1. |
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I'm ready
at least I think I'm ready
but the longer I debate the less I know
But if I fall back on these same old chords
will they move you any closer towards
my thought to you
I'm ready
I'll know when I know that I'm ready
but the harder I work through my list the more it grows
and I can't keep waiting until everything's done
I'm asking you to save me from this
Life Neurotica
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2. |
Ready to Try
04:05
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I used to think life was all in my mind
Cut down and rebuilt time after time
Life like's that, oh, life's like that
Life's not that, no, life's not that
And the ads say the love that you need
Can be found on the endcap that says "As Seen on TV"
Just ride it out, oh, just write it out
I won't fight now, I won't fight now
And I'm wasting my time worrying I'm wasting my time
rattling around in my head
So I end up living like I'm already dead
cuz
CHORUS
There's always something in the way
and there's always more I wish I could say
if you're ready to fly
I'm ready to try
What made you think life stops just for you?
The same predicament is shared by all of us too
We're all here now waiting for you
Let it go now, oh, let let go now
And my heart keep saying stop medicating
with regret and singing the blues
And start living like there's something to lose
cuz
CHORUS
CHORUS 2
And there's oh so much we could make
if I could learn to be found, but I'm afraid to look down
So I'm letting go
Thoughts of me just disappear
I'm alive because you're here
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3. |
Above the Noise
05:35
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Faded white lines
The pavement moans and cracks
Through fields and broken signs
I walk, just like you walked
But the difference that I see is the dirt just clings to me
The road from Galilee
is paved with failed attempts from sinners like me
But you said follow me instead
and so I carry on though my strength is all but gone
CHORUS
And I felt you there where horizon meets the sky
Just beyond my reach
Just beyond my reach
So I sing it out cuz the only reason why
I'm still on my feet is to pull you close to me
Bare feet on even ground
I can't see gravity, but I know it holds me down
Just like I always feel you there
but still I never know why your children suffer so
CHORUS
CHORUS 2
And I'll be holding on
Because I need you right now
I'll walk until the dawn, oh this road just carries on
So shout it out
And keep me up somehow
Your voice will be my guide, your love inside my eyes
A love that breaks all chains
leaves none alone
restores all joy
A voice that shakes these veins
revives these bones
above the noise
So come on
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4. |
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I walk into the rain curtain
and I dodge the drops to a cab
The distance is all objective
and I wonder how many galaxies I passed
And the umbrella sea parts in unity
and a red one gets away
Like so many lovers that never meet
lost and gone on New Years Day
This autumn leaf existence
so brief and so frail
We held our own on the branch
but now it's time to set sail
It's the beauty in the change
the cutting off of circulation
Was my beauty a design
or was the clock just ticking?
Were we lovers in another dimension?
Did you smile as I passed by you?
Did our atoms hold the tension
as the universe split in two?
Is it cold where you are
or a world as warm as Venus?
The size is so bizarre
a universe between us
Of all the things I've wanted
I needed you the most
Now I'm forever haunted
looks like the physics got us both
And the rain just keeps on sinking
til I forget your name
and I go right on thinking
the glistening makes us all the same
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5. |
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I remember driving when I was only seventeen
and I pushed the pedal to the floor, thought it might be the end of me
and I didn't think I couldn't die, but I thought I could never be healed
Could I ever be healed?
And then there was a man I never forget about
who spread kindness, love and hope to everyone who was around
but then one day he left us, overwhelmed by doubt
that he would ever be healed
Could he ever be healed?
And now there is a man who floats down the stairs
and offers us enemies to focus all our fears
It's an elixir so sweet it seems we no longer care
if we will ever be healed
Will we ever be healed?
It seems hatred wins the day and we all mourn the loss
and the anger wells within me, desperate for a cause
And you say that this divide is one we will never cross
but I still pray we will be healed
I don't know how but we will heal
Oh God, we need to be healed
I don't know how but we will heal
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6. |
It's You
03:50
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The Lord looked out and said let it begin
and everything we know did start to spin
And soon from the start, created an artist’s heart
filled it up with liquor and with sin
So now we stand on stage acting big and tough
but the audience will always call our bluff
And so our cross to bear is pretending like we don’t care
while never feeling like we’ll be enough
And for so long I’ve been trying hard to pretend
that all my work will have an end
But as you arrive, I realize anew
my greatest work of art just might be you
It’s you
The battles that I wage are always in my mind
just hymns and odes to those I’ve left behind
And it’s a blessing and a curse trying to find their worth
knowing they can never be defined
And for so long I’ve been trying to find my place
without getting lost in the emptiness of space
But as you arrive, I start to change my view
that my place is just right here with you
With you
The voice inside my head just keeps on telling me lies
like no one will remember me when I die
But I know I don’t need to fear, cuz folks will know I was here
Anytime they look into your eyes
And for so long I’ve been trying to make my path
before the universe decides to take me back
But as you arrive, I realize it’s true
My greatest work of art is likely you
It’s you
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7. |
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The city sleeps awaiting the dawn
The motions are there but the magic is gone
and I don’t know what I grieve
Maybe just another lonely Christmas Eve
CHORUS
The silent snow falls and I long to be real
the spirit I know is there but cannot feel
And the homeless and bar flies are keeping tabs
Icicle lights and taxi cabs
The carolers sing their last refrain
Happy couples board a frozen train
I walk ten miles, twenty, I can’t be sure
But it’s amazing how much I can endure
CHORUS
And somewhere in the night a king is born
a blessing to this world of mourn
and the wounds of the last are tender still
and I’ve a need that only you can fill
Every song about love as bitter as the frost
It’s like a Christmas for the lost
Just waiting for peace to take the lead
It would be a silent night indeed
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8. |
On and On
02:56
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Tune in, tune in, is there anybody out there?
