Lyrics - The Boy in the Mansuit

The Plains..


	Lyrics - The Boy in the Mansuit All lyrics by Aaron A. Semer; copyright 2006 (BMI) Absolute Zero (Nothing Pt. 2) Notes: The sequel to Nothing on the first album. A meditation on the absence of having a moral framework by which to live your life, whether that framework be religious or of your own making. Without, You will be sold into sanity. Without, You will be caught up in vanity. Without Without Without Without, You will be pushed into scarcity. Without, You will be pulled down by gravity. Without Without Without Absolute zero. Absolute zero. No heat! No light! No energy! No, Absolute zero. Absolute zero. Without! Without! Without! Without! Without! Without! A Soldier Refuses to Pull the Trigger Notes: My idea was to write a military-style anthem to celebrate pacifism. Instead it sounds like soldiers singing Weezer. Also inspired by my brother’s year-long tenure in Iraq with the US Army. Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! You joined-up and you signed To fight for yours and mine They handed you a gun You put the safety on Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! Your discharge was denied They told you that you lied But where’d they get their figures? You just couldn’t pull the trigger Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! (Soldiers singing and marching) I hope that I can make it home By Christmas day, by Christmas day I hope that I can make it home By Christmas day in the morning All the way home By Christmas day, by Christmas day All the way home By Christmas day in the morning Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! Oh Soldier! I knew you had it in ya! You looked into his eyes Could see right through the lies Your Sergeants were all liars The shot was never fired! Oh Soldier! Soldier! Soldier! I knew you’d never… Soldier! Soldier! Soldier! I knew you’d never pull That trigger! The Decline and Fall of the American Empire Notes: Inspired by Jared Diamond’s book Collapse about the fall of great historical civilizations. This song is about embracing the fact that Western civilization is on its downward slope. Rich girls in New York City walking fast and looking pretty, well they’re coming down with the rest of us, down with the dregs and wretchedness. The apocalypse will equalize, make everyone see with clear eyes. It destroys with indiscretion – the blacks, the whites, the Mexicans. America you fortress you think that you’re above this. But you ain’t got no reason to avoid this winter season. With your wars and talking heads and your lying presidents. History it goes around and what goes up must come down. Everybody sees it coming (from miles away) Everybody sees it coming (any day now) Everybody sees it all crashing down to the ground all around and there’s nothing that can save us. Chinese cars in Auto City shipping out into our country while Detroit looks like it’s been through war and Ford lays off 30,000 more. Foreign markets soon will equalize the shares we now monopolize. We’ll watch our deficits increase as we blow a hole through the Middle East America, you fortress you think that you’re above this. But Slavery is still alive in third-world factory worker hives. What’s out of sight is out of mind. We’ll turn our backs and pretend we’re blind. Ambition soon will steal our crown and what goes up surely must come down. (Chorus) The Heart is Stupid, But the Heart is True Notes: Verse one is about the tendency of the heart to seek out new romantic liaisons as soon as it feels "trapped" in a relationship. Verse two is about the efforts of organized religions to reign in our passions, and how they will always be ultimately unsuccessful in doing so. Written in order to champion the power of passion. I believe this is the greatest statement I’ve ever made lyrically. When our hearts are free to roam Traveling down that lonesome road Often they will cling to scraps Meaningless flings that turn into traps Once those traps are set in stone The heart again will yearn to roam It pulls at us with all its might Until we disappear into the night The heart is stupid but the heart is true And it’s inside of me and it’s inside of you The heart is stupid but the heart is true Oh the things it’s made me do Some will try to pass the buck To an omnipresent god that doesn’t give a fuck Sitting high upon his throne He’d as soon have your heart removed But even in the most ardent believer There beats a little brain deceiver Deep beneath our ribs and lungs There’s a beating heart that controls our tongues The heart is stupid but the heart is true And it’s inside of me and it’s inside of you The heart is stupid but the heart is strong The heart has never been known to be wrong The heart is stupid but the heart doesn’t lie Even though we might make it try The heart is stupid but the heart is true Oh the things it’s made me do… Oh the things it’s made me do The Reinvention Song Notes: Reinventing yourself after the end of a relationship. I drove you to the ocean And you told me you don’t like the beach. Well that was a dirty game to play, but I still love you anyway. Looks like it’s gonna stay that way. We wrote our names in the sand Next to the word "4-ever." Well that was a lie, or maybe just a joke, But it still makes me choke And it’s time to runaway From everything that we once held dear And it’s time to reinvent ourselves Into something that we’ve always wanted to be. It was a fulcrum void of motion Like at the bottom of the sea. You looked relieved, winced and wheezed And it all got blamed on me. You put on your favorite black sweater The one with the hand-sewn red letter And you throw your arms around my neck And step outside into the dread. (Chorus) Silverlake Notes: Written on the day Elliot Smith died. While I was never an Elliot Smith fanatic, and can’t claim to have the clearest perspective on his life and art, it was a genuine tragedy to lose such a unique talent. And all too common. On a movie set in Silverlake, That’s where he lay. On a movie set in Silverlake, That’s where he lay. What’s gonna happen to you now that the world has used you up? What’s gonna happen to you now that the world has used you up? We follow in your footsteps but don’t pass through your eyes. What’s gonna happen to you now that the world has used you up? What’s gonna happen to you… On a movie set in Silverlake, That’s where he lay. On a movie set in Silverlake, That’s where he lay. I don’t know what I can say about it. Time’s my friend but she hasn’t called back yet. Push the needle underneath the skin. Can’t look out so I will look within. To my girl when she finds me, Tell my friends when you see them: "Immortalize me, Immortalize me, Immortalize me, Immortalize me!" When everything was cashing in You sacrificed it all. "I tried to run, I tried but my back’s against the wall. You