You've Got A Chance
A rhapsody! Contestants in disguise
A nation of
desire
But who will win the prize?
The people stand united,
Reluctantly
aligned
Copying and lying
Are the favorite past-time
You've got a
chance
To confront the world today
Desperate romance
Is the curse of
castaways
What good is skill
If you don't make it to the dance?
Despite
circumstance
You've got a chance
Common life depicted on afternoon
tv,
Is spiked to give the miserable a vogue identity
Hate your
neighbors,
Cheat your friends,
They don't discriminate
Popularity and
fame don't care
If you're a reprobate
You've got a chance
To
confront the world today
Desperate romance
Is the curse of
castaways
What good is skill
If you don't make it to the dance?
Despite
circumstance
You've got a chance
I'm tired of all
this
Shakespearean misinformation
I want to win the game
You've got the
right intentions
But who's got time to think?
You've got a noon
appointment,
You've got to hit the links
You're talking in the
stratosphere,
You're curled up on the floor
With such a wealth of
information,
Why are you so poor?
You've got a chance
To be relevant
today
Desperate romance
Is the curse of castaways
What good is
skill
If you don't make it to the dance?
(don't you believe what the wise
men have to say)
Despite circumstance
You've got a chance
It's A Long Way To The Promise Land
It's a long way to the promise
land
So you'd better well know your way
There's a ship on the ocean
And
an albatross who is trying to lead you astray
Leaders, politicians, and power
whores
Are in line to receive your choice
And you bet your ass, if you
give it to them,
They will gladly take your voice
And it's a long way to
the promise land
Wo-oh Oh oh oh oh
It's a long way to the promise
land,
If we work we might find it here
There's no substitute for
enlightenment,
There's no reason for bridled fear
When you join the people
who've joined the club
You gotta clench and play your hand
'Cuz if you
fall in line you're gonna fall in time
And you'll never make a stand
It's
a long way to the promise land
Wo-oh Oh oh oh oh
What are you going to
do?
When they come for you?
Bend and capitulate?
Or keep your head on
straight?
easy answers bought without experience,
Is gonna lead you to
certain doom
Because the truth is just what you make of it,
It begins and
ends with you!
And it's a long way to the promise land
Wo-oh oh oh oh oh
A World Without Melody
I don't want to live
In a world without
melody
Sometimes the rhythmic din
Of society is too much for me
But
purpose is prioritized
These days the goal is win the prize
There's a
sleeping resonance we hold,
Through which we're unified
So let it out!
don't just get lost in the crowd
No one can deter you from your own
path
There's no trip too remote
From which you can't come back
And I've
got this hunch about you and me
None of us are ready
For a world without
melody
Melody is the key,
It's the surest way
To unlock your
individuality
Melody is the key,
It will set you free!
Don't disrelish
harmony,
Community will make you whole
Work and understanding are the
chords
Way deep within your soul
They only need to be struck once,
And
the vibrations swell and spread
But if we mute them they decay,
Our
sensibilities are dead
So let it out! don't just be one of the
crowd
Hesitance and diffidence will do you in
And your soul doesn't
care
For social medicine
And I've got this hunch
About you and
me
None of us are ready
For a world without melody
Melody is the
key,
It's the surest way
To unlock your individuality
Melody is the
key,
It will set you free!
And I know together we could change the
world
Just you and me
But I won't live without melody
1000 Memories
You were the one,
You were my everything
Never
apart,
No one in-between
Then one day,
When you went your own
way
You felt justified,
And I was mortified
But today...
You are
just a picture
And a thousand memories
Is all I take with me
'Cuz your
smile
Is just too much to see
You're just a thousand
memories
Fantasies, broken dreams
Reveries, sordid histories
Following
my heart,
Laden with reaction,
Without calibration or design
Committed
to a trial,
A life of understanding
Can't somebody show a sign to
you
For me to see if you only knew
That you were the one
You were my
everything
Never apart,
No one in-between
Then one day,
When you
went your own way
You felt justified,
And I was mortified
But
today...
