Lyrics
(AS YET) UNRELEASED EP
Rise Up!
Rise Up!
Rise Up!
Rise Up!
Lies in the daylight
Lies in the dark
Periods keep changing into question marks
Pretend no difference
‘Tween false and true
A telephone is ringing we know now for who
You can take the truth away but you can’t make it not matter
When the lights turn on rats will always scatter
Rise Up! Better together not divided by one
Rise Up! Never surrender any parts from the sum
Rise Up! Better together not divided by one
Rise Up! Never surrender we shall overcome
Let’s bring our hands together
Applaud the king
Even though he ain't wearing anything
No one can reason
With a bully kicking sand
There’s just one language that they understand
An exclamation point square in the mouth
Leave no doubt to what we are talking about
Too far gone to just bide our time
Chance to resist has passed us by
We’ve got to organize and mobilize
Time to step up! Defy! We’ve got to rise!
Rise Up! Better together not divided by one
Rise Up! Never surrender any parts from the sum
Rise Up! Better together not divided by one
Rise Up! Never surrender we shall overcome
Rise Up! Better together not divided by one
Rise Up! Never surrender any parts from the sum
Rise Up! Better together not divided by one
Rise Up! Never surrender we shall overcome
© 2020 Dean Kesler / Thirteenth Try Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
LOVE LETTERS TO A MANNEQUIN
Mittens make it hard to tie your shoes
Still you must get out the door
Think you should but you can't always choose
Expecting less don't mean there's more
When the darkness comes to find me she'll know just where I am
An icy pall surrounds me beaten down and left for dead
Make the best of what you can't eschew
You needn't always see the shore
When the darkness comes to find me she might know where I am
On my knees and clawing can't find the way til I begin
Inevitable is the end
Don't close the door before it’s opened
When the darkness comes to find me will she know where I am
Stumbling past and climbing hanged for a sheep as for a lamb
Your heart plays the part but hates the ruse
While your head plays tug of war
When the darkness comes to find me she won't know where I am
Sitting in the light and beaming can't wait to tell where I have been
When the darkness comes to find me she won't know where I am
Sitting in the light and beaming can't wait to tell where I have been
Clutch the fear or cleave it boldly
Only one shot, a single drop
There ain’t gonna be no ride back to the top
Glance at the edge
Fingers now are movin' slowly
Thin side of the wedge
Clutch the fear or cleave it boldly
This delicate dance, near the daunting expanse
Provides a rare circumstance of emotion
How will she know
Without reaching too far
Just how far she can go
She holds the edge close
It’s allure starts to grow
Anticipation she can not disguise
She would love to let go
If she could only fall slowly
To savor this blissful demise
A zero sum, effectively numb
Hollow and dry as a funeral drum
Consequence
A paradox that seems to hold her
Should she acquiesce
Let sudden gravity enfold her
This high wire act, is it fable or fact
Is there a way to retract from this notion
Vow to let go
Ignore all of the scars
‘Cause she’s just got to know
She holds the edge close
It’s allure starts to grow
Anticipation she can not disguise
She would love to let go
If she could only fall slowly
To savor this blissful demise
She holds the edge close
It’s allure starts to grow
Anticipation she can not disguise
She would love to let go
If she could only fall slowly
To savor this blissful demise
She wants each high and each low
No more status quo
Only one shot, a single drop
There ain’t gonna be no ride back to the top
Clutch the fear or cleave it boldly
You can't handle subtlety
So let me put it succinctly
An acrimonious melody
Straight to you from me
I know to you this may seem weak
But my head can’t turn the other cheek
No more words, let deeds convey
My heart will find another way
Just turning up to be turned down
Expecting you to not want me around
Time to liberate
No words can illustrate
Futile now to show restraint
Giving it to you straight
Can no longer be discrete
Too little light, with too much heat
No more avoidance and retreat
It’s time to try a new technique
I’m turning up to be turned down
Expecting you to not want me around
You think you failed, I know you quit
Now is the end of all of it
It's time for a conclusion
Conclusion, delusion
A different sort of resolution
Resolution, dissolution
Made up my mind
Gonna be different this time
I’m turning up to be turned down
Expecting you to not want me around
You think you failed, I know you quit
Now is the end of all of it
I’m turning up to be turned down
Expecting you to not want me around
You think you failed, I know you quit
Now is the end of all of it
Feeling vengeful and venomous
Hair-trigger treacherous
The last petal has been plucked
Not giving in, I’m giving up
I make it better, you make it worse
You get the blessing, I feel the curse
You’ve taken pleasure from my pain
You get the credit, and I take all the blame
I’m turning up to be turned down
Expecting you to not want me around
You think you failed, I know you quit
Now is the end of all of it
I’m turning up to be turned down
Expecting you to not want me around
You think you failed, I know you quit
Now is the end of all of it
Just turning up to be turned down
In the newsstands of my mind rage the headlines of our time
The ink runs red, read just like my heart
Seems a deadline has been met, soon I may regret
The finish of a story yet to start
What can it be that you intend
When all I read are stories that I cannot comprehend
