Flobots Album

There's a war going on for your mind
Media mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine racks
Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads
Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel
Worldwide passenger pigeons deploy paratroopers
Now it's raining pornography
Lovers take shelter
Post-production debutantes pursue you in nascar chariots
They construct ransom letters from biblical passages and bleed mascara into holy water supplies

There's a war going on for your mind
Industry insiders slang test tube babies to corporate crackheads
They flash logos and blast ghettos
Their embroidered neckties say "stop snitchin'"
Conscious rappers and whistleblowers get stitches made of acupuncture needles and marionette strings

There is a war going on for your mind
Professional wrestlers and vice presidents want you to believe them
The desert sky is their bluescreen
They superimpose explosions
They shout at you
"pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain
Nor the craters beneath the draped flags
Those hoods are there for your protection
And meteors these days are the size of corpses

There's a war going on for your mind
We are the insurgents

Born in the flood
bloody fingerpaint sets
blackmarketed fresh
water canons forget me not
epitaph airbrush with death
white tee's
wife beaters
button up
reattach flesh

in between the lines
outside of the law
underneath the veil
we dig our foundations
we navigate the globe
trying to find a pattern to break the mold
with a family to feed
theres nowhere we wont go

but what if were caught
they say I'm a snitch
shot at the check point
found with his throat slit

theres spray paint on the teleprompter
anchorman screams that hes seen a monster
[mayday]
theres bloodstains on his shirt
[mayday]
they say that hes gone berserk

sometimes
when I wanna shut out this world
wanna rip up this page
wanna pour out this heart
wanna get up on this stage
and my lips become percussion
and my fists become the rage
and I pound on this table
til it gives me something to say
then I think about things that Ive seen
right in front of me
that I dont wanna believe
gimme one of these mikes
let me let em know
the way that it is is not how its gonna be
not if we dont let em get ahead of us
the present tensions no threat
its just a fence across the path
that were already ready to walk
rock solid footsteps
letem put up obstacles
and prove that it isnt possible
fuck that
we dont give in anyway
true liberty and freedoms at stake
peace will never become pass
live my life until my last day

it was half-past eight in the bat cave
when the cracks in the plaster collapsed
and gave way to gaps in the pavement
mayday mayday
put it on blast
for the passengers and messengers
cause this is a disaster
where the fuck are the rescue workers
not far
off pissing on a cop car
in the hall with a poptart
sipping liquor in the rockbar
everyone climb to the frontline
lunchtimes cancelled
all hands on deck to pull survivors from the landfill
onlookers passers-by brush of your shoulders
shake off that rubble
break free from your standstill

signs of a better world
causes we understand
failures we expected to occur
and bring redemption for our sins
safety from the crowds
in the shadows on the run
we write our own cider house
rules to keep alive
rituals that prove their worth
search for systems we can trust
rhythms we can lock into

this is madness salvage teams
can't bandage
hope when its damaged
or broken compassion
not enough rope in the van when
world is collapsing
our mode of action
broadcast through the glass
all we can manage
donate with the plastic
scraps from the salad
hoping to balance
emotions invalidated
and staged on 4:3 aspects
just ballast for sadness
lives shattered are standard
fare for cameras and channels
stare no abracabras

no faster answers
or mantras for disasters
remastered and plastered
we got it all backwards
do you know the faction your backing
its another man down
another mother gone
child drowned
another silenced song
solitude
another kind of strong
I miss you
another strung along
missing in action
another page is blackend burned
turned to ashes to ashes
dust off the flags and the caskets

we will never find another you
despite the life of love we knew
these lightning times are trouble who
cant count the strikes that punished through
the bonds we thought would never break
and never will and never change and never fade
but there is the rage
of losing you to their mistakes

in between the lines
signs of a the next movement
refuge from the crowd
outside of the law
causes we understand
hands that trace
instructions for descendants in the
shadows on the run
underneath the veil
failures we expected to
occur and bring redemption for our sins
in between the lines

Somewhere between prayer and revolution
Between Jesus and Huey P. Newton
That's where you find Johnny Five Shoot shootin
Water guns at the audience while you’re scootin'
Your gluteus max due to the fact that I'm tootin'
On the horn gonna warn you that I'm rootin'
For the other team in the culture wars
So I stab the beast belly as the vulture snores
YO JOE!
Let it blow with convulsive force
‘Til walls fall off their false supports
‘Til Jericho's aircraft carriers alter course
And all brave young Americans are called ashore
Cause we've already lost the war they keep wagin’
Splattering the streets in battles that keep ragin’
Bloodyin’ each page of the story that we're studyin’
Each day the same just the names keep changin’

Hook:
Saying the same things over again
Repeatin’ the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been all over the globe on our government's funds
Leavin’ man, woman, and child dead bloody and numb
Saying the same things over again
Repeatin’ the same slogans we don't know where we've been
We've been overthrowing leaders with legitimate views
Democratically elected but we didn't approve....