know the world’s been bitter For far too long, far too long." On a movie set in Silverlake, That’s where he lay. On a movie set in Silverlake, That’s where he lay. You Never Let me Believe Notes: Similar in theme to Pink Floyd’s The Wall. About the subtle mind control practiced in education, and the ability of some to transcend that. I feel everything that you tell me to, I write your words on the walls. And they let me be, they let all the kids see A glimpse of hope and relief. You never let me believe You never let me believe You never let me believe That I was free. The girls with their clothes, the boys with their "fronts" Standing on opposite walls. The taste of desire like blood on their lips The TV said love is for real, And we all should feel… You never let me believe You never let me believe You never let me believe That I was free. Most of us will fall right into place A square peg through a square hole. But some of those kids, with blood on their faces, Will fight until death do they part. You never let me believe You never let me believe You never let me believe That I was free. Marriage (As Viewed Through a Porthole at the Bottom of the Sea) Notes: It’s difficult for me, even, to explain this one. One day, this story just came into my head about a married couple in a Sea Lab who were doing horrible things to one another in a tiny confined space. The rest just played itself out. And I swear I wrote this BEFORE the movie The Life Aquatic was released. They got married on a dare So they still had sex with other people. But they lived in a world at the bottom of the sea So all their affairs couldn’t be more transparent. In fact, at times they were ludicrously obvious. So-the-girl-said-to-the-boy, "I’d feel much better If I knew that every night you’d be sleeping by my side." And-the-boy-said-to-the-girl, "I’d feel much better If we just shut the fuck up and pretended not to know." Then he hopped in his escape pod and jetted out to sea. She watched his shape disappear through the porthole. She knew he’d be back once the liquor stopped flowin’ But neither of them knew in which bunk he’d be sleepin’. (2 Bar musical interlude simulating a crash.) About 3 AM the decompression chamber sounded And there stood their Captain with a tear in his eye. He said, "Honey I’m sorry, but he ain’t coming home. Deep in the chasm there was a terrible accident. They say he didn’t even see the Octopus coming, And it crushed him like a bug in the hands of a giant. Left his remains to scatter in the currents. His blood spread like a blanket tucking in all the sea creatures Much like the way he must have curled-up next to you." She said, "I thank you for your words, but Sir you’re quite mistaken. You see, we haven’t slept together in quite some time. And I suppose right now what I’m supposed to be feeling Is intense longing and deep regret. But you see, our marriage was something quite different. It was less about love and more like a bet. So now that he’s gone I’m not entirely sorry, But I sure will miss him as a friend. I just might miss him as a friend." Letter From the USA Notes: Written while my brother was in Iraq. It’s about a culture of fear in the U.S. and subtle mind-control techniques. Pretty self-explanatory, really. You spend your life in over-time. You sign right there on the dotted line. If you got something to say Say it to my face this time. You pass it down to your children’s kids This fear of the life that you’ve got to live. If you got something to say Say it to my face this time. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna feel. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna feel. You dispatch fear through the cable lines, With lies and guns you control our minds. If you got something to say Say it to my face this time. But that’s what we’ve come to expect, Freedom ready-made, for sale in a kit. If you got something to say Say it to my face this time. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna feel. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna feel. I opened up the mail today, There was a letter from the USA. It was a letter from the USA. I Feel Like I Can Never Go Home Again Notes: Also pretty self-explanatory. About creating a feeling of "home" with someone, and then losing that when the relationship ends. I saw you walking arm-in-arm with him And I don’t wanna know Who he is or where you were going. Times like this I feel like a fool again And I don’t wanna know Where you are or what you’ve been doing. Because I feel like I can never go home again ‘Cause it’s not home without you It’s not home when you’re not there, When you’re not there… I come home at night to an empty house And now I wanna know If you’re at home feeling lonely too. ‘Cause I don’t think I can take being here right now These walls are closing in. Feels like nothing but wood, paint, and paper. Because I feel like I can never go home again ‘Cause it’s not home without you It’s not home when you’re not there, When you’re not there… Oh don’t cut it, ‘cause girl I can’t cut it, I’m so sick of running, I don’t think I can make it. Because I feel like I can never go home again ‘Cause it’s not home without you It’s not home when you’re not there, When you’re not there… Pasts Like Circles Notes: Written for the feature-film Hush, directed by Benjamin Gil-Solheim. Ben made a great film about growing up as an adopted kid in Minnesota. I related to its Midwestern roots, so when he asked me to compose a song for it, I decided to focus on the traditions of my own family in Ohio. My family’s farm is currently in its 7th generation of operation. Three of those generations have been to War – WWII, Vietnam, and Iraq. I struggle all the time with my decision to leave my roots, but I ultimately cannot live the life that is offered to me there, even though I admire that tradition greatly. Something’s gotta break sometime On a Midwestern skyline, Where relentless horizons Send minds wandering, From coasts and skyways To hi-ways and by-ways, Your-ways and my-ways We’ve traveled these paths before. We ride, Like gods in chariots To predestined futures And pasts like circles. The parallel lines of wires Like maps across blue skies Drawing a straight line Between two points, like a guide. Generations have lived and died here And we’ll be the first to leave here, If only we can sever the ties that bind. We stand, Like monuments and headstones Bloodlines mixed with bones And pasts like circles. We send our kids to die Long before their time The cause is lost, families torn, And bodies sent home to mourn. From coasts and skyways To hi-ways and by-ways, Your-ways and my-ways We’ve traveled these paths before. We ride, Like gods in chariots To predestined futures And pasts like circles. We stand, Like monuments and headstones Bloodlines mixed with bones And pasts like circles.