I’m either screaming through the mains or to a void of my own making
And all these machines are beeping out a chorus that keep us all locked inside
All dressed up with nowhere to go
I won’t be the last one
Who’ll never know
Why my courage gave up on me right when I need it most
CHORUS
I heard life’s what happens while you’re regretting what you chose
and then on and on and on and on it goes
This chair is more like a hospital bed, it won’t let me rise or fall
And I’m so sick of being afraid of what’s on the other side of the wall
And all these monitors say that I’m a dead man, I’m never getting out alive
I’ve heard that lie so many times I believed it, believe me
I won’t be the last one
Who won’t know how
This life will end so why do I worry about it now?
CHORUS
So pull the plugs and sound the alarm
This is a lit match, this is a call to arms
We were always told we’re on our own
But the truth is we were never alone
And I want you
And I need you
And we’re together in this whether you like it or not, so wake up!
I won’t be the last one
Who’ll never know
If I’m too broken now to find my way back home
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9. |
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I’m not ready to say this is the end
Feels like I’m always saying goodbye again
And I’m sick of all the distances, but in this moment friend
It sure is nice to see you again
Well I’m not ready to go, to say the least
But my feet are out the door and heading east
And it’s hard to find the words without sounding cheap
But friend it will be nice when I see you again
The world is on the move, leaving me behind
But wasting time with you is something I sure don’t mind
And I’m telling you the truth when I say it every time
Friend it sure is nice to see you again
And I’m sure it will be nice when I see you again
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10. |
Jerusalem
06:46
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And a dream becomes a hill, and a hill becomes a city
and there’s peace and love for all who dwell within
and we started out so brave, and we started out so holy
but with beauty there is always pain therein
Oh dusty death, you call your children home
from earth we form and earth we shall sustain
but we build our walls and urban sprawls on superficial lines
a thick divide fortified with beauty and pain
Though our dream was meant for all, our words become so hollow
for with difference there’s an element of fear
and since apathy’s the throat where ignorance is swallowed
our stomachs filled with every passing year
Oh Jerusalem, your children beg for you
to reveal a truth we never can obtain
and then we wake one day with stiff decrees so thick we cannot breath
such a shame that it all came from beauty and pain
Though Jacob was the first to stand up and be counted
against every thinly fashioned false pretense
our frantic pace increased, each growing fear unfounded
and every effort went to strengthen our defense
Woe is us, woe is me, woe is leaves, woe is tree
Woe is change and all that remains, beauty and pain
And our only function came to feed the rich and damn the poor
And Jacob died with a sign that said “We are secure”
Woe is us, woe is me, woe is grain, woe is seed
Woe is chains, all is stained with beauty and pain
Science is no match for our brevity
til anything can be defined as an enemy
Oh what have we become? Bartered lives for income
Filled our mouths with so much hate
Can’t see beauty through the pain
On every flag, on every pole, power rises to take control
on the backs of uninsured, with excuses so absurd
Tell them all what Jacob saw, tell them all how he stood tall
And said we no longer defended all
No empire’s complete until it falls
Oh Jerusalem
Your children beg for you
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11. |
Currents & Constructs
04:03
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Never knew where this river did run and bend
I was tossing rocks when I was only ten
What did you imagine?
I imagined far away lands
With beaches and jungles through the mist
But if I can dream it, then it must exist
Could you imagine?
Like footprints in the sand
The ground calls out for every soul
with every life that’s born another one’s stolen away
What I leave behind
just failures and constructs
What I leave behind
or moments of awestruck
What I leave behind
Fear is a constant to defy
Defenses are high, it’s all inside, so just
CHORUS
Pull me out
Come on just pull me out
I can’t go on
Living inside my head, come on just pull me out
At some point you learn a little bit of how this works
The rocks I pile only make it worse
Well what did you imagine?
