1. |
First Boy
02:18
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At the party in miami we had a few too many
And I passed out long before you came to bed
We did an oil change at 6am and the bus lurched north for Gainesville
I left a letter and some water by your sleeping head
And the thought came to my mind like an evacuation order
That may have been my last chance to kiss someone in Florida
Thinking about you across the Alabama border
There’s more than one that got away but by your memory I’m taunted
You’re the first boy I ever wanted
You’re the first boy I ever wanted
The stubble on your face, the warmth of your embrace
The sequins on your dress, you know I was impressed
By your blessed confidence but you had super trendy friends
And your apartment was a mess. I thought it would be best to go to bed
But the thought came to my mind like a flood related fire
We’re running out of time to act on our desires
As my beat up subaru burned through another set of tires
There’s more than one that got away but by your memory I’m taunted
You’re the first boy I ever wanted
You’re the first boy I ever wanted
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2. |
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The sound of sirens shoots through my chest
Red and blue lights break my windows
Paranoia knocks at my front door
Fragile fear makes decisions for me
Like how i won’t ride my bike through Allston
I don’t want to feel this anymore
I’m afraid to check my email just to hear another friend’s in jail
I’m afraid to talk in detail about the ways we could tip the scales
But when you sing along it makes me that much stronger
Because I know that if they shoot me down
[CHORUS]
These songs will be remembered / Woah oh oh
These songs will be remembered / Woah oh oh
These songs will be remembered Woah oh oh
These songs will still be sung
Still be sung
Now everyone’s talkin insurrection
And I’m not sure if I’m for or against it
I guess survival’s more what’s on my mind
White guilt freight trains and dumpsters
Used to feel like revolution
I guess i’m learning how to organize
I just wish it could be as easy as the pamphlets made it sound
I wish wearing black in Berklee was enough to bring the whole thing down
But long after the last CD has been scratched to eternity
There’ll still be campfires and drums
When the last iPhone dies we’ll sing we’ll harmonize
We’ll fight and we’ll survive this one
Long after the last CD has been scratched to eternity
We;ll still have campfires and drums
When the last iPhone dies, we’ll sing we’ll harmonize
We’ll fight and we’ll survive this one
These songs will still be sung
These songs will still be sung
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3. |
Liberty is a Statue
03:29
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she said “no, you're not a girl you are a boy.
you'd best start acting like one or i
i’ll tell your mom i'll tell your dad
i'll send you to the principle again
now for the last time tell me what have you learned today?”
“teacher, teacher, i learned that there is only one way
that i can live. and that's the way that they program in the textbooks and the tv screens
hey mom, what did i learn today in school? i learned how to be a boy.
i learned how to be a man.
and i learned that there's an 'us,' there's a 'them'
there are good guys there are bad guys
the bad guys aren't allowed to be your friends.
and i learned all about liberty
it's a statue in a harbor near a city called new york
it's a statue in a harbor near a city called new york
it's a statue in a harbor near a city called new york
and i learned, statues are things that we build
to remind us of things that have died.
but wait, i'm so confused because they told us that sharing was good
but then i look at my own town and the one next door
and i wonder why we don't share some of our mansions
with their four car garages?
and them in their broken-down mills
and the dirty river that runs between us
it's not safe to swim across. they told us so on a field trip
to the other side.
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4. |
The Spring
04:25
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every song that we could sing we sang
to get us to the spring
everything that we could bring
we had given
everyone we had begun to doubt
we now remembered why we were in love
every day we found a way or a temporary fix
enough to get us through til morning
when the sun in our eyes dragged us kicking from our slumber
held us from falling under our demise
and every time i think i've got this figured out
insecurity finds me and i end up on the ground
the past sings inside me
can't you hear the sound?
long before middle school
the tv handed down the rules
boys were boys, girls were girls
i was lonely
only i could never seem to understand
all that it took to be a man
but they surely shaped me by the hand
of expectations
now there's new life on the way
our baby's growing every day
and i am happier than i have ever been before
because now i live my life the way i want to
and if there's one thing i've taught you
it's to be free
and every time i think i've got this figured out
insecurity finds me and i end up on the ground
the past sings inside me
can't you hear the sound?
