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Good Riddance
A Comprehensive Guide To Moderne Rebellion
"The feeling is definitely there! It's a new morning in america, fresh, vital, the old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders, we're optimistic as to what's to come of it all. It all boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism!"
What about the times you did your best
To assuage my troubled soul
What happened to me, what happened to you?
What was it that you said would see us through?
I want to know how to feel something real
And I will try no more to run
All this pressure getting closer
And it seems like i've been here before
Time on my hands
Weight of the world
Laid bare my soul
As I lose control
Run away!
You can retrace those steps and find your way once more
I'll wait!
Believe in yourself as the cruel world closes in
Take my hand!
I'll be a friend for you this weight you bare alone
One day
The light I know will illuminate your heart
Time on my hands
Weight of the world
Laid bare my soul
As I lose control
When I beat my head against
The wall of convention
The blood I taste
Is everyone's
I fought a battle thought unpopular
For stakes nobody seems to see
Nobody sees but me
One step forward
Two steps back -- come on and try me
One step forward
Two steps back -- come on and try me
My pain is the pain of children
My heart is burning with their shame
When mother cries all day
I'll wipe those tears away
You can't, you can't grow up healthy in a house of
One step forward
Two steps back -- come on and try me
One step forward
Two steps back -- come on and try me
For every father holding back the angry fire until five
When it festers on the drive
His boss has shamed him to tears
He should "take it like a man" but he never had a man to (tell him)
One step forward
Two steps back -- come on and try me
How are you feeling? How does someone like you elude the moral quarantine?
Does your repression only server the greater lie as you abuse & objectify
All the emotions you defeat you've got the world down at your feet
Cos you think you've silenced all the critics of your misogynistic lies
You wake up from your reveries you'd better realize
That you're a model of virility, a specimen divine
As you deflower you empower the false ego trapped inside
And by the virtue of your "conquests" you've endeared yourself
To those, to those who you hold in high esteem
Cos you think you've silenced all the critics of your misogynistic lies
But when you wake up from your reveries you'd better realize
You've got to rectify
That attitude
You're a hopeless case
And now you're too late
You've got to rectify
That attitude
You're a hopeless case
And now you're too late
Call her a whore, she's just the same as you
Though she could never be that shallow
But you just take what you can get
Then you throw the rest away
A notch in your belt
Another score, another lay
Cos you think you've silenced all the critics of your misogynistic lies
But when you wake up from your reveries you'd better realize
You've got to rectify
That attitude
You're a hopeless case
And now you're too late
You've got to rectify
That attitude
You're a hopeless case
And now you're too late
You're taking
She's giving
You're losing you think you're winning
You're time is running out now
Doesn't feel the, doesn't feel the same
It doesn't feel the
Suppose you did it out of love
Feel that pressure from above
Didn't perform quite up to par
I only gained another scar
I'm not your trophy
I will not shine for you
Sorry for the disappointment
I did the best I could but here I've let the family down again
I'm your failure your mistake
Cos I failed to break the tape
I'm your shameful progeny
Your begotten tragedy
You ought to know
I'm not for show
You ought to know
I'm not for show
You ought to know
I'm not for show
You ought to know
You've sworn allegiance to your dreams but still it seems so hard
That tightrope that you walk why can't you put it down
Drink your way through one more, clouded chapter of your life
The hands reaching out to help you only seemed to push you further away
Your time's up and away
Made your choice now there's nothing left to say
Your time's up and away
And away
Mistreated & abused but they couldn't steal your heart
Everyone was so confused but your friends all played their part
Most likely to succeed still you threw it all away
Now your dreams lie buried next to you they're gone forever
Your time's up and away
You made your choice now there's nothing left to say
Your time's up and away
And away
Where's the spark in your eye
I miss your smile
You're burning inside out
Did you want to?
Everything they told you to make the bad things go away
Everything that they kept from you, everything I wanted to say
Your time's up and away
You made your choice now there's nothing left to say
Your time's up and away
And away
Do you believe? We can make a change
Will you believe tomorrow? Or will it slip away?
Black & white, we're all the fucking same
Demographics, keep us caught up in the game
Violence, what the fuck do you expect?
The cause has left us leaving nothing but effect
The laughter has subsided leaving hatred in it's wake
In a nation trusting no one, sworn to bend but never break
America is burning look around it's in the air
But I'll be the last believer as long as I still care and I still care, I still care
What's going on? What's happened now?
