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Tradition Change Geekery

by Seth Phillips

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1.
Savage Man 04:19
I am from the savage land Where people are born and grow old and die And I would rather be a savage man Than be civilized Everyone belonging to each other Nothing is wrong but nothing feels right How can you look in the mirror every morning After you drug yourself to sleep every night? I don't belong here In this brave new world Where no one cares to learn what love is And no one questions the meaning of life I am all alone among the millions Nobody can hear my cries What a world we've created What a hollow paradise These drugs are not addicting But people keep coming back anyway No one wants to look outside the mainstream So easy to believe what the little whispers say How do you tell the world that it's been brainwashed? How do I make them see that they are blind? How do I reach out my hand to help them up When I get slapped in the face every time I try?
2.
She don't fit in your box Ain't what you'd expect She got her own thing going on She got her own perspective You're gonna be disappointed If you try and put her love on trial. Well she bought a Honda Rebel With a leather vest to match Headed off on a country road And might not ever come back You wish that she would settle But man that ain't her style. If you want her to be something that she's not You're gonna be let down for a while Well he's a workaholic party man without too much time for you Stays out all night drinking, wanders in at half past two But you just turn to putty each time he flashes that boyish smile. Well he's always liked his drinking He's always liked to flirt They say that if you lay down with a dog when you get up you got dirt I don't think he's gonna change that much Just cause you both walk down that aisle. If you want him to be something that he's not You're gonna be let down for a while. You can't fix it They'll just hurt you You want to make it better But you're not supposed to. Now you're a long haul trucker and life is like the road you keep seeing all these places that you were never meant to go So instead you keep on driving mile after mile. You keep thinking it'd be better if the world would only change But if you stopped and looked inside yourself it might seem kinda strange you'd realize that this isolation ain't nothing but a self-imposed exhile. If you want it to be something that it's not, You're gonna be let down for a while If you think you can change anything besides yourself You're gonna be let down for a while
3.
Carbon has a half-life of six thousand years Most say that love lasts fifteen And after that one of us won't still be here I don't think that's what physics means. The rule says that all things decay. But I don't think that love works that way. I'd give you half my life just to get started And all that I am, even though it ain't much No diamonds or fur coats or cars I can give you Or a house in the foothills, or money and such In time all those things will be gone But time will not. So I'll give you half my life Cause that's all I got. Anything and everything breaks down Molecules, funk bands, communication People, machinery, metaphors, peace talks, Radio waves, and radio stations. Common sense says all things must die But sometimes you might be surprised Sooner or later all that is, was. The sun and the stars will burn out Just like everything does I hope there's still something that science don't know The entire universe contracts And our love just grows. Mountains grind down to the sea Ah but not you and me.
4.
Tried 04:24
I wish I could find the words But words never came easily I just cannot talk when there's nothing to say. And I thought for a time That it might not matter That words might not get In the way But now the road calls my name And I hope you won't think ill of me For all the invisible tears that I cried The good and the bad And all the great times that we had What would have happened if we hadn't tried? The details are fuzzy But details always are And that's one more detail we don't share. I dream of what was And all that we might have done differently I hope you know that I'll always care All this time I tried to be What I thought you wanted from me I thought perhaps in time we'd change Never dreamed I'd cause all this pain Thought for sure that we'd be strong And that we'd always carry on But sometimes the thing you've got to know Is when it's time to let go
5.
SQL 04:11
SQL When you walked in, I knew at once you were from another world I could tell that you were not a high tech kind of girl Pretty little thing walked up to me and said "Can you fix my Dell?" God I wish your heart was SQL Well you had a nice new laptop, and it could run Facebook real fast And it ran it even faster after I killed those spyware apps Man that thing would cruise if you'd just run it on a Linux shell God, I wish your heart was SQL So sha la laaaaa Na na naaaaaa De doo doo doo De dah dah dah It might as well be gibberish for all that I can tell God I wish your heart was SQL We're installed on different platforms - I'm Unix and you're a Mac I've been sending all these packets out but not getting any back I thought debugging C was bad, but this is total hell God I wish your heart was SQL I wanted to write up a codec Gonna interface me with you But the odds of success are somewhat questionable I wanted to tell you just how I feel But I’m not so good with words So this part goes in hexadecimal... 69 6c 75 76 75 So I wish we had a future or even just a right now Maybe we could work this out, but I just can’t see how The only thing you know about FTP is how it's spelled God, I wish your heart was SQL
6.
There was a morning in December Back before it all began That was when we found your letter And I guess you had a plan Strictly speaking, well I get it But I will never understand Nobody said you were a coward They just said that you escaped. Nobody told us you were selfish But we knew it all the same. Strictly speaking I don't blame you But fuck you all the same. We didn't live In a world that spoke so strictly We couldn't forgive Hard as we tried. It's been a long time since Nebraska Even longer you've been gone And as autumn fades to winter It's past time I was moving on Strictly speaking you're a failure But your weakness made me strong I know you didn't live In a world that spoke that strictly I want to forgive And someday I might I'm a different me Fifteen years removed And in the same situations I have sometimes wondered what I'd do Put it down on paper Black and white makes grey. You were wrong but strictly speaking I can understand the choice you made. If we're ever reunited I think you'd like who I've become But if I ever have succeeded It's not for anything you've done Strictly speaking I'm victorious I have fought your war and won. ...I wish you could have been here with me But nobody lives In a world that speaks that strictly We only forgive One step at a time.
