1. |
One Idea
04:10
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I’ve had this idea that’s carried me far
In pursuit of happiness, love and peace of mind
It’s all I need
I have been waiting just to feel desired
Or to finally decide that I’m
In the wrong place
An uncertainty there may always be
In your eyes - In me
Just serves to show we’ve still so much to see
But you still don’t know
And you just don’t see me in your life
A simple idea says there you are
On my mind, with one of your own kind
So what are we?
As you are fading in and out of sleep
I struggle just to keep
From kissing your face
Such certainty I may never find
On your lips - On mine
When you sing to me, your voice rings in my ears
For all these years
I’ve kept you here in mine when I sing:
“Embrace the moment - Live today
Follow your heart, come what may”
I’ve told myself, “If something or someone else
Comes my way, I will entertain
A change of plans,” so here I am
This one idea may be
A philosophy for the blind and naïve
But you’re not as stubborn or as easily deceived
As me
Our time is waning and I want to stay
Though I know exactly what you’ll say:
“Give me space”
An uncertainty I may always be
Under you - Over me
Soaring on high, you’re a bird without legs
Afraid of heights
I’m just a fool who begs for you to land
“Please land... Please land... Please land...”
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2. |
The Art of Change
05:36
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Come out from inside this blinding spell
We’ll show you just how far you fell
From the truth
We, the stubborn few who see through your shell
Still know who you are far too well
And so should you
(If you’ll) quit trying so hard to be some kind of hero
You might just learn how to save yourself
From you
You’ve trained to hide what you can’t sustain
Painting pride onto your own face
You’ve squandered love to keep your heart safe
You’ve wandered too far out of range
Your heart is caving in under its weight
Don’t strain your eyes if you cannot see
Where you’ve been and where you’re going to be
What isn’t now isn’t real
Just don’t forget your lucky stars
When you forgive these ugly scars
I swear they’re going to heal
So you won’t have to abandon your heavy heart
If you are brave enough to fall apart
You can rebuild
You struggle hard to arrange your fate
A brand new start or a change of pace
But you’ve yet to master the art of change
You hold steadfast
But your heart is caving in
Under the pressure of its own weight
All these albino lies with blood-red eyes
They’ve never seen their own faces in the mirror
But if they tried, they would surely find
Proof of a stalemate with their interiors
Take a look at yourself - Start from the inside out
You’ve been trying too hard
Just look inside yourself - You’re finding out
You were caging your own heart
If you never master the art of change
Your life will pass in the heart of change
Your heart is caving in
Under the pressure of it’s own weight
So let it change
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3. |
Short Fictions
05:46
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A war is what I’ve become
Between impulse and hesitation
You are among the lucky ones
You see your path and destination
And I am just an option
To be found or forgotten
Along the way
Tell me the truth
You know my words are worth only what they mean to you, in sooth
So tell me what is it to you?
You know these organs work only because they think they see the future
Why don’t you throw them a blender?
I’d rather be an honest puddle than a paramour pretender
Letter returned to sender
“Out of sight - Out of mind” never sounded so absurd
I’ve grown jaded from
One-sided conversation
I should have known such fierce affection
Could only yield fleeting infatuation
Was it all an apparition?
Was it fuel for short fictions
Thrown away?
I was singing stream of thought
While you were drinking all the words straight out of my kiss
Now I’ve been thinking quite a lot
Your silence stings in recollection of that momentary bliss
Was it everything you sought
Just a clandestine amour for a one-time tryst?
Something you found and then forgot
So conveniently, rewound within the sound of the smile I miss?
A clean reciprocation (It’s all I ask)
Just a little information
And I’ll be on my way
I weathered your tides, baiting closure
How the current comes and goes (How it ebbs and flows)
Unfettered goodbyes are hard enough to give to those who’ve
Hidden their hellos (I’m left in the throes)
Inventive white lies pander in the guise of pretty lines
Like, “I don’t kill so easily”
When you’ve severed all ties from what candor could’ve neutralized
Like bonafide nepenthe
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4. |
Hourglass Architects
07:06
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Like grains of sand - We spiral and twist
Inside the hourglass - Our precious moments pass
Our lives, like strands - They form a double helix
As we entwine and clash - We’re born and die so fast
If we could slow - The sands of time
We wouldn’t have to measure moments - In the blinking of an eye
If we could know - Our future’s design
Do you think we’d even notice - As our lives passed us by?
We are the fools - Cheated out of our own lives
Procrastination is the culprit - Suicide is the crime
What good are dreams - That are born dead inside your mind?