(verse two)
How many times can the line divide
How many wars to uphold your pride
These fears uncontrolled just swoll the tide
Of blood in the streets while the people die
I'ma keep on tryin’
Longs as suffering's multiplyin’
And why not
These souls get tossed and left out to rot
My backs broad enough to help left your cross
As long as you help with mine
The process of healing will take some time
To see the pain in your face is the same as mine
It's not a game or a race but the stake is high
We maintain our mistakes for the sake of sides
As long as it takes I’ll say it one more time
As long as it takes I'll say it one more time
As long as it takes I'll say it one more time

Hook

Same thing
U.S. is not us
Same thing
And us is not we
Same thing
And we are not satisfied
Same thing
We’re tired of the same thing
Same thing
And we’re ready to make change
Same thing
Are we ready to make change?

(verse three)
We need money for healthcare and public welfare
Free Mumia and Leonard Peltier
Human needs, not corporate greed
Drop the debt and legalize weed
We say 'yes' to grassroots organization
'No' to neoliberal globalization
Bring the troops back to the USA
And shut down Guantanamo Bay

Who let ‘em overthrow Jacobo Arbenz
Who let ‘em overthrow Mohammad Mosaddeq
Who let ‘em assassinate Salvador Allende
I didn't let ‘em but they did it anyway
Who let ‘em overthrow Kwame Nkrumah
Who let ‘em overthrow Aristide
Who let ‘em assassinate Oscar Romero
I didn't let ‘em but they did indeed!

Don't let them assassinate Hugo Chavez
Don't let them assassinate Evo Morales
And bring back Martin, Malcolm, Medgar,
Hampton, Schwerner, Goodman, Chaney

Sayin’ the same things over again

Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Stand up We shall not be moved
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

We still don't understand thunder and lightning
Flash back to when we didn't fund the dam
Didn't fund the dam levee? No wonder man
Now our whole damn city's torn asunder man
Under water but we still don't understand
We see hurricane spills overrun the land
Through gaps you couldn't fill with a 100 tons of sand
No we still don't understand
We've seen planes in the windows of buildings crumbled in
We've seen flames send the chills through London
And we've sent planes to kill them and some of them were children
But still we crumbling the building
Underfunded but we still don't understand
Under God but we kill like the son of Sam
But if you feel like I feel like about the son of man
We will overcome

So Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Stand up We shall not be moved
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

I said Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
Except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you
We shall not be moved
Except by a system thats rotten through
Neglecting the victims and ordering the cops to shoot
High treason now we need to prosecute

So Stand up
We shall not be moved
And we won't fight a war for fossil fuel
Its times like this that you want to plot a coup
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
So Stand up
We shall not be moved
Unless were taking a route we have not pursued
So if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

I said Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up

Now shake, shake
A Polaroid dream
nightmare negatives develop on the screen
We sit back and wait for the government team
Criticize they but who the fuck are we
The people want peace but the leaders want war
Our neighbors don't speak, peek through the front door
House representatives preach "stay the course"
Time for a leap of faith
Once More

Put your hands up high if you haven't abandoned
Hope that the pen strokes stronger than the cannon
Balls to the wall, Nose to the grindstone
My interrogation techniques leave your mind blown
So Place your bets lets speak to the enemy
Don't let em pretend that we seek blood
And who's we anyways Kemo Sabe?
Mighty warlord wanna-be street thug
a threat for a threat leaves the whole world terrified
blow for blow never settles the score
word for word is time need clarify
We the people did not want war

So Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Unless were taking a route we have not pursued
So if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