You are just a picture
And a thousand memories
Is all I take
with me
'Cuz a picture is worth
one thousand memories
A Streetkid Named Desire
Well, it was punk-fifteen in the morning
And
it was time to stand my ground
And as the gawks and stares bombarded
me
You know, I didn't even hear a sound
No one gave a damn
If I was
there or away
If I died and went to hell,
They'd throw a party on my
grave
And they'd all say
"this kid is just a fool, he'll never be
cool
They might as well just ship him off
to some other school"
Plain
destitute
Just a little too guilty, just a little too soon
That day was
just like any other day
No work, and no pay
I knew that paradise was some
other place
And I'd get there another day
I will find it before I
expire
'Cuz I've got the desire
Well, it was punk-fifteen in the
evening
And it was time to set the town on fire
I saw my boots and my
hair
As reflected in the mirror
Reveal a streetkid named desire
I
didn't give a damn
Because I was just dying to be
And as the Hollywood
street scene
Left its mark on me
I changed from a boy into a man
I said
"never again!"
I stuck out my chin when I should have ran
Shit in the
fan
I was driven so hard
By the sound of my heart
But that day was just
like any other day
No work, and no pay
I knew that paradise was some other
place
And I'd get there another day
I will find it before I expire
'Cuz
I've got the desire
When the walls surround
In deeper shades of
blue
And there's no voice of reason inside you
And you search for
meaning
On an empty shelf
Then you're always dreaming
Of somewhere
else
Today is just like any other day
No fear, no restraint
I know that
paradise is some other place
And I will get there another day
You can come
with me,
No conditions or fares
Somehow, somewhere,
I will find it
before I expire,
'Cuz I've got the desire
Whisper In Time
All those stories that my dad told me,
they are just
a whisper in time
All those things that never came to be,
they are just a
whisper in time
A whisper in time, a whisper in time
Things that I can't
shake from my mind
A whisper in time, a whisper in time
Moments that just
flicker and die
(memories that flicker and die)
All those places I wanted
to go,
they are just a whisper in time
All those friends who now I do not
know,
they are just a whisper in time
A whisper in time, a whisper in
time
Things that I can't shake from my mind
A whisper in time, a whisper
in time
Moments that just flicker and die
Maps and roads that brought me
here today,
they are just a whisper in time
Circumstances that were
explained away,
they are just a whisper in time
A whisper in time, a
whisper in time
Things that I can't shake from my mind
A whisper in time,
a whisper in time
Moments that just flicker and die
'Cuz we are messengers
of memory
Just whispers in time
Believe It
It could happen to you,
a defect from the wasted outskirts
of los angeles
with a crumpled-up pass for the RTD
And no authority or
trajectory
on the brink of insanity
You'd better believe it
because
it's written all over your face
just a neighborhood reject,
out of step
and out of place
You'd better believe it
Would you ever have
thought
persistence could prevail
against the almost
unbearable weight
of the system?
With nothing better to do,
and no one else who you can look
up to
You'd better believe it
because it's written all over your face
A
political defect,
out of step and out of place
You'd better believe
it
And the future is bright
when ideas run astray
So turn out the
light,
A punk can't have a say
Sometimes desire is all that's there
Who
said life was fair?
There Will Be A Way
Shut your eyes
See the future's distant
shore
March ahead
More enlightened than before
And there's sure to be
bumps and distractions
but I know we'll get through
There will be me,
there will be you
There will be a way
Unresolved repercussions from your
life
Fortified with the vitriol of strife
And you can be gridlocked by
predictions,
But you're wise grab the prize
Then revise, realize
there
will be a way
Hey... Ho
And I don't know where we are going
but we're
here on this ride
And we'll stand side by side
all along the way
Follow
me to the future's distant shore
Vagary needn't haunt us anymore
And now
it's time to set the agenda,
Learn the past, make it last
Share the
wealth, hold your fire,
conserve life, make it right
kill the hate,
negotiate
There will be a way
Let It Burn
Let your mind wander
Look beyond the shadows
Focus on
the skyline,
Read the silhouettes
Your deepest desires
are a picture of
tomorrow
All your darkest fears
are just a vestige of regret
And it's
wo-oh oh oh
It seems like such a long way to go
As obstacles get
bigger,
prevailing winds blow stronger
and the fire continues to
grow
Don't let shallow water limit your perception
Heed the new
horizon
Muster to it fast
The moments of your yesterdays
are in the
wake behind you
You can't assess the future
if you're living in the
past
Keep it stoked!
If you are committed
to a life of
understanding
then there's no agenda
for vengeance in your life
Sharpen
all your senses,
face the opposition
You can overcome
with fortitude
and mental might
And it's wo-oh oh oh
It seems like such a long way to
go
As obstacles get bigger,
prevailing winds blow stronger
and the fire
continues to grow
in your soul
So be bold, let it grow
Don't let it
die
Let it burn!
