CONTENDER LYRICS
For all of you who’ve picked up Contender online, here are lyrics.
1. SENSE TO THE SENSELESS
We seem so tired of everything, the population disenchanted. So uninspiring to let the baneful take advantage, and tolerate, and tolerate, turn a blind eye and the heart it blackens, the good sit by and let evil happen. No, we must learn from our past, today, no matter the scale. Shake your lethargy, stand up and be counted. Do you have the character to step away from the queue? Or will you simply do as the others do?
I think that it’s time that we make some changes. Changes within ourselves, leave misery behind. Too many have allowed themselves to be manipulated. We’ll take the higher road.
No more excuses. The responsibility falls on the bystander to turn their back no more. No excuses, blind acceptance, there’s no salvation in repentance.
That’s why, I think it’s time that we make some changes. Changes within ourselves, leave misery behind. Too many throughout the ages have manipulated. We’ll take the higher road. The rising of the acerbated.
1974, a lesson guided by Milgram found obedience was blind. Look at what we’ve learnt from Stanford, the consequence of Landis. How bad do you let things get? Where do you draw the line?
For so long I struggled, misled, I felt demoralised, distracted. But now I know, he that always gives way to others will end up having no principles of his own.* No principles of his own. When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.**
*Aesop
**Tuli Kupferberg
2. GROWTH
Please stop wasting my time.
Is there something I can help you with? Do you not remember when we were kids? I had all the time for you in the world, but you didn’t want a part of it, you didn’t want to know me at all.
You see times have changed, I’m finding myself with a lack of respect. Could this be from years of lying through your teeth and neglect? Unaware, lies spreading like cancer. I grew up still searching for the answer. How does it feel, to be on the back foot? Quite frankly I’m done wasting time on you.
I will not be stolen from by this thief any longer. I will not be.
3. WOLF TICKETS
Try to create and it always ends the same. A pack of hungry wolves that dominate. A struggle each and every day to get the message out, but the people that would listen seem disillusioned, approaching absence.
Act as you will, you’ll see one day that you won’t conquer. You won’t conquer me and everything I have. Say what it is you have to say ‘cos you won’t conquer. You won’t conquer me. I’m much smarter than that.
Slander in communication, a phantom on the keys. Revel in defamation. No responsibility. Spawning a new generation of gutless, gloomy, parasites. Safe in empty-headedness. Missing the point.
Act as you will, you’ll see one day that you won’t conquer. You won’t conquer me and everything I have. Say what it is you have to say, ‘cos you won’t conquer. You won’t conquer me. I’m much smarter than that.
I know you’re there.
I know you’re there lurking in the shadows, faceless, cowering. As I stroll on, you amuse me but the stench of the poltroon lingers. There was a time when your actions would’ve got to me. And after all is said and done, it seems that more is said than done.*
And now I realise, it’s beyond you. I’m just sayin’.
* Aesop
4. ALL RIVERS
All rivers lead back to the ocean. Helps me realise where I’m going. Step back to where I started from. I find comfort in my origins.
So it’s another restless night, watching the paint peeling from the roof top, laying there but still pacing. My brains flooding with thought. I’m just wondering, how it came to be? That I felt so trapped unable to break free. Free from trivial idiosyncrasy. Re-thinking and reaching new heights. Flowing creeks to the future, lead right back to where it all began. Lead right back to the ocean.
All these rivers I’m riding on; rapid emotion of the past. Clinging to the raft as I travel far from the pressures of the depths that I once met.
It’s only up. It’s only up from here. But then I fall straight back. Fighting to view this life differently. Fighting to make my world less confusing.
And all these rivers I’m riding on; rapid emotion of the past. Clinging to the raft as I travel far from the pressures of the depths that I once met. Mistakes I’ve made keep on flashing back. Still trying to figure out the point of living in this world.
I will find my way.
All rivers lead back to the ocean. Helps me realise where I’m going. Get back to where I started from. I find strengths in my origins. I will find my way.
All rivers lead back to the ocean. Helps me realise where I’m going.
5. CONTENDER
I find myself walking this path too often. Although attempts have been made to alter; we are all contenders. We all enter one way, and we all leave through that door. It’s what happens in between that determines what we’re fighting for.
