Against Me! Album

We can control the medium.
We can control the context of presentation.
Is there anybody on the receiving end?
Reaching out for some kind of connection.

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave.

We can be the bands we want to hear.
We can define our own generation.
Is there anybody on the receiving end?
Are you ready to brave new directions.

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave.

Let breathe new dawn this art is dead!
No signs of original thought in the mainstream.
Is there anybody on the receiving end?
We can eclipse all that came before us.

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave.

I can’t sleep.
Dry red eyes wide open.
Stare at the white stucco ceiling.
I turn on the TV,
watch music on television.
Have I heard this song before?
Did this already happen?
Derived influence in style of dress.
Similar trends in camera technique and editing.
Sync up the cuts to the bass drum kick.
All the taste makers drinking from the same glass.
Is there anyone thinking what I am?
Is there anyone thinking what I am?

Are you restless like me?

All the insiders rumor over the decline in sales.
All the buzz is happening in the new digital market place.
FBI warning printed on the flipside.
Under penalty of law piracy will be prosecuted.
In MRR someone asks the question,
“With the instant availability of information
and content so easily obtainable
is the culture now a product that’s disposable?”
All the punks still singing the same song.
Is there anyone thinking what I am?
Is there any other alternative?

Are you restless like me?

If she wants to dance and drink all night then there’s no one that can stop her.
She’s going until the house lights come up or her stomach spills onto the floor.
This night is going to end when we’re damn well ready for it to be over.
Worked all week long now the music is playing on our time.
We do what we do to get by, and then we need a release.

You get mixed up with the wrong guys.
You get messed up on the wrong drugs.
Sometimes the party takes you places that you didn’t really plan on going.
When people see the track marks on her arms she knows what they’re thinking.
She keeps on working for that minimum,
as if a high school education offered any other options.
They don’t know nothing about redemption.
They don’t know nothing about recovery.
Some people just ain't the type for marriage and family.

No mother ever dreams that her daughters going to grow up to be a junkie.
No mother ever dreams that her daughters going to grow up to sleep alone.

She’s out of step with the style.
She don’t know where the actions happening.
You know the downtown club scene ain't nothing like it used to be.
You reach a point where there’s not a lie in the world
that you could use to make the boys believe your still in you twenties.
She’s not waiting for them to come over and ask for the privilege.
She can still here that Rebel Yell just as loud as it was in 1983.
There ain't no Johnny coming home to share a bed with her and she doesn’t care.

No mother ever dreams that her daughters going to grow up to be a junkie.
No mother ever dreams that her daughters going to grow up to sleep alone.

If she had to live it all over again you know she wouldn’t change anything for the world.

East and West could not agree
So their generals gave a call and gathered troops at the border
With guns ready, drawn and aimed
each side was praying to a God
to bless them with strength and courage
it was in His name that artillery lit the sky on fire
the people sang protest songs to try and stop the soldier's gun

Protest Songs in a response to Military Aggression
Protest songs to try and stop the soldier's gun
But the battle raged on......

Sirens filled the air and the ground shook with war
Civilian casualties has been a cost that was predetermined
when interviewed for report victims pleaded in frustration
Their claim: That this was a war without reason
Bureaucrats engaged in debate to try and reach a resolution
the people sang protest songs to try and stop the soldier's gun

Protest Songs in a response to Military Aggression
Protest songs to try and stop the soldier's gun
But the battle raged on......

The Broadcast like their prayers went unanswered and ignored
god, like the rest of the world, just watched in silence
There was purpose to be served, there were fortunes to be earned
before a peace could be called to stop the fighting

Protest Songs in a response to Military Aggression
Protest songs to try and stop the soldier's gun
But the battle raged on......

Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
You’ve got to make a serious decision.

It could be me up there in stage lights.
It could be me on the TV in you living room.
It could be me jet setting with my band all across the world.
Appearing live in concert one night only, tickets sold out.

Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
You’ve got to make a serious decision.

There I am giving candid disclosure to press in interview.
There I go on my way through the crowd up to the podium.
On behalf of our fans we’d like to accept this award.
Smile for the camera boys, gold record in hand.

Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
You’ve got to make a serious decision.

All of our lives in waiting.
All of our lives traded for their roses and applause.
All of our lives dedicated to shoving it right back in their fucking face.

Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
Stop! Take some time to think, figure out what’s important to you.
You’ve got to make a serious decision.
You’ve got to make a serious decision.