Don't Sell Me Short
we don't need any more mountains
Because the
trail builders
failed to give us passage there
so we can't reach the
sky
We don't need any more failure
There is human tragedy
that's
written everywhere
And we are all too young to die
Like a mystery that's
here to stay
Some people never go away
cuz they've got something to
say
Don't sell me short!
You've been wrong too long
Don't brush me
off
just because I don't belong
Like it or not I'm all you've
got,
Dispose when I'm shot
Just don't sell me short,
I might not be who
you thought
We don't need any more fables
because the writers have
passed
and left us lessonless
And we must find our own way
We don't
need any more privilege
There is vivid desperation
that is
powerless
That no surplus can repay
Like the fix of rapture in a
trance
Oh, fates are sealed by circumstance
So you've got to take a
chance
Don't sell me short!
You've been wrong too long
Don't brush me
off
Just because I don't belong
Pass me on by, ignore my cry,
forget me
when I die
Just don't sell me short,
Not while I'm still
alive
Everybody's talking about heaven on earth,
I'm still trying to
figure out
just what I'm worth
I'm full of emotion
and stuff you can't
contain
And you just want to
flush me down the drain
But you can't make
me go away
Lose As Directed
Little girl's eyes open wide
Two ways to go but you
can't decide
Follows all rules, has no say
Ends up in somebody else's
play
Close your eyes cause you just don't need them anyway
Lose as
directed, don't take no chance
Don't hinge your life upon
circumstance
Mystery and misery go hand in hand
So you better follow the
master plan
Don't use your head, lose as directed
Little boy sitting in
his master's arms
Safe and protected from any harm
Wants to be a man,
wants to branch out
But he's told not to ask questions or doubt
Close your
mind, it's a book of instructions now
Lose as directed don't take no
chance
Don't hinge your life upon circumstance
Mystery and misery go hand
in hand
So you better follow the master plan
Don't use your head, lose as
directed
Lose as directed
Let's go!
Monkey see, monkey do
Just
another animal in the zoo
Got four wall security
Never even have to read a
recipe
But it's not exactly what you would call free
Lose as directed,
don't take no chance
Don't hinge your life upon circumstance
Mystery and
misery go hand in hand
So you better follow the master plan
Don't use your
head, lose as directed
Lose as directed
You lose!
Pretenders
I give to you, you take from me
We live in perfect
harmony
But I know you can't give me what I need
wWith subtle care and
rosey hues
We duke it out, we change our views
We hold so dear our
unanimity
Oh...
We are just pretenders
We are just pretenders, lost in
this charade
We are just pretenders, characters on stage
We are just
pretenders, trying to break free
We are just pretenders, hiding so no one
sees
We try to find our peace of mind
Just a vestige we left behind
But
ignorance takes far less energy
And if you please, I'll look to
you
Because I need somebody who
forgives me for my harsh
reality
Oh...but
We are just pretenders
We are just pretenders, we're
trying to break free
We are just pretenders, we'll lose them easily
We are
just pretenders, trying to break free
We are just pretenders, hiding so no
one sees
You standing there
playing with your hair
Trying to
ignore
but peeking in the mirror
Re-living the scenes
from books and
magazines
Craving the life
you live in your dreams
And I'm standing
here
Thinking that it's queer
But fearing that I am the same
You ask me
how I feel
It's so damn surreal
I think it's finally time we ended this
game
'cause we are just pretenders
We are just pretenders, lost in this
charade
We are just pretenders...
Queen Of The 21st Century
From the time she could crawl she was all
draped in macrame
She was preened and redeemed in a church that tried to show
the way
She was taught to never ask for more
They had no idea of what she
had in store
She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a ghost of what
her parents thought a little girl should be
Analog heart, analog nerves,
analog brain
but a fixture of the digital domain
From the time she
could read she could see that there was urgency
No debate, just a spate of
ignorance in a splintering community
She could never meet their
expectations
Then she came to symbolize the nation
She's the queen of
the 21st century
Just a shred of what her parents thought a little girl
should be
Steeped in spite, coddled in fear, drenched in novelty
but
masterful at sensual technology
She's the queen, no rules in her
empire
She's the queen, just libido and desire
She's the lean, mean,
fighting machine, the stuff of modernmedia lore
And she always knows the
score
She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a ghost of what her parents
thought a little girl should be
Fallen star, Black and Blue
Broken hearts,
Wasted Youth
Rusted cars, twisted roots
Mental scars, the ugly
truth
She's the queen of the 21st century
and she's a modernday
polemic
a walking controversy
She's the queen!
