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Bad Religion
Stranger Than Fiction
Mother, father
Look at your little monster
I'm a hero, I'm a zero
I'm the butt of the worst joke in history
I'm a lock without a key
A city with no door
A prayer without faith
A show without a score
I'm a bad word, a wink, a nod, a shiver
An untold story
Sex without fury
A creeping gray memory
I am incomplete, incomplete
Incomplete, incomplete
Doctor, cure me
What is the cause of my condition?
This madness shoots me
Like bullets smashing glass in silent movie
I'm a trap without a spring
A temple with no god
A jack without an ace
The tip of your tongue
I'm a promise, an unmailed letter
An unbuilt motor,
Deck without a joker
A creeping gray memory
I am incomplete, incomplete
Incomplete, incomplete
Tell Saint Peter not to bet on me, yeah
I got a naked obsession
A good intention gone bad
I am incomplete, incomplete
Incomplete, incomplete
Incomplete, incomplete
Incomplete
There are desperate times upon us, there are codes of white and black
Political resentment and people start to crack
There's hate and opposition, there's fumbling dialog
And you sit there and judge me and you think it makes a difference
If you think I'm all alone you are foolishly wrong
There's an entire army who blindly follow along
And you happen to be one of them believe it or not
Even though you try not to be we are of the same plague
The other ways we're taught to fear
Don't even scratch the surface of the problem here
But I'm not blind and I'm not scared
So many crucial factors exist out there
And we're but one and they're but two
And how we come to terms will help us pull through
Things cannot change too fast, it took us this much time
To reach our current platform and walk this fragile line
If I thought I'd make a difference I'd kill myself today
But so many are like me lost in the fray
You create your own reality
And leave mine to me
Leave mine to me
Leave mine to me
Leave mine to me
A febrile shocking violent smack
And the children are hoping for a heart attack
Tonight the windows are watching
The streets all conspire and the lamp-post can't stop crying
If I could fly high above the world
Would I see a bunch of living dots spell the world stupidity?
Or would I see hungry lover homicides, loving brother suicides
And olly olly oxenfrees who pickaside and hide
The world is scratching at my door
My morning papers got the scores
The human interest stories
And the obituary, oh yeah!
Cockroach naps and rattling traps
How many devils can you fit upon a match head?
Caringosity killed the Kerouac cat
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction
In my alley around the corner
There's a wino with feathered shoulders
And a spirit giving head for crack
And he'll never want it back
There's a little kid and his family eating crackers like thanksgiving
And a pack of wild desperados scornful of living
The worlds is scratching at my door
My morning papers has the scores
The human interest stories
And the obituary
Cradle for a cat, wolf looks back
How many angels can you fit upon a match?
I want to know why Hemingway cracked
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction
Life is the crummiest book -
I ever read - there isn't a hook
Just a lot of cheap shots, pictures to shock
And characters an amateur would never dream up
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction
The brown and orange sky holds its breath as the sun retreats to the distant horizon
And our hearts palpitate anxiously as we soon will lay supine and wait for sleep to overcome us
And from somewhere in our black subconscious minds when we're asleep
Comes a haunting swelling mass of voices resonating,
Its screams of forgotten victims and the cries of innocence
And the desperate plea for recognition and recompense
Tiny voices
Echoes of our heritage, our long and sallow faces turn the other way
Tiny voices
Harbored deep within, as we outwardly deny that they have something to say
And if we don't confront them they will never go away
The billions of tiny pinhole embers fade into a morning sky filled with poignant morose wonder
Waking we bear a cosmetic peace that verifies the turmoil, that we carry it deep inside
And from somewhere in our black subconscious minds when we're asleep
Comes a haunting swelling mass of voices resonating,
Its screams of forgotten victims and the cries of innocence
And the desperate plea for recognition and recompense
Tiny voices
Echoes of our heritage, our long and sallow faces turn the other way
Tiny voices
Harbored deep within, as we outwardly deny that they have something to say
And if we don't confront them they will never go away, go away, go away!
Every time you shake someone's hand
And it feels like your best friend
Could it be that it's only superficiality?
Without regard to well-being, without an inkling of compromise
Handshakes are nothing but a subtle "fuck you"
A contracts determine the best friendships
This is the way of the modern world
Everyone's vying for patronage
This is the way of the modern world
And something's gotta give
Every time you shake someone's hand
And you share neither color or creed
You gotta overcome the obstacles of history
There is restrained passion, mistrust, and bigotry
And these have created the new foundations of society
There's no harmony just class and race
This is the way of the modern world
Everyone's fighting for dominance
This is the way of the modern world
And something's gotta give
Now I believe in unity
And I am willing to compromise
But I'm not gonna lie or sell my soul
Every time you shake someone's hand
It determines where you stand
And if you won't uphold your side, it's better to
Fend for yourself, fend for yourself
Fend for yourself, and shun the handshake
Fend for yourself, fend for yourself
Fend for yourself, and shun the handshake...
Someone's gotta give
I'm sorry about the sun
How could I know that you would burn?
And I'm sorry about the moon
How could I know that you'd disapproved?