Show me a purpose, please show me how
Desperate times, one thousand symptoms, one disease
Government tradition, genocidal policies
Don't look back, don't wait until history repeats
No, no more lies, no more bodies in the streets
The laughter has subsided leaving hatred in it's wake
In a nation trusting no one, sworn to bend but never break
America is burning look around it's in the air
But I'll be the last believer as long as I still care and I still care
Go!
The laughter has subsided leaving hatred in it's wake
In a nation trusting no one, sworn to bend but never break
America is burning look around it's in the air
But I'll be the last believer as long as I still care and I still care
Like a weathered statue I will wait for you
The darkness fading waiting to see it through
Like an ardent cry wakes me from the silence of my sleep
Like a distant bell, like a man who fights the system fights to keep
If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it
There's nothing free in this world, nothing free in this life
If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it
There's nothing free, there's nothing free
Like a super hero I'll try to save the world
With an anesthetic to life a thousand fingers
Like a man accused I'll weigh the consequence
Like a man afraid of the madness just outside its picket fence
If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it
There's nothing free in this world, nothing free in this life
If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it
There's nothing free, there's nothing free
Why did you need to take that pill?
Never has and never will
Make you better make you well
You're shackled in your self-inflicted cell
Sunlight you'll never see
You're a prisoner of pharmacology
Yeah!
And you're telling me you feel fine, never better
That's what you said in your last letter
That was read aloud at your memorial last week
Where are you now? up above?
I hope you find some kind of love
That isn't bottled or tamper-resistant
But unconditional & consistent
The peace you've spent you lifetime searching for, searching for
If this is what it takes
Maybe others will learn form your mistakes
And turn off that blacklight before it gets too late
Turn off that blacklight before it gets too late
True freedom they give us
No slaughter too sacrilegious
The smoke clears on bloated bodies
I feel safe now do they want me
Service
We fought there in the jungles
I saw nothing I felt no enemy
We died there in the foxhole
My companion lay bleeding in my arms
Service
So proud
Pride so quick to murder for posterity
Hatred trained to operate manually
I had a dream that I woke up in a sweat just like before another self-inflicted nightmare I will not forget
I felt a light, I saw you shine, something's wrong I felt that tremor in my soul, that memory, one last time, one last
time
This is the light, this is the way
Where the darkness keeps the sun away
This is the light, this is the way
This stream of memories carries me away, carries me away
Well! I know my head at least I thought I did I'd take a silver bullet through my soul if I could give
This phantom friend, this runaway train of thought, somebody's been following me through every trial I've ever sought,
never sought
This is the light, this is the way
Where the darkness keeps the sun away
This is the light, this is the way
This stream of memories carries me away, carries me away
These tears leave scars as they run down my face
I'm changing, I'm leaving now, now I'm leaving for a better place
This is the light, this is the way
Where the darkness keeps the sun away
This is the light, this is the way
This stream of memories carries me away, carries me away
Try to tell me where your heart is, you say there's nothing wrong
The honesty in your eyes tells me that I should be strong
I don't want to wrapped up in morbid reflection, that's a pessimistic space
The situations I imagine are lost somewhere in you face
When were together it's bittersweet
Now your with him and I miss you
I feel somehow incomplete
Try to stand on my own
I take it one day at a time
And if you ask me how I'm doing
Bite my lip and say I'm fine
Well! Don't know, I can't sing
Can't sleep, do anything
I just know I'll be there waiting
For you to come around
When were together it's bittersweet
Now your with him and I miss you
I feel somehow incomplete
Try to stand on my own
I take it one day at a time
And if you ask me how I'm doing
Bite my lip and say I'm fine
I know you tell me all the time that I worry too much but
Not a day goes by where I'm not thinking about you
What we had, what we could have
If you just give me one more chance
I miss you, I miss you, I miss you, it's so bittersweet
I miss you, I miss you, I miss you, it's so bittersweet
What should I say
I guess things didn't go my way
But you insist on shining light
On my greatest failures fallible is me
But you can see this isn't my reality
It's just the way things go for us
Someone out there
Saying life just isn't fair
But it's the simple disappointments
And the great mistakes that make you wiser
But you can see this isn't my reality
It's just the way things go for us
And what about the times you set me straight
Still left me waiting at the gate
It's just the way things go for us, for us
I'm sick of trying at your way
Did you really think I'd make it anyway
I pulled this splinter from my face
Found another worthwhile cause to take your place, yeah!
Woke up O.K.
It's just another rainy day
And I'm feeling the same way as you
They put a parking lot on a piece of land,
Where the super market used to stand.