I said Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up

[[Spoken: Transmitted.... signals coming through? .....okay. ]]

echo echo one-nine
hear the call through fault lines
smoke signals, old rhymes
shorted lights in store signs
spelled in a broken code
find that it is time to
breath, build, bend, and refine you
we sky tenants
give it all but wont give up
radio soul antennas
radio to lift spirits
call sign commando
m.o. is independence
scream till the walls fall,
dissolve all the limits

occupied minds
unemployed skills
desolation
worn out
torn down
just for now thrill seekers
slanging
test tube babies in beakers
where gun blasts pump straight from the speakers
the system where the
poor get poorly paid
to hold the ladder
where the rich get ricocheted
into the stratosphere
and in between people are rushin' like vladimir
with metals to make their status clear
get us out of here

we need heroes
build them
don't put your fist up
fill them
Fight with our hopes and our hearts and our hands
we're the architects of our last stand
[x2]

there's a war going on for your mind
those who seek to occupy it will stop at nothing
the battlefield is everywhere
there is no sanctuary
there are no civilians
you have two choices
surrender or enlist

what kind of person are you
always the first to argue
or never down to stick your neck out
cause it hurts you far too much
to see your rep suffer
set you up a buffer
well neither is enough for us cut from a tougher brand of duct tape
the propaganda's stuck on us like sock pajamas
spread like a virus
through accepted thoughts and proper manners
but off the cameras
somethings simmering across the land
about to bubble up
and knock the lids off of the pots and pans

we are non stop juggernauts
stomp ziggurats
spit manifestos
by terabytes and gigawatts
shock paradigms
give sense to a score
throw thoughts through the sky
activate twenty more
in these high and dry times
expectorate on dogma
pragmatic sycophants
divide and conquer
we build bridges offer
hard work and prosper
as hand made heroes brought to you by no sponsors

we need heroes
build them
don't put your fist up
fill them
Fight with our hopes and our hearts and our hands
we're the architects of our last stand
[x4]

all free minds to the front
all free minds to the front
we call upon women
we call upon children
we call upon the handicapped
the infirmed
the weak of heart
we need your courage
your dedication
your passion
your conviction
gather up your platinum
melt it down
gather up your gold
melt it down
gather up your silver
your bronze
your aluminum
melt it down
melt it down
melt it down

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me, look at me
hands in the air like it's good to be
ALIVE
and I'm a famous rapper
even when the paths're all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to "De Colores"
And "I'm Proud to be an American"
Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want cuz, look:

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome

I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me
Look at me
Just called to say that it's good to be
ALIVE
In such a small world
All curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four
Miles to a gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance
I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone
I can split the atoms of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me
Look at me
Driving and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be
Alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure
I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let'em all die in exasperation
Have'em all grilled leavin lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em and
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command
I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
and I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope
and I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handle bars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

I see you sit
And swallow pain
For all of those
Who will not speak
You raise your voice
You fill the stage
Your eyes are wide
You know the weakness
That you've felt
Is not just yours
So many more
You're not alone
The song you sing is not your own
You fill the room with something real

Youve never had it so you hesitate to try and find it
You listen carefully for whispers of what lurks behind it
You play the corners
Never get too close to where it might be
Waiting for you
Never had it
Keep on wanting something more


Keep hiding the hope and than the pain is not yours
No ones holding a rope gotta pull up on your own.
All the songs have been sung
And all the doors have be closed
Keep on wanting more.

I watch you wander through these halls
You slouch you shrug you shrink away
I call you stop you blink you pause
You wander who
You think the day
Will never end
But when it does
You stay until the building's dark
You're on the bus
The doors are locked
You looked inside
But did not touch

Youve never had it
But you know how to provide it so you
Stand up and call for it
Nervous describing what you go through
You dont wanna get caught up in all the
Things they say to try to provoke you
Dont need anyone to tell you
Keep on wanting something more

(No known beat that can keep me lonely)