Stop! Take some time to think.

(feat. Tegan Quin)

No, it's not what we meant to say.
We don’t really love each other.
What happens when the summer’s over?
How long before distance becomes a chore?
I'm approaching with great, great trepidation.
I hope you’ll understand.

Before you speak think about what you're trying to say.
Who else is there to blame for miscommunication?
You're getting caught up in the excitement.
You making promises you can’t keep.
You need to leave all your options open.

Too much momentum.
This room feels like it's going to explode.
Too many angles.
Too many factors to cover.
Waiting for signal.
You're searching for network.
You have to fight to stay in control of the situation.

Anxiety, Anxiety you give me no mercy.
Grind my teeth smooth and flat in my sleep.
We took some pills to calm us down.
Then we needed help to come back up.
Just trying to stay in control of the situation.

Too much momentum.
This room feels like it's going to explode.
Too many angles.
Too many factors to cover.
Waiting for signal.
You're searching for network.
You have to fight to stay in control of the situation.
They fall apart so easily.

Too much momentum.
This room feels like it's going to explode.
Too many angles.
Too many factors to cover.
Waiting for signal.
You're searching for network.
You have to fight to stay in control.
You have to fight to stay in control.
No, you don’t have to fight to stay in control of the situation.

I've heard the hype about your band, Ive seen your video playing on the TV.
Publicity photos in magazines, no none of it makes me feel anything.
I would be lying to you if I did not say something.
That would make me feel like a politician.
A middle of the road opinion that no one finds offensive or challenging.
I'm not interested.
The stage is not a pedestal.
I don't think your bad people I just think that your aesthetic is horrible.
Please treat me with the same respect and candor.
I would appreciate the honesty.
A little less professional, a little more upfront and confrontational.

Just say what you're thinking.
Say what you're really thinking.

Golden arches risin' above the next overpass
These horizons are endless
Americans abroad! Americans abroad!
Profit driven expansion into foreign markets
And while I hope I'm not like them, I'm not so sure

This is the best summer that I've ever had
European Vacation, me and my best friends
Americans abroad! Americans abroad!
Whatever there is to be said is said in English
And while I hope I'm not like them, I'm not sure

Here we are, a rock band looking for new audiences
Wherever we go, Coca-Cola's already been
Americans abroad! Americans abroad!
And I just can't help but think that there's nothing in sight
And while I hope I'm not like them, I'm not sure

I was dreaming of your love.
I was lost in your arms embrace.
Our bodies collied together.
Oh, this ultimate betrayal.
The heart will not resign.
What could be said what could be done?
I hold out hope for your reciprocation.

Like an Animal,
these thoughts have gone beyond my control.
For pleasure,
maybe just amusement.

This overwhelming urge.
Towards you I feign disinterest.
While I covet the attention.
While I crave your affection.
Ravenous with lust.
Jackal in heat, spit dripping.
This mechanical impulse knows not loyalty or mercy.

Like an Animal,
these thoughts have gone beyond my control.
For pleasure,
maybe just amusement.

If I could have chosen where God would hide his heaven,
I would wish for it to be in the salt and swell of the ocean.
Carried by the currents to all continents' shores.
Reaching into depths where the sun’s light has never shown.
Mixed with algae and coral.
Breathed in by sharks and dolphins.
Sailed by tanker ships, private yachts, swam in by tourists.
Working its way up through inlets, lakes, and rivers, swamps, and estuaries.
Down through limestone into the aquifer.
Purified by the county, pumped through pipes and out faucets.
Filled into a glass to meet the thirst of our children.

If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman.
My mother once told me she would have named me Laura.
I would grow up to be strong and beautiful like her.
One day I’d find an honest man to make my husband.
We would have two children, build our home on the Gulf of Mexico.
Our family would spend hot summer days at the beach together.
The sun would kiss our skin as we played in the sand and water.
We would know we loved each other without having to say it.
At night we would sleep with the windows of our house left open.
Letting the cool ocean air soothe the sunburned shoulders of our children.

There is an Ocean in my soul where the waters do not curve.

Coming home feels like surrender
Feels like we're giving in
When the shows are over
Is there any other reason to live?

