1. |
The Current Suite
10:46
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[civilized hallucinations]
my my...what an exquisitely brutal world
reminders are all around
it's not about who you are but who you know
and people can let you down
so we redirect the current by placing stones
we all hang on to these civilized hallucinations
yeah...but under the cold, cold light of examination
my my...what an exquisitely brutal world
we have to engage if we want to have a hope to set the terms of our days
but if you miss a statement, the levee might break
and the current can wash you away
it all hangs off of these civilized hallucinations
yeah...but some folks ignore the shining city and they prey
prey
prey
prey
prey
was the arrogance building the citadel in the first place?
should we topple the stones and just let the fever break?
[a crossroad loomed]
did he ask you what you wanted to do with your life?
did he ask you what you thought?
did he tell you what you ought to do right there and then?
did he tell you what you thought?
you could read the current from a very young age
undeterred by the torrent, you charted your own way
toward a borrowed vision of victory
and then a crossroad loomed
it was such a beautiful day
it was your opportunity to waste
so you swallowed all of your agony
and you followed through
[vulnerable in reflection]
how did i end up in this place?
what strange forces led me to stand with this bully face to face?
there is no reason
there is no rhyme
we're all just animals with our hills to climb
and the current only ever flows down
now i'm having trouble finding sleep
knowing all about this secret i have to keep
there is no treason
there is no crime
we're all just animals navigating time
or so i keep telling myself
this
this is
this is exquisite
this is exquisitely brutal
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2. |
Another Opportunity
03:18
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when life throws opportunities in my way, gotta rise up even tired as i am
i can't hide
i can't hide
i can't hide
'cause i know the golden tuna tends not to stay around while i rest and collect my thoughts
surf the tide
surf the tide
surf the tide while the surf is high
if i'm gonna fly it'll be by the seat of my pants
while chance stares, askance, i'm gonna dance
you might think i'm lazy but i know when to move
i can run like the wind if that's what's happening
read the signs
read the signs
read the signs, yeah, the time is right
if i'm gonna fly it'll be by the seat of my pants
while chance stares, askance, i'm gonna dance
opportunity
i need another bumping opportunity
like i need a bomb to commune with me
hey, opportunity
i need another crushing opportunity
like i need a hard place and a rock dragooning me
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3. |
Driftwood
05:09
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what if i were to live forever?
would i find the meaning of it all?
or would i be just another piece of driftwood?
sandpaper and sea glass under my camera's lens
seems so meaningful
like the flicker of candlelight and a glass of wine
another night out on the water softens every fiber
but it hardens my resolve to pry
is it love that we should try for?
progress we should strive for?
a home that we should die for?
is it god that we are blind for?
the future that we lie for?
the past that we should cry for?
i watch the lawn grow long and not so luscious
like the scraggly hair on a city cur
and i struggle
yes i struggle to find the will to care
it just isn't there
and as the light dies away, i wonder
when i'm old and gray
will it look any different that it does today?
is it love that we should try for?
progress we should strive for?
a home that we should die for?
is it god that we are blind for?
the future that we lie for?
the past that we should cry for?
another night out on the water softens every fiber
but it hardens my resolve
yeah, it hardens my resolve
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4. |
Waves of the Sea
02:55
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5. |
To Bridge the Gap
04:31
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the distance between us makes it impossible to know just how far we'd have to go to meet
the emotion is seamless, familiar, distinct as bergamot
the future's the past, new coat and jeans
it's easy to say i won't
i can't
there's just no way to bridge the gap
least that these eyes can see
not these eyes
but through a similar angle of light
one might, with equipment like mine, spy a coalescing dream
and it's a shame
it's a shame to not believe
but in my brighter moments
i try for the sky
o'er mighty oceans that put the lie
the distance between us makes it impossible to know just how far we'd have to go to meet
and it's a shame
it's a shame to not believe
you never know until you know
the river will right on past you flow
you can harness it or watch it go
you never know until you know
these seeds of doubt are yours to sow
you never ever know until you know
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6. |
Sapiens Emotion
04:34
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joy and rage and all the range of sapiens emotion are all the colors we're equipped to see
rods and cones can build a road to endless information but it's black and white or gray as any concrete
we're bound as a raft in the current
we're bound as a raft in the current
bloodhounds chasing after alluring atmosphere
plans are made with heads and lemonade is mostly water
we fool ourselves with details all the time
the heart is whence the wind
that fickle thing will go and authorize a course that nobody wants to ride
we're bound as a raft in the current
we're bound as a raft in the current
with countless intractable struggles
it can boggle the mind
how we tightly align
with invented scars projecting our alarm
we've no way to disarm
these traps we set with preconceptions and regrets
we're bound as a raft in the current
we're bound as a raft in the current
bloodhounds chasing after alluring atmosphere
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7. |
Bouncy Castle
04:57
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what's done is done
there ain't no second guessing in the postgame
and anyways
if you can't go back and change things
why waste the energy?