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5. |
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The bulldozers stopped and I finally could hear myself sing
In my parents backyard by the pond where the stream used to be
I remember I used to believe in utopian dreams
Now I hold just enough hope to keep me from falling asleep
And I swear that I won’t break
Under interrogation or concrete depression they make
And I will carry on
The echos of elders and teach to my children a song
And we will fall in love
This city might sink, but I’ll damn well be here when it does
And my roots will grow deep
Into the concrete
And we will fall asleep
Now I float through a dream, flooded streets south of Boston
The final foreclosure of hope
After the years of ICE raids and firebombs over philadelphia
And we’re filled with the fear of partners, police, prisons, and paranoia
Some say this world will end
But a new one will begin
For these things they have been true
Since before 1492
Domination, war, and rape
Reined before the invention of race
Long before technology, agriculture, or society
Patriarchy seems to be at the roots
And it still tears apart our groups and true love
It traps us all in bathroom stalls with words scribbled on the walls
Like scratchings in a prison cell of those who came before
This gender war
And they’re warning us screaming
They’re warning us screaming
And they’re warning us screaming
Do not let them divide you, do not let them split you in two
Do not let them divide you, do not let them split you in two
Cuz there’s one love, but many ways to fuck
In liberated ecstacy, someday maybe, one love, many bodies
All beautiful in a world before mirrors or medication
And when the rain does fall, our gardens will grow tall
There’s a storm that’s on the rise, let’s look it in the eyes
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6. |
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people ask me if i am a drag queen
i tell em that i've never been into royalty
that's why i'm up in the pub yellin fuck an MP
brits out of ireland, palestine free
if i had to choose i'd be a drag peasant
organizing a rebellion no time like the present
i got glitter in my hair, pitchfork in the air
comin for those mainstream fuckers i swear
cuz if the gay nation wants assimilation
white picket fence disney vacation
joining in their military occupation
locking people up with hate crimes legislation
equal to the people who run the corporations
living out in brooklyn, gentrification
i say resist this elitist bullshit
i say it's time for a new movement
if you're feeling this song you can all sing along
when i say queer you say we're strong
say queer, we're strong
say queer, we're strong
say queer, we're strong
and we waited too long
to be sittin listening to politicians sayin hey
i'll give you another inch if you give me another day
just have patience, be a good gay
just like FEMA with Katrina they say help is on the way
but put your hands up if you're being lied to
make some noise if your government is working for you
... check one two, i guess we got our answer
so what are we gonna do?
let's riot in the streets til the break of dawn
start a revolution while we're getting it on
the laughter of our children will be our revenge
the only rings on our fingers are for self defense
don't ask me what i think cuz i'll tell you what i'd say
we don't need gays in the military
we need militant gays
bells roar:
you want us to be you
but our heart still shines through
your stifled existence
we breathe resistance
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7. |
Queen and Empire
04:47
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there's water on the frozen floor
my bones break to the chill
and there's urine mixed with dreams of death
in the corner of my cell
their keys are clanking down the hall
and they're asking me for names
but i'll fight your queen and empire until my dying day
night and day have lost all sense
this cage is dim and grey
as memories of family begin to fade away
again they send their man in black
with instruments of pain
but i'll fight your queen and empire until my dying day
my consciousness has left me
as he leaves and slams the door
and i lie in bloody victory upon their stonework floor
for the freedom of my people it's a paltry price to pay
and i'll fight your queen and empire until my dying day
my shackles drag on cobblestone
they sing a rattling tune
the hall drifts by on either side
my time is coming soon
i smile, guilty of their charges
no i wasn't framed
and i'll fight your queen and empire until my dying day
the sunlight like a stranger burns
i'm forced to shut my eyes
as they drag by broken body to
the place of my demise
the sneering jeering crowd all roars
the gallows seal my fame
but i'll fight your queen and empire until my dying day
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8. |
Six Strings
03:03
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The tea water’s boiling but I can’t get off the couch
The kettle keeps on whistling like it’s screaming out for help
And I’m not doing myself any good
Lying here rehearsing all the reasons that I should
These songs will never change the world
Or save anyone’s life
Whoah is me
I check my email halfway through the song
Another show is falling through, another paper got my pronouns wrong
The only punching bag in reach is my guitar
So power chords and angry words reach my ears from afar
The snapping brings me to reality
I wonder what have these six strings really ever done for me
Except enable my addiction to pathetic poetry
Whoah is me
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9. |
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Tenemos el poder
Tenemos la razon
Tenemos la fuerza de la cancion
Tenemos las palabras
Tenemos nuestras armas
Bailamos la danza de la revolucion
Ya estamos, ya estamos, ya estamos bailando
Ya estamos, ya estamos, ya estamos ganando
we have the power
we have the reason
we have the strength of song
we have our words
we have our weapons
we dance the dance of revolution
we're already dancing
we're already winning
Nosotros tenemos algunos secretos
Tenemos un arma que ellos no pueden comprender
El arma del amor, el amor del pueblo
el pueblo de la tierra, que vamos a defender
Ya estamos, ya estamos, ya estamos bailando
Ya estamos, ya estamos, ya estamos ganando
We have secrets
We have a weapon that they can't understand
The weapon of love
The love of the people
The people of the land
That we will defend
We're already dancing
We're already winning
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10. |
Children's Song
00:46
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the only thing that people want to know about you
is what's inside your diaper
should they buy you pink or blue?
well all i care about is if it's pee or if it's poo
cuz you're my little baby and i love you through and through
you can be a boy and a girl
and a lion and a squirrel
and a diamond and a pearl
in the sea
or a big fat rock or an astronaut
but you just can't be a cop
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