Follow these tracks and keep making yours. The end is never far away. Keep your chin up, things will get better… or so they say.
As I slowly take my next steps I see faces of few. Some old and weathered, some brand new. All with one thing in common, what lies ahead. The joys and fruits of life, and their resting bed.
So you follow these tracks and keep making yours. The end is never far away. We all have a purpose, a meaning, a reason… or so they say.
So you follow these tracks and you keep making yours. The end is never far away. This life is only what you make it.. or so they say.
Crawl to the top, fight all the way. The rats will get fat while good men fade away. While good men will fade. We are all in this life contenders.
Death is a gift, celebrate it, live your life, unrestrained. Death is a gift, make your choices, enjoy it. No one lives forever.
6. INTO SUBMISSION
Paralysed, constantly changing. Violation of the senses is the war that is waging. No longer scared, not stunned, beyond alarmed, just fucking numb. I’m fucking numb. A modern day catastrophe, blood on the page in front of me. Hypnotised by what I see, constantly invading my mind. And there’s no escape.
I’m becoming desensitised, and it’s concerning. Pathos is what’s at stake, a large population that can no longer relate, and the obvious question is “why”?
Why is it that we enjoy viewing violence on our streets? In our school yards? In our homes? Inciting, sanctioning, encouraging, spurring them on.
Satisfaction a click away, “what will it be today”? A decapitation broadcast to the nation. An evil that killed them, displayed to the children. Ever so slightly I’m loosing it.
In my mind empathy is puzzling ‘cos I’ve been exposed to shocking scenes and nothing shocks me anymore. Embedding your subconscious. Influencing your life, and you don’t even know.
7. THE HUNT
8. PAGES
Still finding my feet my head is spinning in and out of control. I gotta push, I wonder is my life on hold? What’s my reality? Where do I stand is this a dream? Oh how things change, time continues to turn the page. The story writes itself and manifests with age.
There always seems to be a sudden shift and instability, alters all direction and timing has no favour. There always seems to be a sudden shift and instability, alters direction in the blink of an eye.
You prepare, you take those extra measures, you never cross before you’ve looked. ‘Cos at the end of the book there could be a monster waiting to change it all. Oh, you know the answers? Nothing last forever. Don’t you see? Every fractured second stimulates vitality.
Oh, how things change, time continues to turn the page. The story writes itself and manifests with age. There always seems to be a sudden shift and instability, alters direction in the blink of an eye.
Every thought, every breath, every step, every movement, every day, every situation, every turn. It’s all subliminal, it’s all around. Embrace it.
9. LIKE THE PLAGUE
I’ve lost hope.
I was weak and on my knees, searching for something to believe. It was then that I saw nothing. Just shallow lies and deceit, a medieval belief. The fraud of our time, spreading like the plague. And now it’s clear, over time the cracks will show.
10. MARCH 29TH
This will be so much more, than I ever had hoped for.
I won’t let you be my dead weight ‘cos I keep on making that mistake. Peel back the skin, and watch you fade away. Waiting on every day, until I can see clear again, this won’t be the end. I’m so far from the end.
The sun will shine, but until that day comes, I remain in darkness. I must be patient.
‘Cos I want be to recognised for something that matters. Even if the impact only has effect on one, I am fulfilled.
Time and time again I’ve felt the weight of this world, pulling at my sleeve and suffocating.
I won’t let them get the best of me. Heavy tides shall change.
The sun will shine, but until that day comes, I remain in darkness. I must be patient.
‘Cos I want be to recognised for something that matters. Even if the impact only has effect on one, I am fulfilled.
And I know that time will only tell. And I know it waits for nothing. And I know that this may seem useless. I know. I know.
11. ABERRATION
It seems I’m always seeking, ever searching, unraveling in my mind. Struggling with identity, my better judgement unassigned. See ‘cos I stumbled and now I’m trapped. Ideals receding, there’s no way back.
The pressures mounting and it feels like there’s no where left to turn, and all I got is time. No link to where I come from, no idea what it is I run from, will I succumb to my own abduction? I’m on the verge of self destruction.
