1. |
Vocations
02:24
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What do you do?
What do you really do?
With your time and your friends and your anger too
Are you working it? Does it work for you?
What do you make? What do you really make?
With your hands and your mind and your heartache
Do you change the rules, do you raise the stakes?
If I asked you right now to be honest, would you just run away?
If I told you right now that you’d make it would you leave here today?
What are you doing
What are you doing with your life
What are you doing with your life for the next 24 hours?
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2. |
Skeleton
03:53
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Do you know at all times how far you are from the door?
Do you plan your escape for if it isn’t what you bargained for?
‘Cause I do
Yeah I do
Do you find yourself stuck on the motion of their eyes
Wondering if you’re the game or even worse the prize?
‘Cause I do
Yeah I do
I’m not trying to be one of the guys
I’d just like to be one of the humans
When you look at me I hope you see a skeleton
‘Cause that’s what’s inside
And we all have one
When you look at me I hope you see the light go off
‘Cause when I shut down
You are the reason
Will you just walk away from the biggest chance of your life
If you see in their eyes that you’ll pay a nauseating price?
‘Cause I will
Yeah I will
Will you know that you’re strong even if they don’t support you?
Will you know that you’re right even if they don’t believe you?
‘Cause I will
Yeah I will
I’m not trying to be one of the guys
I just want to be one of the humans
When you look at me I hope you see a skeleton
‘Cause that’s what’s inside
And we all have one
When you look at me I hope you see the light go off
‘Cause when I shut down
You are the reason
I am an equal
Not an opportunity
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3. |
Metronome Heart
01:47
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When I'm nervous I talk like the SATs
Trying to ameliorate the obfuscation of something, or something
Motormouth, slow down, they say
I've heard it all before
Do you really think that I want to be this way?
I can't connect, I'm at a different pace
I never win, I'm in a different race
I'm terrified, they see it on my face
When I'm nervous I run like I'm fleeing bees
Trying to avoid all the things I’d have to feel just by standing in one place
Forrest Gump, slow down, they say
I've heard it all before
Do you really think that I choose to be this way?
I can't connect, I'm at a different pace
I never win, I'm in a different race
I'm terrified, they see it on my face
Every traffic light and stop sign in the world put together wouldn’t be enough
Thank god for drums ‘cause the metronome of my racing heart keeps speeding up
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4. |
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The kids who valued being different, but only in one way, were always the worst
Tolerated me for liking the right bands
But then mocked me for not knowing them first
And then there was me, the wallflower in red lipstick
Asking permission to exist
When you're convinced you're doing life wrong
It's so easy to collect the evidence
The price of being yourself can’t be more
Than the cost of being someone else
The toll of toxic of company
Is never worth avoiding loneliness
And then there was me, the wallflower in red lipstick
Asking permission to exist
When you're convinced you're doing life wrong
It's so easy to collect the evidence
I wasn’t trying to be visible
I just wanted to be seen
I wasn’t asking to be looked at
I just wanted to be me
I’m not trying to be visible
I just want to be seen
I’m not asking to be looked at
I just want to be me
So now here I am, the wallflower in red lipstick
Not asking permission to exist
When you accept that you have value
Then you finally can collect the evidence
Are you willing to collect the evidence?
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5. |
Drop the Torch
02:53
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I threw a penny in the fountain
And I wished I could get your attention
Not a crush, per se
I just wanted to exist within your orbit
Now it’s ten years later
And you’re pretty famous
And we’re still not friends
Now it’s ten years later
And I’ve kind of realized
Looking up to you is hurting my neck
Drop the torch
Let it burn
You’ve seen all there is to see here
Learned all there is to learn
Cut the cord
Stop the curse
If you still believe they’re better then you’ll still believe you’re worse
I put my eggs all in a basket
Of one question and whether you’d ask it
Waiting patiently for you to find
The storyline I’d written
Now it’s twelve years later
And you’re really famous
And we’re still not friends
Now it’s twelve years later
And I’ve finally realized
Looking up to you is hurting my neck
Drop the torch
Let it burn
You’ve seen all there is to see here
Learned all there is to learn
Cut the cord
Stop the curse
If you still believe they’re better then you’ll still believe you’re worse
Pedestals are for statues, not people
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6. |
The Narrator
02:28
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I came of age in the scene with boys in eyeliner and girls’ jeans
Each one a better, bitter version of me
They made it very clear who got to tell the stories
And I knew all my idols were something I’d never be
Do you need your narrator to look like you?
Will you still sing along?
Do you stop to notice who is singing
And who gets to own the songs?
We got a lot of practice belting songs with female villains
Mentally blacking out words but “holding onto the feelings”
Caught up in catharsis and the sense of belonging
While half-understanding that it was ironic
Do you need your narrator to look like you?