We tried to play the part but can’t change who we are
Seems your mind’s made up of who I ought to be
As the pieces fall, I’d do anything at all
But I can’t be anyone if it isn’t me
An end has been foretold, a bill of goods that must be sold
Seems you’re the only one to be convinced
Your silent auction has commenced, indifferent pretense
My worthless bid resoundingly evinced
Nothing left to recommend
All I see are signals that I cannot comprehend
We tried to play the part but can’t change who we are
Seems your mind’s made up of who I ought to be
As the pieces fall, I’d do anything at all
But I can’t be anyone if it isn’t me
All our scars are on the inside, mine a sign that I survived
Though the scars are ours and though they coincide
Random lines assigned with meanings that we’ve ascribed
They’ll be forgotten memoirs of a time that we
Tried to play the part but can’t change who we are
Seems our mind’s made up of who we ought to be
As our pieces fall, I can’t do anything at all
I won’t be anyone if it isn’t me
Well I hoped your heart came here to stay but it heads the other way
So little left of us now still remains
Seems something's different than before, you don't love me any more
And tell me you can never see that change
Sun set, low tide, the misery unfolds
Pooling memories crowd the beach
The jetsam now exposed
Only a shadow walks beside me
Everything's fine
Just a bump on the road
Nothing we haven't been through before
Nothing we can't work through
Fields plowed, dreams sown, through season’s ebb we thrived
Never doubted you’d be there
For another warm sunrise
But I wonder where you’ll be tomorrow
Everything's fine
It’s just a bump on the road
Nothing we haven't been through before
Nothing we won’t work through
Darkness lies along the horizon
Marauding army preparing to strike
My glowing hope is sinking
Drawn to darkness, I picture the light
Everything's fine
Just a bump
Nothing
We can’t work through
Nothing
When the sun comes back will it bring you
Is this a beginning or an end
In the dark you can lie just inches
From a person and never know what they're thinking
Sometimes the light don’t change a thing
If the sun comes back will it bring you
Is this a beginning or an end
Take everything so I’ll have nothing left to lose
Is this a beginning or an end
In the dark you can lie for hours
No where near the place you lay your head
Sometimes the truth can’t change a thing
The sun came back but didn’t bring you
Is this a beginning or an end
Took everything so I’ve got nothing left to lose
Is this a beginning or an end
Nothing left...
Nothing left..
Nothing.
I reach for her wrist, there’s a subtle twitch
Her eyes light wide without a hitch
She says hello in perfect pitch
Inanimate or sentient
I’m not sure I can’t tell which
Perhaps there’s some sort of a glitch
Only fools’ll bet when the deck is stacked
You just can't love what won't love back
We can't deny this simple fact
You can't love what won't love back
Her empty gaze, no words for days
Tears are shed but hearts unfazed
Our paths converge in separate ways
A cold caress, emotionless
Issues we don’t dare address
Replacing pain with emptiness
What does your head say now
Only fools’ll bet when the deck is stacked
You just can't love what won't love back
We can't deny this simple fact
You can't love what won't love back
Only fools’ll bet when the deck is stacked
You just can't love what won't love back
We can't deny this simple fact
Can't love what won't love back
Looking into her eyes for someone that's not even there
Feel alone when we're together nothing to share
Was she gone before she said goodbye
Was she never ever even there
She was a mannequin I dressed with feelings of my own
Apparently I had enough to keep us fully clothed
The naked truth now all too real, a stoic steel has been revealed
We can touch, but she can't feel, our fate has coldly been sealed
What does your heart say now
Only fools’ll bet when the deck is stacked
You just can't love what won't love back
We can't deny this simple fact
You can't love what won't love back
A train can't roll where there ain't no track
You just can't love what won't love back
You won’t stay home if your bags are packed
You can't love what won't love back
Walked through my heart like an empty room
On your way to somewhere else
Moving space in time
Thinking of no one but yourself
Reflexivity
Down and round, the cause affects autonomy
Back and forth the forces act
A rising tide against a raging sea
I feel your orbit’s pulling try to swallow me
This current undertow could not be foreseen
With Archimedes help I still would not break free
There's too much gravity
Pulls me close but still too far from levity
To rise above so we can find some clarity
That pushes toward the point of singularity
And be relatively free
Tension holding us together
Tension tearing us apart
Tension holding us together
Tension tearing us apart
Reflexivity
Down and round, the cause affects autonomy
Back and forth the forces act
Inertia anchors those with sufficient force
A mannequin at rest does not change its course
Static gains momentum as it gathers at the source
Our signals have been crossed the code is now remorse
There's too much gravity
Pulls me close but still too far from levity
To rise above so we can find some clarity
That pushes toward the point of singularity
And be relatively, positively, absolutely free
Maybe love is measured in dog years
If only time could just sit still
Like quicksilver in an open palm it lies still
When you squeeze it slips away
With our heads out the window at break next speed
All that we want, all that we need
Love, it flies by
Just a gentle nudge helps doubts disappear