If you were living in the moment - You would’ve brought them all to life
If we controlled - The hands of the dial
Could we manipulate our signals - Synchronize heart and mind?
Like a metronome - We’d calculate and reconcile
Our cadence and our silence - To quantize our lives
Let’s build a tool - With which to measure our lives
By our intention and our spirit - Redefine the flow of time
It’s our task - Our first, last and one attempt
To live in the past - The present, and the future tense
We are, at last
Consciousness - Manifest
Hourglass architects
It’s our prize - Our first, last and only chance
To give and compromise - Our worth with our expense
We comprise
The quantum - The infinite
Hourglass architects
If we let go - As our clocks unwind
Give to the infinite inertia - Incessant beating of time
Can we then grow - To recognize life’s
Rhythm, like the spinning of Earth - In birth and death, coincide?
These lives are lent - We never owned the time we spent
Squandering sleep like it’s on credit - Just to repay the debt in death
Although it seems - That we are helpless to expand
The walls we’ve built around the present - All is perception in the end
When we invent - A device inside which is kept
Every instant against infinite - We might reclaim the lives we’re meant
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5. |
A New Race
05:30
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Tell me you’re suffering
It’s self-inflicted
These self-fulfilling prophecies abound
Just turn the volume up and your ego down
Music can medicate
If art is a refuge for the willing
It’s a prison cell
To any who refuse to listen well
It’ll lock you up or knock you down and out
In a good way; you’ll see
Abandon your blues
We’ll choose a song and sing it loud
Just lose ourselves and let the sound
Envelope our wounds
In this medicine
Within the rhythm underneath our skin
This vexing notion
Is an illusion
Profound delusions that none on Earth are bound
Too self-consumed and proud to heed the crowd
Let the sound permeate
Try singing along; it’s therapeutic
Let it out!
One in a collective voice, aloud
It’ll lift you up and show you your insides
It’s a good place to be
Let the music be the womb
We’ll wrap ourselves inside the embrace
Of a sonic cocoon
We’ll reinvent ourselves; birth a new race
(Unite!) Let’s reincarnate
Invent cathartic rituals
(Unite!) Let’s meditate with
Music as the mantra
We’ll celebrate this transient life
Music as medication - Music as regeneration
Music as a meditation - Music as reincarnation
Let the music be the womb
The melody a mantra that can liberate
Like a sonic cocoon
We’ll reemerge as leaders of a new race
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6. |
...in a Smile
03:24
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I’ve been singing
But I don’t think you’ve heard a sound
I’ve been falling
‘Cause I don’t know which way is down
Now I’m digging
I’ll try to meet you underground
With an answer to your frown
In a smile
I’ve been scrawling
When I know there aren’t words enough
I call this climbing
Though I don’t know which way is up
A voice is calling
Sweet siren, guide me to the top
With a chance to fill my cup
Just for a while
I’ve been chasing dreams
That are far bigger than us both
I’ve been burning bridges
That never had a chance to grow
I am lacing strands between
Those who come and those who go
And those whom I’ll not ever know
I’ve been coping
But I am only blood and bone
I’ve been searching
But I can’t suss it out alone
I am hoping
Someday I’ll find myself at home
With an answer to your love
In a smile
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7. |
Hope City
05:16
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Almost as though you’ve lost something before it was ever there
You lust for what was prophesied - What can’t be seen
So certain that you’ve nowhere to go from where you are
You’ve given up before you’ve tried - Get off your knees
The truth is buried deep inside
The remnants of an open mind
But the gates of the city are barred
It hesitates in fear of a future that’s already come
There’s a tacit agreement that flows through a river
A fire in the lungs of gravity
There’s a symbiotic rhythm pulsing through my veins
Reminders in the air I breathe
You panic as if we’ve gone too far before we’ve gone anywhere
Yet it seems we’ve crossed the Rubicon - We must press on
Fool, I wonder if you even know what and where you really are
You seal your heart and close your mind - Let down your guard
The proof is burning in the prize
It’s crashing down faster than realized
Razing the walls of a stolen city
A favor it only wishes it knew how to welcome
These strands of hope entwine and unravel
They bind us in the lives we lead
There’s a code in the cadence of these busy streets
It says, “welcome to the city”
You were always here - You’re only waking up
Spread like veins across the landscape of your own flesh and bone
The map was here (all along) - Like a microcosm
Welcome to the city - You’re not alone - So welcome home
We carry it with us all, our stale city hope
The words are in the current - There’s a rhythm in the echo
Of the fission in the ethos of our streets
Karma has a tide - And deep within, the ebb and flow
Collide where the body and mind meet
It’s the call in response - It’s a door you cannot close
It’s the map of the city inside you and me
Its hope is the promise - We made in our bones
That once the river’s crossed we’re going to breathe
So breathe - Close your eyes and breathe - That stale city hope
These strands of hope entwine and unravel
Defined in every cell we bleed
There’s a code in the cadence of these busy streets
It says, “welcome to the city”
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8. |
Tunnel Vision
04:21
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You better snap out of it
You’ve been worn by your own disguise
It’s too late to hide it
I saw with my own eyes
(My own eyes) It’s not my business, but
I would still like to help you
Figure it out
Immobile, as I may be
I still collect static electricity
Sparks will fly again
I can only lead so many lives
You can only live so many times
I suggest you invest in your own advice
Can’t you see that
I’ve got tunnel vision?