My brain is moving with a nervous energy
It starts in the back of my head, carries down through my stomach, legs, and feet
Nobody to call, I've got no real place to be
You know I haven't been home in such a long time, I'm just looking for a little bit of home right now

I'm just desperate for a little bit of home right now
I'm just grasping for a little bit of home right now

Tomorrow we'll celebrate the coming of the New Year
And they'll be drinking in the bars around downtown, you know I'll probably end up down there myself
Nobody to call, I've got no real place to be
You know I broke all my resolutions this year, let's not make any promises this New Year

I just want to make it through this coming year
No, I don't want to feel the same way next year

Oh, but don't you know, did you think the world would bend for you?
Did you think that you could really change yourself?
Oh, before you know, it's already time to go
It feels like you just got back into town

Coming home feels like surrender
Feels like we're giving in
When the shows are over
Is there any other reason to live?

No, you're never gonna be anything more than just another punk band
It's never gonna be anything more than rock and roll
Let's play our song, it's been so many times before
But you keep on listening because you wanna believe that it's possible

Abandon artistic integrity
Drop all pretensions and just lock into the beat
We can have some more in a solid melody

Means so much more than the city and state
Means so much more than fame and adulation
Gonna prove that we're more than our fathers' sons and daughters
That we're meant for so much more than the future could ever offer

So here we come gunning for revenge
It's a little too late for an apology
Means so much more than they could ever give to us
Means so much more than they could ever give to us

I'm not asking for your acceptance
I'm not waiting for you to understand
Means so much more than a lover
Means so much more than the actor

So much more than your complete devotion
So much more than you could ever give to me

And maybe we'll never see our efforts vindicated
Maybe we'll never amount to anything
We're not looking back, we're not making compromises
We are willing to dare, we are willing to believe

If I only had more time
If I only had more words to explain
So much more than the world could ever give to me
So much more than the world could ever give to me

Do you bite your tongue when you hear them say?
Do you bite your tongue and wait for your chance?
Do you bite your tongue and push thought from mind?
Focus is locked, attention is fixed

Do you want to battle with me?
Do you want to battle with me?
Do you want to battle with me?
You cannot match determination like this

Do you bide your time so patiently?
Do you bide your time and wait for your chance?
Do you bide your time and keep intent hidden?
And when the strike comes, it's gonna be deadly

Do you want to battle with me?
Do you want to battle with me?
Do you want to battle with me?
Like a whore plotting revenge on the trick

Do you want to battle with me?
Do you want to battle with me?
Do you want to battle with me?
In the end, I will win

one night we lay beside each other, so close to a sweat
with two fans circling overhead, we sleep on borrowed time
and the traffic lights direct empty roads, the stars can't break the city sky
but they still try despite what they know is already true
and tomorrow we'll take aim, just like a storm waiting for a calm
i can feel everything coming in my chest, my heart's already pounding
my head's on far-off highways, sixteen years old, on a road that never ends
might drive into something that looks like a sunset, and it lasts forever, and i never look

back
from hoboken to l.a.
from portland to gainesville
from the great plains to niagara
route 66 straight to california
electric lights carry the night
we move in 4/4 time
our feet on wheels and in the sky
yes we're going cause we'd die if we stayed here
and those dying dreams will carry what's good, and real, and pure
and the rest can burn in hell
and for the four-year-old girl found dead in a dumpster
shot by her mother, her eulogy,
the sound of construction through head-to-head traffic
today is just another day.
and me and my friends are just growing into the drunks and the liars that we've always

hated
every shortcoming has trapped us, every mistake is now our own infinite failure
so we steal every chance we get
every advantage is taken when no one's looking
we hide behind closed doors, and we don't stop until
we are the people we've decided we should be
i wanna be a shot heard round the world, fucking unstoppable
this distance is not something we'll regret
from here, and now, and today, and forever, and days after that till the very end

Let there be a volume that cannot be denied
Let there be an emotion that you cannot fake
A greatness unanimously acknowledged
A lie that you just cannot tell

Let them know hatred, fear and war
Let there be peace for us all
With our goals one day met, let us know a feeling of great accomplishment
With our failures complete, let us learn to survive

Your body will know if it's not the right way to go
Just listen closely to your heart and follow
You must be willing to abandon it all
You must be willing to starve

Let us challenge the wait for a day of reckoning
Let us deny shame and guilt
Let us know with absolute certainty
That we were fools to ever second guess ourselves

Let us know a feeling of invincibility
As real as our fragile bones
There's a truth to be learned, you know I'm sure of it
Just like I know there is nothing at all

Your body will know if it's not the right way to go
Just listen closely to your heart and follow
You must be willing to abandon it all
You must be willing to starve