And I'll never make the same mistake
The next time I create the universe I'll make sure we communicate at length
Oh yeah!
But until then, better off dead
A smile on the lips and a hole in the head
Better of dead, yeah better than this
Take it away cuz there's nothing to miss
I'm sorry about the world
How could I know you'd take it so bad?
And I'll never make the same mistake
So if you're looking for a patsy why not try the entire human race
Just to play it safe
But until then, better of dead
A smile on the lips and a hole in the head
Better of dead, yeah better than this
Take it away cuz there's nothing to miss
Better of dead, yeah better of dead
Why don't you try pushing daisies instead
Better of dead, yeah better of dead
A smile on the lips and a hole in the head
And I'll never make the same mistake
The next time I create the universe I'll make sure you participate
Oh yeah!
And I'll never make the same mistake
The next time I create the universe I'll make sure you participate
Just in case
Now here I go, hope I don't break down
I won't take anything, I don't need anything
Don't want to exist, I can't persist
Please stop before I do it again
Just talk about nothing
Let's talk about nothing
Let's talk about no one
Please talk about no one, someone, anyone
You and me have a disease
You affect me, you infect me
I'm afflicted, you're addicted
You and me, you and me
I'm on the edge, get against the wall
I'm so distracted, I love to strike you
Here's my confession, you learned your lesson
Stop me before I do it again
Just talk about nothing
Let's talk about nothing
Let's talk about no one
Please talk about no one, someone, anyone
You and me have a disease
You affect me, you infect me
I'm afflicted, you're addicted
You and me, you and me
You're clear as a heavy lead curtain, want to drill you
Like an ocean, we can work it out,
I've been running out, now I'm running out
Don't be mad about it baby
You and me have a disease
I want to tie you, crucify you
Kneel before you, revile your body
You and me, we're made in heaven
I want to take you, I want to break you
Supplicate you, with thorny roses
You and me, are incurable
I want to bathe you in holy water
I want to kill you upon the alter
You and me, you and me
Television, television, television, television
Television, television, television, television
I want to bask in your golden light
Submerge in electric waves
I need my connection
To the world outside
Yeah, the world outside is buzzing like an angry wasp in summer
The candidates are running and the son of God is coming
Crackle mental convolution tune in to the revolution
Now everyone's included so we never gotta be alone
Television, television, television, television
Television, television, television, television
I want to bathe in your golden light
Submerge in electric waves
I need my injection
To the world outside
Yeah, every atom of my body, bone, sinew and blood and fiber
I can't distill you from my blood, like a hungry germ inside of me
You're my lover, my heroine, my conscience and my voice
And I know that I have learned to let you in, I will lever have to be alone
Television, television, television, television
Television, television, television, television
I want to bathe in your golden light
Submerge in electric waves
I'd take after my mother but she's from a different generation
I prefer my big brother he's so gentle and understanding
And I learn what I can by the television light
But when I'm all alone I know it's gonna be alright, yeah, alright
Television, television, television, television
Television, television, television, television
Individuals run for cover
For the multitudes of thoughtless clones
Have reached a critical mass
Have reached a critical mass
Individuals hide in fear
Under cover sheltered by the wafer
Thin veil of intelligence
Thin veil of intelligence
Individuals, nowhere to be seen
Urbana is oozing
Like a bloated carcass with maggots
Cooking in the desert heat
Cooking in the desert heat
Oozing, with progeny writhing
And desperate for input from
Someone more determined
Someone more determined
Congregating in invisible circles
Half aparted and half apart
All too aware of the insignificance
Pushing on with soul and heart
Individuals don't pray for forgiveness
When pinned up against the wall
Under siege of persecution
Under siege of persecution
Individuals command exception
And accept dichotomy
Maybe you can't choose anymore
Maybe you can't choose anymore
Procreation without gain or purpose
Languid wills and torped minds
Catapulted ever faster by the arrow of time
You take yours and I'll keep mine
Individuals
Well I can see my teenage father standing straight on a desolate corner
In the shadow of tentacled towers by the red light of America
I imagine how his mother felt when she heard that her husband was dying
And that underground heroes of the tarmac shooting smack
Were blowing up worlds and damned out loud
Hey, can you tell me how does it feel?
Yeah, tell me
Can you imagine, for a second
Doing anything that you don't have to?
Well that's what I'm accustomed to so hooray for me
And fuck you
When I slept with stony faces on the riverbank
My angel/devil reveller shook me desperately in dying
I don't exactly want to apologize for anything
And now, we're all mad and tangled
In secret rooms with roman candles
On an endless graveyard train
Yeah, tell me
Can you imagine, for a second
Doing anything just cos you want to?
Well, that's just what I do so hooray for me
And fuck you
Yeah, I was dreaming through the howzlife, yawning car black, and that night
She told me mad and meaningless as ever
And a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme
For a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
Tell me
Can you imagine, for a second
Trying half the things you ever wanted to do
Well thats just what I do, so hooray for me
Oh yeah!