(Combat to get you to bomb back)

i know how to rip a mic different
i grip it like so
tight like a kryptonite with a bike pole
sparks from my lips ignite liquid nitro
no telling if it might blow

the environments' gotta be hotter
than solder beside the iron
zinc vitamins
hide'em inside when i'm writing the rhymes
it's hard to keep property guarded
because of these pirates

and i motivate
no debate
we're takin it over
make no mistake
youre fake and there's no escape
cuz you got caught
frozen waitin for the crosswalk

i can take it to another level
where the bass is above the treble
and your face is in double
evasiveness doesnt settle it
a place and a space
where theres nothing to meddle with

lyrical combat to get you to bomb back
blonde, black, lets get beyond that
sing songs that attack with strong raps
3 2 1 contact
sans paddle we swim the long laps
swans flap to get the pond packed
want sass kiss my moms ass
wrong tact convict you en mass
take it back like linda ronstadt
or luke sky with a twisted long hat
ton ton fat subsisting on that
tom tom high hat
insist upon that
listen to jon rap
this is combat
to get you to bomb back
two fisted contact to
get the pond packed
cause I'm on some shit that exists beyond that
3 2 1

3-2-1 liftoff jetpack shoot into space
represent the dot til' were blue in the face
fre-fre-fresher than toothpaste
you know how we do in the place
the crowd accumulates when he's tuning the bass
the fiddle and guitar are removed from the case
you know its Kenny O when it booms and shakes
you know its our music by the movement it makes

the crowd that it draws
the yearning you get
to prove what it takes

move
throw your body on the dance floor
whether you're beginner or advanced or
whatever you're doing it's okay like this
so everyone do it your own way like this
move
like the dude from chappelle's show
let it rip like velcro
we spit non-typical flows like this
mile hi gh city and it goes like this
like this
like this
3,2,1,4,5,6,
no telling where the beat might hit

this is out of hand like buster bluth
leave you sounding like rusted root
bots out your mouth like a busted tooth
attention we paying who
exempt artax like atreyu dude
staying smooth venue we playing move
when you hear the rabbit saying to
let five explain it to you

turn to the next page when I say and

follow along like A to the B to the C
the 7 piece band you gotta see to believe
make ya jump around like you needed to pee
make noise if you wanted me to proceed
scream like chewbacca off ya rocka
drink a little vodka link iraq osama democracy
barack obama arabic for withdraw from vietnam
and it dont stop
dont quit
so slick

move
throw your body on the dance floor
whether you're beginner or advanced or
whatever you're doing it's okay like this
so everyone do it your own way like this
move
sweat
get your pants warm
kee kor keerr kahh
transform
wiggle and shake to this song like this
mile high city and it's on like this
1 2 3 4 5 6
who's ready for some more hype shit

this is rap's last stop like castle rock
the bots blast off like an astronaut
i suppose we came to get started
throw them bows like some angry archers
our delivery's pedigree headed for the charts soon
hit you in the heart like a harpoon
like the chambers of the wu tang clan
flobots got that method man

wanna hang with the orangutans?
mass appeal massive bananas in hand
kenny o got the master plan
to move your body like an ampersand
this rhythm section'll rattle the stands
rip sheets like we battled the clan
average bands traffic the median
we stay in the lane we're superman

move
throw your body on the dance floor
whether you're beginner or advanced or
whatever you're doing it's okay like this
so everyone do it your own way like this
move
give it to you unprotected
cause the rhythm is the method
are you ready to get loud
mile high city spell it out

f-l-o-b-o-t-s

[Spoken]
What I've realized since is that it's a very painful process but it is not destructive. It's the world deliberation. And what really happened in the sixties was that this country took just the first step toward admitting that it had been wrong on race, and creativity burst out in all directions.

From the color of the faces in Sunday songs
To the hatred they raised all the youngsters on
Once upon a time in this country, long ago
She knew there was something wrong
Because the song said "yellow, red, black, and white
Every one precious in the path of Christ"
But what about the daughter
Of the woman cleaning their house?
Wasn't she a child they were singin' about?
And if Jesus loves us, black and white skin
Why didn't her white mother invite them in?
When did it become a room for no blacks to step in?
How did she already know not to ask the question?
Left lasting impressions
At a lesson, comfort's gone (?)
She never thought things would ever change,
But she always knew there was something wrong.

Always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.

Years later, she found herself
Mississippi bound to help
Stop the legalized lynching of Mr. Willy McGee.
But they couldn't stop it,
So they thought that they'd talk to the governor about what'd happened
And say, "We're tired of being used as an excuse to kill black men."
But the cops wouldn't let 'em past
And these women, they struck 'em as uppity
So they hauled 'em all off to jail
And they called in protective custody.
Then from her cell
She heard her jailers
Grumblin' about "outsiders".
When she called 'em out
And said she was from the south, they shouted,
"Why is a nice, Southern lady makin' trouble
For the governor?"
She said, "I guess I'm not your type of lady,
And I guess I'm not your type of Southerner,
But before you call me traitor,
Well it's plain as just to say (?)
I was a child in Mississippi
but I'm ashamed of it today."

