1. Strings
Slumped over in his own chair
Debating thoughts of quitting
One hit to keep him going
One hit his chest is bumping
It's all I've known these past 10 years
They call this life?
This bottle's always empty
One more it's never-ending
My sorrow’s never drowning
I spend my mornings shaking
It's all I've known these last 10 years
They call this life this simple thing
To take this knife and cut these strings
Please cut me down
Whole, I'm not in life and made nothing
I've lost my pride, I'm plagued with strings
Stay out of sight the darkest things
Control my life destroying me
It broke me it broke me down
You told us that you were found your god had gave you wings
It owns us it holds us down
Don't bother to wear that frown I used up everything
Why bother? I'm used to now
You bought us and sold us down the river
You knew we'd drown with no thought for where we'd lay
There's just gold, gold on your mind
Once we get through this hell that is this
We will rise up and become human and full of life
We should take back what's ours
Our lives our everything
Shed the shame of our stigmata
When we can love ourselves and cut these strings
You cut and clipped our wings
Destroyed us degrade us, yet we still cut these strings
2. This Hell
Going through the motions, try to find some strength
Try to put on makeup, try to beat this day
Heard these notes, she’s losing hope
She keeps screaming softly “please God no”
No one knows why, these things they happen
But she’ll keep fighting, this hell, this cancer
Know this, she will keep on trudging
The strength that fills her, it’s in the air
“You don’t own me, and I’m not scared”
In time, she’ll go down and she sees that they’re all frowning
And dreams it was all a dream, but we see that she’s already down for the count
Young girl fought nails and teeth, never gave it up
Understand that you’ll miss them when they are gone
It took it’s hold
Evil disruption when it comes too young
You’re finally home
No more pain at your heels, no more drugs that burn
No more aches, sick and drained
Rest in peace, young girl
This is a life of a young girl
3. Bleeding Out
It’s something that we had borrowed, cut off and left for dead
Tension turned into frustration, it never had a chance
You can’t see what’s coming down, you can’t see me bleeding out
It wasn’t like I had told her, it’s nothing like they said
Consumption, disruption, my chalice is full
No reason to pass this off
These motions that fuel
Unbridled and in consumption, I fear I am the fool
Who lays in wait for the answers, the answers came too soon
You can’t see what’s coming down, you can’t see me bleeding out
It wasn’t like I disowned her, it wasn’t like she said
Consumption, disruption, my chalice is full
No reason to pass this off
These motions that fuel
My mind, my heart
Mistakes that brand me now
‘cause I know in time will change
No one, no one knows
To say I’m sorry means null
I never meant to hurt you
As long as I’m still breathing
I bleed this blood for you
4. Turning Ill
Sometimes, sometimes I swear it isn’t my mind
It’s your mind that’s making up for lost time
Lost time, you swore it was a good time
But it wasn’t with me
Keep trying, keep trying oh you’re trying to convince me
Convince me it’s a memory
But I know or at least I’ve got a feeling
A feeling you’re the enemy
'cause once it stops, it never does
No, no, no
Feed my troubled thoughts that turn ill
Believe your insults to my soul
‘cause once it stops it never does
I’ll be okay you never will
See your love once he’s gone
You’re alone, all alone
‘cause once it stops it never does
I’ll be okay you never will
You fucking whore
You wrecked our lives
So say your prayers
It’s time to die
Pound my chest
Bang my head
Crack my skull
Leave me dead
See your love once he's gone
You’re alone, all alone
If I had known
If I had tried just to know
This hell I’ve known, I can’t survive
I don’t know
5. Baltimore
To let it drone, to let it breathe
To hold my own, to make it me
Unstoppable incompetence
The disrespect, unreal to me
‘cause nobody cares about these streets
To give up on hope, give up on dreams
That’s not this man, not my city
When nobody cares about streets
Guns. Dimes. Crime.
Politics and loss of life
I can’t take no more
‘cause no one will let us grow
Undone this hell we know
No one to teach their young
Function of plans unknown
This place is run with crooked men
Their greedy paws are in the dish
While young men die and no one cares
We will rise up and make a stand
‘cause nobody cares about these streets
It’s time to shine, so here we go
Let’s make it count, let’s let them know
That things will change, be different now
To make one man, into a crowd
Guns. Dimes. Crime.
Politics and loss of life
I can’t take no more
‘cause no one will let us grow
Undone this hell we know
No one to teach their young
Function of plans unknown
Statistics will show you the numbers of loss
But that means nothing when it is one of your own
And it plays out like horrors you see on the screen
Of a movie or something you would not believe
When you look at the screen all you do is just cry
At the hit that you take when it’s deep in your pride
Still you struggle to get up and get on your feet
But you get up and go out, you get up and go
No one will let us grow
Unknown the class we own
No one to teach their young
No one will let us grow
Undone this hell we know
No one will let us grow
No one, no one
I don’t have a whole lot here, but I can make it work
You see, it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with them
We try, we try so hard. Does anybody care about us?
I didn’t think so