I’m not easily distracted
Once I’ve made my decision
(This is my affliction) It’s not your problem, but
Maybe you could help me
Sort it out
Though I’m stationary
I generate potential energy
I will reignite
You can only lead so many lives
I can only live so many times
I don’t intend to spend mine paralyzed
Call it a mission - Call it a lie
I’ve made my decision - I’ve made up my mind
A head on collision - With wide open eyes
Complete tunnel vision
Call it foolish or - Call it denial
A final conviction - Without compromise
Count down to ignition - I won’t shut my eyes (again)
Tunnel vision
Another time - Swallow pride again
Take a dive, and begin my descent
I’m rescued by - The parachute again
But I’m still not sure where to land
I’ve seen past - That hollow mask before
(We can only lead so many lives) Do you find it easier to pretend?
(We can only live so many times) Falling fast - I survived the crash before
(Do you really think it’s out line?) Inertia knows I’ll catch up in the end
(Well I don’t think so - Not this time)
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9. |
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All the noises we were making - Sounded so profound
Between hypnagogic laughter - And collective delirium
The vows that we are breaking - With every hint of doubt
Liberate us from our cavils - With new clarity and freedom
As I shut my eyes, awaking
From reality’s illusion
Where our dreams are built to shatter
At the hands of the empirical
Nature we forsake
In philosophical fusion
I know truth is not an answer
But a question in itself
[The sound of laughter]
It’s all so funny to me now
These silly noises
The futility of language
It all means nothing to me now
Just silly noises; empty voices
As a scientist discovers - Whatever truth she sought
Somewhere a priest is preaching miracles - Perceiving proof of God
When a philosopher finds sooth - In yet another paradox
And a lunatic finds bliss - In everything that he forgot
We’re the artists painting worlds
Between fiction and reality
And the poets writing words
Defeating diction’s own futility
Musicians harmonizing
To the chaos and cacophony
And lovers, all comprising
Purposes to life (in reverie)
[The sound of laughter]
How it all sounded so profound
Those silly noises
There is poetry in language
It all means everything somehow
In pithy choices
Every parade - Will suffer the same fate
Every charade - Discovers its own bait
Every escape - Begins with a clean slate
Every debate - Will end in stalemate
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10. |
Motion Canvas
05:38
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This canvas is a mess with these half-painted faces
Wandering through daily reveries
Reading each line over again, they’ve lost their places
Doing things before they’ve found the reason
Said I voice in my head, “Anyone who chases
The future, may not dare to follow their dreams through”
And they do
Our wakes, decorated
With shards of shattered, failed attempts
We’re trailed by our regret
These golden shades stain the streets with cinematic glow
As good intentions paint the motions of our steps with every stroke
And I understand reality is all in how we take it - I know
Absorbed by the seasons, our faces change
A cast of mimes, acting in a play
Gravity defeats us, as we age
Forgotten lines; we’re falling off the stage
The jaded mislead us; they preach on what’s “safe”
They’d try to teach birds to fly in a cage
So we don’t
They’ll wake up, but too late
To realize their dreams are much too great
To contain within a frame
Our headphones play a motion canvas soundtrack to fill the score
For sake of sanity, we plug ourselves into each our own little world
Our destiny is only how we’ll make it - I know
Right here, right now
We’ve got to paint it our own
You’ll watch it play in your mind - But there are no shortcuts
You’ll trace every line - Press the gesso to the canvas and
Bring it to life - ‘Cause it’s all in the process
One step at a time
And it’s a dizzy dance - Where nothing is certain
But you’ve got to a chance - If you ever want to learn
It’s the price of romance - You’ll reap what you earn
The brush is in your hand - It’s your turn
One step at a time - Bring it to life
And as if the world isn’t beautiful enough on its own
Some people’ve got the nerve to drag us all down with their hopes
Invested too deep to ever leave the safety of their doubts - but I know
We’ve got to paint it our own
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11. |
Gratitude
06:26
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Here’s to the victim, the orphaned, and destitute
A salute to innocence, perseverance, and gratitude
They who learn to rise above fear
And turn misfortune into spirit