Starting over somehow
Building bridges, burning bridges
The same old cycle of tears after so many years
You couldn’t imagine
I thought I’d be better by now
But the river turns and changes course
And we drift so far away just from the force
What I leave behind
all my token regrets, or
What I leave behind
just a collection of assets
What I leave behind
the moss and water continue to grow around the rocks I throw
but I know you can
CHORUS
I need a connection
Just an intersection is all it takes
It bends and it bends and it breaks
I don’t know where I’m going
I can’t stop this slowing, I’m gonna drown
Or I’m gonna break this God damn dam down
CHORUS
What I leave behind
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12. |
Life Neurotica: The End
02:25
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Rage, rage my friends against the dying of the land
The end is coming soon, but this is no time to sit on your hands
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13. |
Ghost in the Mirror
04:46
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I cried when our river ran dry and you said “let’s just pretend”
The same script just falls from my lips every time I start over again
And I know this sadness is all elemental
but if it’s something mental, how do I get it out of my head?
And I hear that old familiar rattle
a pill for every battle
to fight for me instead
Disdain in the pretense
It feels almost like resistance
CHORUS
There’s a ghost in the mirror, tracking me on radar
It’s only getting clearer that I can’t fight this rationally
It’s crawling under my skin, got me feeling like a has been
Seems already predetermined that the monster inside is me
Scared to drown through the cracks in the ground
that suggest this will never end
Love comes near and I feel all my fears arise again and again
All these doubts are so relentless,
they’re leaving me defenseless
to a fight that can’t be won
But if grace is just as strong an alliance,
then maybe my defiance has already begun
I’m always feeling so small
I gave you some, but you want it all
CHORUS
This fight doesn’t seem like it will be won
But my resistance has just begun
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14. |
Wolves at the Door
04:46
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Steam clouds hang low, suspended in the air
Over chimneys and dryer vents
There’s another flurry coming
As soon as this one ends
And I hate where I stand
but I’m comforted in the chords
It’s hard to find the meaning anymore
And I know that there is ground
Underneath the salt and snow
Oh Lord, this February won’t let go
Find some tracks to lead you on,
the world just seems so still
Like it’s all in sepia tone
And it all comes rushing back, the times I snuck out late
when my father’s boots were like stone
And I do love where I’ve been
but I’m scared of what it means
to let go of the past and wait for warmer dreams
And I know I’ll make it through, cuz I’m not the quitting kind
But I’m tired of always living one day behind
CHORUS
When will it be enough, you are always wanting more
There’s a broken heart or two calling out from the storm
And I don’t want them to lose, but the wolves are at the door
And God, I need some rest, but they’re always wanting more
CHORUS
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15. |
Waiting for the Comeback
04:55
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It’s like right from the start
We knew we were bound for ending
With all of our balance depending
On the roll of a die
Didn’t think that we didn’t belong
Lost, just playing our songs to the end of the night
And I want so bad to go back there
With all of the wisdom we lacked there
But instead I’m just
CHORUS
Waiting for the comeback
maybe when I’m older
Waiting for the waiting to be over
I thought we’d change forever
but we all just got colder
Waiting for the waiting to be over
I knew in my bones
We were so close I could taste it
But I come off too strong when I’m wasted
Maybe I’ve been so for years
And it’s telling how I’m asking for space
When all I do is long for embrace when the ending is near
Surrounded by all these goodbyes
And I’m so sick of learning to die
Just a few more beers
Can this moment last forever?
Can we go back to when we were younger?
CHORUS
Comeback Comeback
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16. |
Life Neurotica: Rest
03:52
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I never felt my heart
I’m not sure it ever started until you came
My life neurotica
Gave me nothing but a life of shame
But that can all disappear
I will always hold you and dry your tears
So come rest your weary head
Adversity will always lie ahead
And in all the words I say
I hope you know every day
That I’ll love, I’ll love you, I’ll love you more than the day before
Yes I’ll love, I’ll love you, I’ll love you more than ever before
So rest your weary eyes
Those existential cries are better left unsaid
The irony of control
is it’s the one thing you can’t hold in the end
And I am like the ocean, and you are like the shore
Every time you think I’m gone I keep coming back for more
And up here when I sing, it’s the echoes of my everything
And all our footsteps intertwined, I hope they do remind you
That I’ll love, I’ll love you, I’ll love you more than the day before
Yes I’ll love, I’ll love you, I’ll love you more than ever before
Oh I’ll love, I’ll love you, I’ll love you more than the day before
Yes I’ll love, I’ll love you, I’ll love you more than ever before
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Foster Chicago, Illinois
Part rock, part folk, even part dance, but all the unbelievably catchy stylings from Morgan Foster (lead singer of Common Shiner).
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