She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
([spoken] And, all of a sudden, I realized I was on the other side)

Imagine the world that you're standing within
All of your neighbors, they're family-friends.
How would you cope facing the fact
The flesh on their hands was tainted with sin?
She faced this every day.
People she saw on a regular basis;
People she loved, in several cases;
People she knew were incredibly racist.
It was painful, but she never stopped loving them,
Never stopped callin' their names
And she never stopped being a Southern woman
And she never stopped fighting for change.
And she saw that her struggle was
in the tradition of ancestors never aware of her (?)
It continues today:
The soul of a Southerner
born of the other America.

She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.
She always knew there was somethin' wrong.

[spoken]
What you win in the immediate battles is little compared to the effort you put into it but if you see that as a part of this total movement to build a new world, you know what could be (????? "oooh, ooooh"). You do have a choice. You don't have to be a part of the world of the lynchers. You can join the other America. There is another America!

[Spoken]
Rival gangsters sit down to plan an after-school program
A religious fanatic posts footage of an interfaith service project
A group of teenage boys watches a video of a father playing catch with his son
An adult film star paints thumbnail portraits of elderly couples, fully clothed and smiling
A record executive records a demo of his apology
A policeman makes reverse 911 calls instructing residents to take to the streets
A patriot reports for duty
She's wearing an orange jumpsuit and holding a picket sign
She's ashamed of her birthplace
But retreat is not an option

Women and children
Frontline
Logon
Tune in
Stand and be counted
Wounded
Stationed
In the belly of the vulture
Watch your back
Theres no civilians
Women children
Frontline
Listen
Consider this a distant early warning
The fires imminent
Pollution gathering dust particles
Funneling through smokestacks
Airwaves
Bandwidth
Disinformation tube fed
Check the label
Delete the virus
Alert the masses

[spoken]
Butterfly wing crosswinds send black hawks toward hurricane survivors
Roses sprout from empty lots and sidewalk cracks
Pacifist guerrillas move undetected through concrete jungles
New forms are beginning to take shape
Once-occupied minds are activating
People are waking up
The insurgency is alive and well

Rise of the flobots
Portrait of the new american insurgent
Rattle and shake the foundation of the world order
Assembly line consent
Resist
Refuse
Inform
Create
Direct loved ones to the trenches
Suit up
Forge rubble into fortresses
Plaster
Cloth
Aluminum
Broken porcelain
Rusted platinum
Burn bloodstains from decompressed diamonds
Hammer the battlecry into braille-studded armor

[spoken]
We are building up a new world
Do not sit idly by
Do not remain neutral
Do not rely on this broadcast alone
We are only as strong as our signal
There is a war going on for your mind
If you are thinking you are winning
Resistance is victory
Defeat is impossible
Your weapons are already in hand
Reach within you and find the means by which to gain your freedom
Fight with tools
Your fate and that of everyone you know depends on it

So much pain we
Dont know how to be but angry
Feel infected like weve got gangrene
Please dont let anybody try to change me
Me
Just me
In the middle of a sea full of faces
Full of faces
Some laugh some salivate
Whats in your alleyway
Recycling bins or bullet cases
Its not equal
Its not fair
Were different people
But were not scared
We aint never scared
To pave a new path
Make a new street
Build a new bridge
Say can you see by the dawns early light
Free slaves running
Songs words werent right
Now a new days coming
The few stay stunning while the many are handsome
Your soul is alive but they want it for ransom
The base drumming is the anthem
We step to the heartbeats of our granddaughters and grandsons
And

Rise together
We rise together
[repeated several times]

Lost hope and found need
Grounded by our surroundings
Did the walls scream universities
Or you and i verse the tees
React automatic and we burst when squeezed
And make 9-11 each emergency
Urgency amber to red like the turning leaves
Oh please let the hurting cease
Don't let apathy police the populace
We will march across
Those stereotypes that were marked for us
The answers obvious
We switch the consonants
Change the sword to words and lift continents

If you believe in redemption
I'm calling to you from another dimension