So we can fly and feel the thrill
When your heart quivers I think it knows
Things your head will never understand
It can't be love if you need guarantees
Time to cut the leash and set it free
With our heads out the window at break next speed
All that we want, all that we need
Love, it flies by
Experience each moment let the now commence
Don't mistake consistency for permanence
You’ve got to live your life forever in the present tense
Without love, we're tattered and dog-eared
A little more time may be what we need
A little more trust may be what we need
Can't change the wind but we can set the sails
Turn our hearts to the sun and let our soul breathe
It can't be love if you need guarantees
Time to cut the leash and set it free
With our heads out the window at break next speed
All that we want, all that we need
Love, it flies by
With our heads out the window at break next speed
All that we want, all that we need
Love, it flies by
Experience each moment let the now commence
Don’t call the bullpen she’s switching teams again
Changing types shades and stripes a chapstick chameleon
Can’t fill the void of emptiness ‘cause nothing helps
The only thing she ever wants is something else
Coincidence or irony
Maybe things aren’t exactly what they seem
Not like that
A surly sentiment the end seems imminent
You can only play the game with the right equipment
Can’t find herself a happiness it never helps
The only place she ever goes is somewhere else
Coincidence or irony
Maybe things aren’t exactly what they seem
To a degree her circumstance is quite naive
I don’t believe her when she says
It’s not like that
Charade of dalliance seems something’s absent
Tragically pretending that everything’s in balance
Can’t rid herself of loneliness, ‘cause no one helps
The only one she ever wants is someone else
May be time to grow the hair out buy some sexy boots
Score yourself a black push-up, boost those attributes
People gonna think what they wanna think, no matter if it's right
But your secret's safe with Victoria ‘cause she knows what you like
Coincidence or irony
Maybe things aren’t exactly what they seem
To a degree this circumstance was unforeseen
We don’t believe it when she says
It’s not like that
Coincidence or irony
Maybe things aren’t exactly what they seem
To a degree our circumstance was unforeseen
I don’t know what she means but she says
It’s not like, not like, not like that
Days get colder sunlight crawls away too fast
Our season long since has been turned
Though a killing frost has made a shadow of our past
Pavlov memories make me yearn
Never like it was before
Never ever
A sort of Indian Summer makes me think it all could last
Deliquescing bitter frost
Spreading ashes sharing memories as we cast
Taunting me with what's been lost
Never like it was before
An Indian Summer smile is warm but never kind
Never like it was before
All my feelings came back but you stayed behind
Never like it was before
An Indian Summer sun beguiles and it blinds
Never like it was before
All my feelings came back but you stayed behind
We remember those moments and try to pretend
All that we loved can come together again
Our hearts hold the hope but our heads they know the truth
This Indian Summer will betray us all too soon
Never like it was before
An Indian Summer smile is warm but never kind
Never like it was before
All my feelings came back but you stayed behind
Never like it was before
An Indian Summer sun beguiles and it blinds
Never like it was before
All my feelings came back but you stayed behind
It's been so long since we held our last embrace
Hate myself but want to hold to touch to breathe you and to taste
Through winter coats we hug curves muted edges masked
It's clear too much has come between us we can never bring it back
Never like it was before
An Indian Summer smile is warm but never kind
Never like it was before
All my feelings came back but you stayed behind
Never like it was before
An Indian Summer sun beguiles and it blinds
Never like it was before
All my feelings came back but you stayed behind
You twist it turns my feelings away
Dismissed it burns like feeling betrayed
Silently wish words I can't find to say
Doubt slithers slowly out of a drawer
Afraid of the signs that I can not ignore
Once bound in ink a promise as one
Profound, the link forged to not be undone
Those vows and rings symbols and other things in trust
Hope inches slowly down onto the floor
Now I just wait to not care anymore
We can quantify or use a hunch
In the end still not left with much, just the
Pen to paper, one from two
Pen to paper, faithless from true
Pen to paper, black from blue
Pen to paper, me from you
Expunge each part and try to amend
Sign at the start, sign at the end
Just a sign no longer have to pretend
Our union creeps slowly out under the door
Now I just wait to not feel any more
This metonymy I've no time for
Is it too late for peace must we prepare for war with the
Pen to paper, one from two
Pen to paper, faithless from true
Pen to paper, black from blue
Pen to paper, me from you
I know the pen, prefer the sword
One cuts with steel and one with words
Kills one quick or tortures too slow
Lines are drawn toward the way to go
Both leave stains and leave you stunned
One's palette draws from pain and one draws blood
And one, and one draws blood
I'll take the sword
You'll take the pen
Give me the sword
You get the pen
Please no, the sword
Now put the
Pen to paper, one from two
Pen to paper, faithless from true
Pen to paper, black from blue
Pen to paper, me from you
Pen to paper, one from two
Pen to paper, faithless from true
Pen to paper, black from blue
Pen to paper, me from you