I'm not respectable, and never insensible
Maybe incredible, so damned irascible
And I like the things I do so hooray for me
And fuck you
So, you're feeling unimportant
Cos you've got nothing to say
And your life is just a ramble
No one understands you anyway
Well, I've got a piece of news, son
That might make you change your mind
Your life is historically meaningful
And spans a significant time
Slumber will come soon
And you are helping put it to sleep
Side by side we do our share faithfully assuring
That slumber will come soon
Well, now do you feel a little better?
Lift up your head and walk away
Knowing we're all in this together
For such a short time anyway
There is just no time to parade around sulking
I would rather laugh than cry
The rich, the poor, the strong, the weak - we share this place together
And we pitch in to help it die
We pitch in to help it die
I'm not good at giving morals
And I don't fear the consequence
If life makes you scared and bitter
At least its not for very long
Slumber will come soon
And you are helping put it to sleep
Side by side we do our share faithfully assuring
That slumber will come soon
Slumber will come, slumber will come soon
Slumber will come, slumber will come soon
Slumber will come soon
If I'm a monster, I am a willing one
This roller-coaster ride is an enticing one
On the tip of a continuum flowing wavelike through disorder
Carry me like a vessel to water
And everything you see leaves a mark on your soul
Everything you feel leaves a mark on your soul
Everything you touch leaves a mark on your soul
Everything you make leaves a mark on your soul
If I can touch it, I can destroy it
If it's imaginable to some degree, I can become it
Like a hungry fucking vortex that just flickers to existence
Consuming bits and pieces until I'm finally extinguished
Everyone you see leaves a mark on your soul
Everyone you bare leaves a mark on your soul
Everyone you touch leaves a mark on your soul
Everyone you love leaves a mark on your soul
And everything you take leaves a mark on your soul
Everything you give leaves a mark on your soul
And all the fear and loneliness so impossible to control
And every tear you cry leaves a mark on your soul
Automatons with business suits clinging black boxes
Sequestering the blueprints of daily life
Contented, free of care, they rejoice in morning ritual
As they file like drone ant colonies to their office in the sky
I don't ask questions, don't promote demonstrations
Don't look for new consensus, don't stray from constitution
If I pierce the complexity I won't find salvation
Just the bald and over truth of the evil and deception
There is an inner logic
And we're taught to stay far from it
It is simple and elegant
But it's cruel and antithetic
And there's no effort to reveal it
Graduated mentors stroll in marbled brick porticos
In sagacious dialog they despise their average ways
Betraying pomp and discipline, they mold their institution
Where they practice exclusion on the masses every day
I don't ask questions, don't promote demonstrations
Don't look for new consensus, don't stray from constitution
If I pierce the complexity I won't find salvation
Just the bald and over truth of the evil and deception
There is an inner logic
And we're taught to stay far from it
It is simple and elegant
But it's cruel and antithetic
And there's no effort to reveal it
Decorated warriors drill harmless kids on pavement
Simulating tyranny under red alert
Protecting the opulent and staging moral standard
They expect redemption of character and self-growth
I don't ask questions, don't promote demonstrations -- There is an inner logic
Don't look for new consensus, don't stray from constitution -- And we're taught to stay far from it
If I pierce the complexity I won't find salvation -- It is simple & elegant
Just the bald and over truth of the evil & deception -- But it's cruel & antithetic
There is an inner logic -- No equality, no opportunity
And we're taught to stay far from it -- Don't ?!? altenative
It is simple & elegant -- No equality, no opportunity
But it's cruel & antithetic -- Don't ?!? altenative
And there's no effort to reveal it
If There's a purpose and there's a goal
There's virtuous and immoral
There's a reason for all of this
But I don't know what it is
I am one and plural too
I accept them but they exclude
I could make sense of all of this
But I don't know what it is
The seeds of inspiration never germinated in my mind
The beacon of awakening is somewhere that I can't find
So I don't know what it is
There's a beginning and there's an end
There's a climax, some would contend
There's a way to signify this
But I don't know what it is
The seeds of inspiration never germinated in my mind
The beacon of awakening is somewhere that I can't find
So I don't know what it is
Show me something more to fit in it
I don't know what it is
I can't believe it, the way you look sometimes
Like a trampled flag on a city street, oh yeah!
And I don't want it, the things you're offering me
Symbolized bar code quick ID, oh yeah!
Cos I'm a 21st century digital boy
I don't know how to live but I've got a lot of toys
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual
My mommy's on valium, so ineffectual
Ain't life a mystery?
I can't explain it
The things you're saying to me
It's going yayayayayayaya, oh yeah!
Cos I'm a 21st century digital boy
I don't know how to read but I've got a lot of toys
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual
My mommy's on valium, so ineffectual
Ain't life a mystery?
I tried to tell you about no control
But now I really don't know
And then you told me how bad you had to suffer
Is that really all you have to offer?
Cos I'm a 21st century digital boy
I don't know how to live but I've got a lot of toys
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual
My mommy's on valium, so ineffectual
That's what I yearn for -- 21st century digital boy
Neurosurgeons screams for more -- 21st century digital boy
Innocents rape with napalm fire -- 21st century digital boy
Everything I want I really need -- 21st century digital boy
Ain't life a mystery?
Bad Religion.