Will you still sing along?
Do you stop to notice who is singing
And who gets to own the songs?
Show me the people with something to say
Let’s amplify the voices of those who feel left out and afraid
Let’s normalize being yourself and letting go of the noise that stands in the way
Do you need your narrator to look like you?
Will you still sing along?
Do you stop to notice who is singing
And who gets to own the songs?
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7. |
Other People’s Riches
02:18
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I call it the gnawing
When my stomach tells me that it’s missing something
But it’s never full
I’m feeling the wanting
While the faces on the podium are smiling
With their gold medals
I knew what I wanted
Just to prove that I could be the best at something
But it’s not enough
'Cause I never loved it
Like I love playing three chords in someone’s basement
How it lifts me up
It hurts too much to be up at night
Over what is and is not mine
They can keep their accolades keep their fame
Other people’s riches aren’t mine to claim
I thought I’d be a failure if I didn’t reach the top
Hated every minute but believed I couldn’t stop
Every miserable competitor needs someone to tell them
There’s something else, there’s always something else
It hurts too much to be up at night
Over what is and is not mine
They can keep their accolades keep their fame
Other people’s riches aren’t mine to claim
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8. |
Pleasantries
02:38
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Yeah, I know how this goes already
You’ll call me up and I’ll say I’m busy
Then later I’ll show up when I’m feeling lonely
But we’ll just argue about each others’ favorite movies
‘Cause you hate romance and I don’t care for action
I never told you anything
But I would if I thought you’d listen
You never tell me anything
But somehow I’m still here
I want to be honest
Because I can’t tell what you’re thinking
And there’s so much that I need you to know
I’m sick of the surface
And all these pointless conversations
Can we let the pleasantries go?
Yeah, I know how this goes already
I’m fired up and my mood is heavy
I’m ready to dig up seven years of history
But you’d rather tell the waiter all your funny stories
So I just shut down, and we keep moving backwards
I never told you anything
But I would if I knew you’d listen
You never tell me anything
But somehow I’m still here
I want to be honest
Because I can’t tell what you’re thinking
And there’s so much that I need you to know
I’m sick of the surface
And all these pointless conversations
Can we let the pleasantries go?
You wouldn’t believe the people I’ve met
Talked all night in eight cities, we’ve got no secrets left
I want less of this and more of that
Reciprocity and total respect
I want to be honest
Because I can’t tell what you’re thinking
And there’s so much that I need you to know
I’m sick of the surface
And all these pointless conversations
Can we let the pleasantries go?
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9. |
Corners
02:30
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Show me a ship that's leaving shore
I'll show you the wreckage
Take me out of my element
And I'll find the exit
I'll show you a different side of me, then run away
And I will not sleep for days
You can take the girl out of the corner
Can you take the corner out of the girl?
Sing now of youth and cruelty
Yeah, we're the experts
“What did the Heathers do to you?”
Oh, just forget it
Asked me to sign her yearbook, like we were friends
Then she closed it on my hand
Only you can decide
If you'll be in high school for the rest of your life
With everything the world demands,
There will be days that leave you broken
And even as your world expands,
There will be corners to hide in
But tonight, I'm all here
Tonight, I'm all in
Turn our failures back into choices
Turn these choking sounds back into voices
'Cause we always knew that we would figure it out
With everything the world demands,
There will be days that leave you broken
And even as your world expands,
There will be corners to hide in
Tonight, I'm all here
Tonight, I'm all in
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10. |
Blood on Canvas
02:17
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Are we artists, are we fighters, are we all of the above?
Are we clear now on what matters, are we doing what we love?
Are we lacing up our gloves to finally show the world and ourselves what we’re truly made of?
I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t need to
You wouldn’t hear this if I didn’t bleed through
I’m giving everything until all that’s left
Is blood on the canvas
Are we artists, are we fighters, are we all of the above?
Are we clear now that what matters are the people we love?
Are we holding on and holding tight and holding out for what it is we always dreamed of?
I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t need to
You wouldn’t hear this if I didn’t bleed through
I’m giving everything until all that’s left
Is blood on the canvas
What if all your heroes had just quit?
What if your favorite songs did not exist?
What if this is your do or die moment?
This is it
We are artists, we are fighters, we are all of the above
We are clear now on what matters, we are doing what we love
We are holding on and holding tight and holding out for what it is we always dreamed of
I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t need to
You wouldn’t hear this if I didn’t bleed through
I’m giving everything until all that is left
Is blood on the canvas
We are artists, we are fighters
All that’s left
We are clear now on what matters
All that’s left
We are artists, we are fighters
All that’s left
Is blood on the canvas
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Early Riser Brooklyn, New York
Early Riser plays cello-driven pop-punk with soaring vocal harmonies, catchy hooks and uplifting lyrics.
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