Before that, they put up a bowling alley,
On the site that used to be the local Pali.
That's where the big bands used to come and play,
My sister went there on a Saturday.
Come dancing! All her boyfriends used to come and call,
Why not come dancing! It's only natural.
Another Saturday, another date,
She would be ready but she'd always make him wait.
In the hallway in anticipation,
He didn't know the night would end up in frustration.
He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week,
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek.
Come dancing! Is how they did it when I was just a kid
And when they said come dancing my sister always did .
My sister should have come in at midnight,
And my mom would always sit up and wait.
It always ended up in a big row,
When my sister used to get home late.
Out of my window, I could see them in the moonlight,
Two sillohettes, saying goodnight by the garden gate.
The day they knocked down the Pali,
My sister stood and cried.
The day they knocked down the Pali,
Part of my childhood died, just died
Now I'm grown up and playing in a band,
And there's a park lot where the Pali used to stand.
My sister's married and she lives on an estate,
Her daughters go out, now it's her turn to wait.
She lets them get away with things she never could,
But if I asked her, I wonder if she would.
Come dancing! Come on, Sister, have yourself a ball!
Why not come dancing! It's only natural.
I feel my bones decay
Haven't got a thing to say
I never thought that I could end up this way
Maybe I should have known
But now my cover's blown
I've been up for hours but my feet never touched the floor
I can't pretend that I'm as funny as all you're friends
I'll wear this lampshade on my skull for one more night
I've got a project car
I've got a V.C.R.
I've got a hundred friends but I don't know where they are
My life's a fantasy
I'm just a wanna-be
Another throw away contemporary enemy
I can't pretend that I'm as funny as all you're friends
I'll wear this lampshade on my skull for one more night, one more night
Did you want me to be
The life of the party
I've made some mistakes
Stop kicking yourself
Cos I blame me
I blame me
Still the same -- still the same
Still the same -- still the same
Still the same -- still the same
Nothing is changed
I never knew how good I had it
I had to treat you like a habit
It became what I'd guess you call a slight obsession
Now I've had some time to work it out
Too much time to be without
The one I've wanted you're my right direction
When you're back there do you think of me?
When you're alone before you sleep
You are the one I'm waiting for
This time's not like before
I'm gonna carry you away, carry you away
Thinking good things now
I know we'll work it out somehow
Try to keep my chin up but it's so hard to let you go
It never hurt before to be alone
Now your voice is salvation on the phone
I only wish you weren't so far away
When you're back there do you think of me?
When you're alone before you sleep
You are the one I'm waiting for
This time's not like before
I'm gonna carry you away, carry you away
When you're back there do you think of me?
When you're alone before you sleep
You are the one I'm waiting for
This time's not like before
I'm gonna carry you away, carry you away
Look out below the sky is falling
Today is the day the weak will be slain
Carrion swarm towards human landfills
A final resting place for the enemies of the state
Their truth is a lie
With break neck speed & sterile affection
We swallow a culture being spoon fed to us
Like dutiful sheep being led to the slaughter
We awaken infected in the land of the free
And
The home of the brave
Do not believe
When it's time to start working to reconstruct
A life programmed to self-destruct
When it's time to set your sights on something better
When all that you've known is the emptiness of being alone
When friends start drifting away, drifted away
Sometimes it's better to let go
It only hurts to hold on to time worn memories
Sometimes it's never what is seems
It only serves to break your will, serves to break your will
Had a dream last night that you & I got in a fight
I never meant to hurt you but I guess it ended up that way
We went our seperate ways and I stayed mad for six whole days
That's when I realized when I'm alone, when I'm alone I'm in bad company
Sometimes it's better to let go
It only hurts to hold on to time worn memories
Sometimes it's never what is seems
It only serves to break your will, serves to break your will
I want to help you
But you've gotta want to help yourself
I don't want to bury another friend
I take it day by day, watch the people I love just fade away
Where's the good in this?
Whatever happened to you?
Sometimes it's better to let go
It only hurts to hold on to time worn memories
Sometimes it's never what is seems
It only serves to break your, serves to break your will
Good Riddance.
Russ Rankin -- vocals.
Luke Pabich -- guitar & backing vocals.
Chuck Division -- bass & vocals.
Sean Sellers -- drums.
Additional lead & backing vocals on A Credit To His Gender by Cinder Block.
All songs written by Russ
Except for #1-4-6-11-16, music by Luke & lyrics by Russ.
Come Dancing by The Kinks.
Recorded at Razor's Edge Studios, San Fransisco, CA, 1996.