Feels like I’m losing my mind and it seems like there’s no way back.
Hit the ground running, keeping busy I’ll stagger the trail. Take each day as it comes, each day as it comes, each day. I’m getting dizzy setting myself up to fail and all I got is time.
You see I’ve got no link to where I come from, no idea what it is I run from, will I succumb to my own abduction? I’m on the verge of self destruction. I’m losing my mind.
Feeling the pressure, I’m losing it. Seems like there’s no way back.
12. IN CARE OF…
James wakes up in the morning with a floor for a bed. All his life he’s been chastised. He’s no good, that’s what he’s been fed by his parents that gave up on him long ago. And shipped him away to a place, isolated, filled with violence, fueled by hate.
Outside he hears the children playing, but he can never be part of that life. 24 hour care, he feels imprisoned. Few happy moments, no kiss goodnight. Old enough and aware of the circumstance, young enough to pray from better times. A dim light glowing, he’s searching.
And the cycle repeats, can’t you see?
James wakes up in the morning with a floor for a bed. All his life he’s been chastised. And he still thinks he’s no good, only now he no longer cares. About his son who’s still waiting by the phone, confident that today’s the day. Old enough and aware of circumstance, still young enough to pray.
13. TEN YEARS
The thought of this ever ending made me feel so sick inside. Knowing that I’ve lost you, I can’t bare. I never saw it coming, we were so unprepared. Cancer swarmed your body, we didn’t have a chance.
I’m unsure if you see what you did to this world of mine, if you really understand. And although we’ve had our days, it’s tough, but our bond got stronger every time.
Just want you to know. I just want you to know, that this is for real. I just want you to know that no one else compares. Years have passed, I still find myself checking at that door, hoping your shadow will appear on that wall.
I don’t know if you see what you did to this world of mine and if you really understand. And yeah we’ve had our days, it’s tough, but our bond got stronger every time.
Seconds, minutes, hours pass, but this is something that time just can’t heal.
And I’m still trying to be strong, but without you the days are so long. Forever knowing that you’re gone, I feel the same, and I’m all alone. You’ll always mean so much to me, the thought of you above everything. Still broken, ten years on.
Forever knowing that you’re gone, I can’t help feel nothing but numb. You’ll always mean so much to me, the thought of you above everything. Ten years on.
14. SCATTERED TO THE WINDS
Goodbye Bill, I die like a true rebel. Don’t waste time mourning, organise.* They don’t know what they’re in for.
As I sit in the comfort of this cell, plenty of time for reflection. I strangely feel complacent, I feel validated, I feel defiant. Never have I missed that crisp air back home, the frosted windows and our family in song, but how I’d kill for that right now, I wonder, I hope they’re proud.
They won’t forget the name, Joe Hill, because I stood for what is right. Let my efforts and my reason grow strong. May my death forever fortify.
That night I was never there.
My songs, merely a voice for the workers. The only glint of hope in their eyes. Acting as a catalyst for an uprising, rebelling against. Ask Morrison, son of the deceased, he’ll say it wasn’t me. Now a scapegoat, the price to be payed for freedom of speech.
They won’t forget the name, Joe Hill, because I stood for what is right. Let my efforts and my reason grow strong. May my death forever fortify.
My face in my hands, I hear them coming. The footsteps and the keys. The keys to redemption, the chain unraveled, I rise to my feet. As I stand facing my fate before me, I notice the guilt and remorse in their eyes. The sun is now falling, my palms they are sweaty, I scream fire then I fall to my side.
My will is easy to decide, for I have nothing to divide. My kin don’t need to weep and moan. Moss does not cling to a rolling stone. My body? Oh, if I could choose, I would to ashes it reduce, and let the merry breezes blow my dust to where some flowers grow. Perhaps some fading flower then would soon rise up and grow green again. This is my last and final will, good luck to all of you, Joe Hill. *
*Joe Hill
GUESTS
Scott McFadyen of TOE TO TOE- Wolf Tickets
Noah Parker- All Rivers
Joel Birch of THE AMITY AFFLICTION- Pages
Zach Duncalfe of PROMISES- Ten Years