Will earn their right to things I’ve been handed (And suddenly)
It’s burning so much brighter in me
That I’ve been granted so much more than I need
I’m so much younger than I seem at 23
This is the sound of gratitude
Thank you for the patience, for the guidance, for the sanction
For never standing in my way, or ever asking me to sing for anything I did not believe
Thank you for showing me that love is not a myth
For proof that separate lives can bind and coexist
The truth is, so few find bonafide happiness (But here it is)
23 years, still going
Take a few more steps toward knowing
Lessons I will learn on my own
This is the sound of gratitude
I may not ever find a way to reciprocate all I receive
But I can show you who I am, who I have become, who I’m going to be
There were moments when I know I took it all for granted
You could’ve turned me out; instead you sowed and planted
Seeds - They’ll help me stand on my own
After 24 years I know
There’re still a few more fears I’ll overthrow
Reflections of a world that I have borrowed
This is the sound of a siren from a single cell - The firing of a synapse
Collapse of delusion - The ego’s solution
This is the sound of gratitude
Do you think that I’ve gathered enough inertia
To leave the ground and hold my own?
Let’s celebrate now, while the wind’s up
Don’t ever want to let you down
As a quarter of a century unfolds
Perspective renders revelations yet untold
Could intention alone ever mirror the mold?
This is the sound of a satellite signaling memories - They hold (reminders)
Lessons untapped until now
This is the sound of gratitude
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12. |
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Music is the mantra
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13. |
...the Afterglow
02:21
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I was yearning
For something so much more than this
What I’d been losing
But never had the sense to miss
Then, I was learning
Someday I’ll grant my own wish
Another chance at happiness
If for a while
I’ve been chasing dreams
That are far bigger than I know
I’ve been burning bridges
It’s giving me the chance to grow
Now I’m tracing the seams
And as the truth begins to show
I’ll meet you in the afterglow
I was wandering
I must have been down every path
I’ve been pondering
But still I don’t know how to ask
I guess I’m wondering
When we’ll embrace within the crash
Descry the face beneath the mask
In a smile
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14. |
The Pedestal
05:44
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I cannot forget what went unsaid
As positive energies fled
Out of me - Into you (Out of me - Into you)
I cannot remember the moment
When I began to pretend
These negativities true
I could never quite find myself within you
A pretender who would find himself without you
My dear lover - My dear friend
Confidante - Whatever it would’ve meant
Such fools were we to think we’d ever fully grasp
The meaning of the words (So what if we had?)
As it broke in your embrace
My pride exposed a lack of pace
I’ll take it in stride and find my own, instead
Even if you stole my grace
It doesn’t mean I’ve lost the race
I’m letting the sunshine fill my lungs, again
I’d place you on the pedestal, princess
Any time you’d manifest
And I’d surrender all my colors to you (Frame the shot - Focus the lens)
I’d raise you up and bow out
As I’d fade to gray
And you’d radiate (Out of the frame - Off of the canvas)
A lack of color - A lack of confidence
I’ll take it back - I will make my own amends
Such tools were they in your hands
Had I ever asked for anything in return? (I suppose I had)
Go ahead and call it fake
It’s plain to see I’m not the same
I’m breathing the life back into my own chest
Just because you felt nothing
Doesn’t mean that I’ve been bluffing
I’m treating your lack of faith as my own test
Just because you never knew
Who I’d been before you
Doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend
That I am only what you’ve seen
Don’t you roll your eyes at me
I’ve realized you don’t know who I am (yet)
I could never quite find myself within you
A pretender who would find himself without you
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Forging Reverie New Hampshire
Forging Reverie, our passion project of eight years, unofficially crawled to a stop by early 2015 with a handful of
unfinished songs. As of yet, no tapes have been burned. : )
Where we’ve been…
Derek and Justin’s casual, guitar-gear podcast: youtube.com/@TheToneControl
Justin’s audio production studio: jaysongstudio.com
Tye’s visual design business (& someday new music): www.tyenewton.com
... more
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