1. |
||||
underneath the weight of life in chains
underneath the weight of life in chains
all that time indentured, all that time in thrall
broken into sherds and smashed against the wall
all the lives so fractured, years made feeling small
never been so sure that it was your time at all
humans lose their minds, their lives in chains
humans lose their minds, their lives in chains
all that time indentured, all that time in thrall
broken into sherds and smashed against the wall
all the lives so fractured, years made feeling small
never been so sure that it was your time at all
dismantle the walls, disperse the chains
dismantle the walls, disperse the chains
throw them out the windows, chase them down the halls
show them how it goes, in a life spent facing walls
all the lives so fractured, years made feeling small
never been too sure that it was your time at all
all that time indentured, all that time in thrall
broken into sherds and smashed against the wall
all the lives so fractured, years made feeling small
never been so sure that it was your time at all
|
||||
2. |
New Paradigm
03:31
|
|||
echoes of the hammer still reverberate,
permeate memories of construction buried wide
distill the message of the fourth estate, running late
we spend the days so occupied,
we tried:
singing recent rhymes, feeling the zeitgeist of the times
a meeting of the minds, a manner maligned
sewing up the eyelids of the nearest eyes, cauterized
wishing for a playback of the tide
hearing that the passerby was scandalized, then neutralized
we learned the lessons of the wise,
one-size puppets portioning prime,
hurling a humpback into the brine
a paper pantomime, a new paradigm
|
||||
3. |
Azure or Vermillion
03:29
|
|||
Commons-spoilers you're going down
Blood-and-soilers you're going down
Scoundrels and blowhards
Tyrants and blackguards
you're going down
Don't go along despite the lure of opinions
Know which side you're on, is it azure or vermillion
Vengeance-seekers you're going down
Hate speakers you're going down
Crackpot unhingers
Know-nothing fringers
you're going down
Don't go along and do not let them get traction
The voice of the throng is just a knee-jerk reaction
Don't go along and do not let them get traction
The voice of the throng is just a knee-jerk reaction
Don't go along despite the lure of opinions
Know which side you're on, is it azure or vermillion
|
||||
4. |
The World is Sinking
05:00
|
|||
i would say that the world is sinking
but i can't keep my head above, dying of
a scandal in every pot, death on every stove
the world you know is sinking
it won't be this way again
the passengers tried to stay, but the fire's in the way
and we just sat there thinking
the cities were in convulsions
a visitor would not know where to go
no saying how long we'll last on our feet, on the go
why don't you stay there in suspension
with the feeling that this won't end
singing these old refrains, with the heat on our brains
if we had only mentioned...
a disparity of responses
whose victims have no next turn, so they burn
inequity drains the glass, and adds to the churn
why don't you stay there in suspension
with the feeling that this won't end
singing these old refrains, with the heat on our brains
if we had only mentioned...
the world you know is sinking
it won't be this way again
the passengers tried to stay, but the fire's in the way
and we just sat there, thinking
|
||||
5. |
Where Do We Go?
02:38
|
|||
the stars are in a stark alignment
of superstition mixed with fear
but now that we've turned the lights on
where do we go from here?
a message gleaned from madness moved to tears
the radio sounds danger don't come near
a lesson learned or loaned away
a corner turned or tried in vain
it's not often so clear
the fire that defied confinement
a population stiff with fear
it's looking like we've lost enlightenment
where do we go from here?
a vantage called primordial despair
a future that sounds foreign to the ear
and though we try we cannot find
a patch of earth or peace of mind
to relax in, nowhere
the stars are in a stark alignment
of superstition mixed with fear
but now that we've turned the lights on
where do we go from here?
|
||||
6. |
Saltmines and Iodine
02:54
|
|||
no going outside past the piles and barricades
can't let it touch you, exposed to rays
saltmines, alkaline barren land
leukine, iodine, irradiated sand
no going outside like we did yesterday
not when the dust is high, til we get far away
all clear the sirens say the wind has changed
our fear is the slow decay that's carried by the rain
saltmines, alkaline barren land
leukine, iodine, irradiated sand
|
||||
7. |
We Had to Stay Home
03:12
|
|||
we were despondent with nowhere to go
it was the end of everything we'd known
we'll learn to harvest what the garden's grown
the plague was coming and we had to stay home
we turn our castles to stone walls
we watch society's downfall
we start it over when catastrophe called
we were surrounded by the folks we know
we lit some candles and put down the phones
there was some pleasure in that stately dome
the plague was coming and we had to stay home
we turn our castles to stone walls
we watch society's downfall
we start it over when catastrophe called
we were despondent with nowhere to go
it was the end of everything we'd known
we'll learn to harvest what the garden's grown
the plague was coming and we had to stay home
|
||||
8. |
Cast Iron Grin
04:01
|
|||
time won’t remember their faces
or rumors that rained on the rocks
but oh my stars tonight
avoiding a fight,
we’ll punch out the clocks
struggle to breath on the tarmac,
a hundred degrees in the shade
we’re breaking out of the box,
stuck coins in the locks,
and blunted the blades
fell them, melt them to tin,
fill your tankards with gin,
and fasten your chains
throw that dust in the bin
and their cast iron grins
sunk into the main
trouble from up on the platform
sends deafening waves through the square
the gas in the air at night,
the rotors in flight,
the flash of the flares
fell them, melt them to tin,
fill your tankards with gin,
and fasten your chains
throw that dust in the bin
and their cast iron grins
sunk into the main
|
||||
9. |
||||
the never-ending struggle to preserve a life of ease
comfort and convenience are their own pathologies
we didn't move a muscle when the ocean rose degrees
but tried to turn a profit from acidifying seas
to the earth say I love you
to the sky a bended knee
compensating slowly in the balance of our days
graft and buccaneering over series of delays
desperating daily oh the sun, our dna
never mind the sneering they were always in the way
to the earth say I love you
to the sky a bended knee
to the oceans say a penance
to the air a rosary
|
The Directory Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Directory are
Keith Morris. Guitar, voice
Clifford Grindstaff. Guitar, voice
Billy Belmont, Bass, voice
Peri Pakroo. Bass guitar, voice
Ryan Sciarrotta. Drums, percussion
Streaming and Download help
If you like The Directory, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp