’s it been?
Towards the end, my friend
Where we’ll all be swallowed, chewed and spit out again

Hey, where’s it going
where’s it growing
where’s it been?
Towards the end, my friend
Where no matter who you are we’ll all be children once again

Suffice it to say I could bury you today
For wh...

you’ve gotta story to tell,
why don’t you tell it?
it could have wings,
you’d only have to speak it to see
the world is waiting to turn, you’re in it
but you just can’t help
but make it all about you

do you think you know what you want
but cannot have it?
know who you are,
but don’t really like what you see?
well you can take what you need or leave it
if you can’t make up your mind just
shut up and sing
chorus

everyone’s got a reason
to fear the future;
afraid to die,
we go out of our way not to live
now you could get a good
handle on tomorrow
but sometimes life just
writes the song without you

you tell them
you’d rather not be in the picture
you come to the show,
but don’t ever stay very long
you want the whole world
to think you’re special,
but when you’re lost
in your own lies just
shut...

there’s a quiet space inside you that is tender
and its solitude will sink you like a stone
everybody likes to tell you it gets better
’cause they all have tender spaces of their own

and they’d rather do anything but remember
when they knew that space was eating them alive
so they sometimes have to empty out their corners
but that somehow leaves you no place left to hide

so you think maybe with your life
you can buy back your illusions
maybe in your time
you will turn towards what’s to come
and maybe in a dream
you will stumble upon something
that is more than what it seems
more than what it seems

so sleep baby, sweet baby
sleep baby, slumber

i once heard a song that rocked me like a cradle
but its whispers make me shiver in my bones
they remind me of a place i’ll never get to
to a time be...

Daddy you sure showed me how to be a model citizen
I found out how to get out everything I need from within
Too bad you only see through the barrel of your gun
I wish you had a wider view but am I the only one?

We’ve turned our dream into our machine
Which is working for the rich
We profit off our neighbor’s cancer
And it works until we’re sick
We must begin again so our children can
Work for more than this
But who will we look to, will we look to you? we look up but

Chorus
We will never be as tall as our fathers
And our resolve will never be as firm as his hand
No i may never be as tall as my father
But was he such a big man?

Your flag is always red, isn’t red the color of blood?
Your rag is always wrung dry, even in a flood
Your empty pockets bulge, i don’t understand the reason why
Ther...

you should know by now
this shit drives me crazy
sinner or saint, it’s all the same to me
i tried to tell you once or twice
in no uncertain terms
long as i live, i intend to breathe

show me what your good book is for
cause i don’t wanna fight anymore
if it were today,
would i see what you’d betray me for
all the little monsters in your head
could just be the lies you’ve been fed
can it really be
you can’t feel me here beside you

look up from the page
and try to hear me say that it’s alright
i’d swallow my rage
if you would hear me say that it’s alright
we’re more than the cage
you put us in, but then again
it doesn’t matter friend, we’ll be alright

i realize your life thus far has been a beast of burden
weight of the fallen on your shoulders
as far as i can see right now is as good a time ...