7.
Strange to think that it won't be My nemesis who conquers me How could I have failed to see I'd be undone by your beauty But now the door is locked I will not be mocked How is it that I believed Anything you said to me I turn my back and one-two-three You've gone and set my captive free You said you've be my wife But now you've got my knife Be careful with that thing That is now a toy its blade is sharp And if you do not watch yourself You just might poke out someone's heart I was going to set him free All you had to do was love me. So here we are. You and me Standoff of the century Kill you both, or let you leave Either one is agony. Daggers in our hands. We circle like a dance. And in your eyes I see that fire The fire I tried to hard to tame But I see now if I took away that passion You'd never be the same. Be careful with that thing That is now a toy its blade is sharp And if you do not watch yourself You just might poke out someone's heart Now you strike and I evade Silver steel its point so fine And though you've cut me to the core The blade that finds a heart is mine I was going to set him free All you had to do was love me.
8.
There's probably no such thing as Bigfoot But it's hard to prove If he shows up at your cabin late one night A shotgun's what you might want to use. Blow off his hairy mug With a pump action, solid slug. It's two hundred bucks at Wal-Mart And sounds like this. When the time comes, You're gonna want that gun. When the time comes, You're gonna want that gun. There's probably no zombie apocalypse but you never know. So a semiautomatic rifle Is a good way to go Aim for the head And fill the bastards full of lead It's four hundred bucks at Wal-Mart And sounds like this There's probably no Illuminati But you can't be sure. So a snub-nosed, five-shot revolver Fits right in your purse It's small without too much kick .38 special gonna do the trick It's six hundred bucks on eBay And sounds like this.
9.
I have barely left the ground The Atlantic falls away The leaves begin to change And I am homeward bound In the grand design I was always your test case You fooled me with a head fake And now there's no more time. California's bittersweet At least it will be from now on For soon you will be gone. And all that's left is me Seats upright and tables locked As we rise about the clouds I wish you hadn't been so proud Running down the clock. And maybe I will see When we hit thirty thousand feet When the world like a rug unfolds And all the stories we've been told Will fit together piece by piece. It does no good to pretend That things will always be this way Nothing gold can stay And all that's good must end. In the grand design We all have our chance to live But in the end we give Ourselves to the grand design. And maybe you will know Soaring into the great unknown Everything in its right time And all the tales you told this child Will stay behind you when you go
10.
Go on go I can't make it any further. Though the foe Is coming close behind. Just give me a gun and three grenades And hit the road, I'll cover your escape. This is my last chance to make them pay. And now we're on the verge of tears But you have got to leave me here I'll wait until you all get clear... It's been real But now I hear the footsteps For all we feel There's no time for goodbyes. Don't be stupid, go right now I'll hold them off, I think we both know how. Just promise me that you'll get out. And now we're on the verge of tears But you have got to leave me here I'll wait until you all get clear Before I blow the tunnel And hopefully you'll get away And live to fight another day I'm sad it had to end this way But that's just how it goes We can't all be The hero of the story Most of us won't live to see The credits roll. So I smile through the pain My sacrifice will not be in vain That's what you tell me but I already know So damn it, go. Oh so slow, I see the shadows rising This is it Come on, you bastards, come.
11.
Just Say It 04:13
If you don't like Reggae Just say it. If you don't like Metal Then just let me know If you're not into Folk Rock You better tell me But this passive-aggressive crap Has got to go. When I kiss you I taste something on the tip of your tongue When you speak I hear a song that's waiting to be sung. Never having fights Is not he same as being happy. And always giving in Is not the same as being kind If you disagree, I need you to tell me 'Cuz I'm tired of trying to read Your mind. When I see you I see something hiding behind those eyes And when I touch you What you don't say feels like a lie But don't tell me that it's all good When it is not all good. And don't tell me what you think I want to hear Just because you think you should. A river feeds the earth as it winds down to the ocean But first the drops of rain have to fall from the sky I'm not a fool, I know this doesn't make you happy And more's to the point, maybe neither do I And when I ask you You have got to tell me something's wrong But if you don't really love me Shut your mouth and play along
12.
For Love 04:40
I don't know if anyone Will ever find this note I write to leave a record Of the one thing that I know And though I am not sure If anybody else survived These words will live Though I might die The earth is poisoned now Barren as the wastes Myself and my companions We made it down into these caves Now all my friends are gone And I am fading fast This testament Will be my last. I leave this message for posterity Whoever finds it here, this letter is for you This final message is my legacy: Father, forgive me. I know not what I do I destroyed the world for love of You. I won a holy war But forfeited my soul I went off to the crusades And lost sight of my goals It was always said That I'm the best at what I do And I thought that I was serving You. Buildings vaporized No traces to be found Humans and humanity Lay dead upon the ground All my life's been black and white With nothing in between I only wish My hands were clean

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released July 1, 2014

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Seth Phillips Longmont, Colorado

From the nexus of tradition, change, and geekery comes Longmont songwriter Seth Phillips. His original songs range in subject from "raving evil genius" to "madman wandering in the desert" to "unrequieted nerd love" to "hitchhiker searching for home." And the good ones just might touch something deep inside the most cynical heart. Come find out for yourself. Even if you don't have a cynical heart. ... more

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