thinking "what if this? what if that?"
if-onlys are stones that no bones should be asked to withstand
they'll send your heart through the laundromat
and the frustrating thing is that this never ends
the world keeps spinning round and round
a man can ride it up or he can ride it down
i don't have many answers
but i know on thing
life's just a big ol' bouncy castle, no king
no one has full control
i think that's the point here
try as we might to dictate the course of the fight
there's always another hand to pull the ropes tight
so halleluja for the mystery
but it'll soothe ya like a sinister sea
we all wrestle over some control that we are not entitled to
remember now the dream is how you cover ground
so make your mama proud
keep your ego in bounds
attitude is everything amidst the madding crowd
it's the only guarantee we've got
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8. |
Seeking Serenity
03:29
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seeking serenity grounded in truth
to stop shedding years over bygone youth
the hill is for real, though the peak's a mirage
past the heels, it's uphill right on back through the fog
every song hits like a missed opportunity
like everything i touch gets stuck as a soon-to-be
for conditions like this, there is no immunity
i can't just refuse to be moved
now who sets the standards for success?
are we on a ladder or a path?
do we get a chance to reassess?
it's one foot in front of the other
and one rung begets another
and years blur into each other
pretty soon you're a doomed anachronism, brother
every song hits like a missed opportunity
like i've been playing left handed and the band's not in tune with me
from conditions like this, there is no immunity
i can't just refuse to be moved
grant me serenity to accept what i cannot change
grant me courage to change the things that i can
grant me wisdom to know the difference
i've got to do right by this life that i share
it's the only one we've got
every song hits like a missed opportunity
like everything i touch ends up as a soon-to-be
from conditions like this, there is no immunity
don't move me
don't move me
cuz i'm...
seeking serenity grounded in truth
to stop shedding years over bygone youth
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9. |
Right On Time
05:32
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i find heart in the strangest places
i find heart and it follows me home
my bright star glows ever-changing colors
my bright star knows seasons hot and cold
but in the spring everything sings
beckoning
bringing me back to a place where i cannot recall
with a rise and fall
arriving right on time
right on time
if it comes at all
it'll come along right on time
like i've got any control over anything
i write down the words of summoning
right on time
if it comes at all
it'll come along right on time
coming in on the tide to its very own port of call
with a rise and fall
the timing suits me fine
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10. |
Space to Breathe
02:36
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11. |
Staring Down the Waves
05:57
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two strangers meet on an otherwise deserted beach
unaware of the similarities between
the fairer one says, "we look different, you and me"
and thus determined their places across the sea
must it always be this way?
who can say?
and here we stand
with shackled hands
staring down the waves
wandering town under the late morning sun, a young father of three
casting about for the means to produce enough for his children to eat
he hails a man he'd known to be courtious last that he was seen
the man says, "it's a free country...now what do you want from me?"
must it always be this way?
who can say?
and here we stand
with tired hands
staring down the waves
nothing changes but the year
the decades wear on fraying spirits
centuries of systems for any rational soul with eyes to see
progress
progress
everybody's always touting progress
how many ways can one man hold another man down?
two humans awash in a sea of crushing humanity
feel the push and pull of every emotion flying through the city streets
steeled against the tide, against the current so threatening
repping life and love across the gulf of their coloring
we're not stowaways
in a tragic play
it's not too late
and here we stand
hand in hand
staring down the waves
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12. |
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all over this old world there are the writers of the history and there are those who would fight the current's flow
archaic engineers found that they could furrow around their fields to help the water know which way to go
fast forward a few thousand years to a time when there were writers of the history and there were those who would fight the current's flow
ancient engineers discovered they could place stones there and here
then let old gravity coax oases to their homes
fast forward across the centuries and we find that there are writers of the history as well as those who will fight the current's flow
modern engineers construct machines that can use a plateau's tears to set a distant, cold midnight all aglow
fast forward
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13. |
Lefty
03:14
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i'm gonna drive into the sunset 'til i'm far away from here
and i wanted to tell you that i love you
i'm gonna find a little place where i can breathe the open air
though i'm not really sure where i'll head to
talked about it so many, many times
that i almost believe it
and now i'm leaving
you know i've spoken so many, many rhymes
that i almost believe them
and i can't leave them
i'm gonna make a little room for you to curl up inside
'cause i want you to know that you're worth it
i'm gonna sleep until the sun is straight overhead in the sky
though i'm not really sure i deserve it
talked about it so many, many times
that i almost believe it
and now i'm leaving
you know i've spoken so many, many rhymes
that i almost believe them
and i can't leave them
talked about it so many, many times
that i almost believe it
and now i'm leaving
you know i've spoken so many, many rhymes
that i almost believe them
and i can't leave them
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ajk Boston, Massachusetts
Adam Kaufman is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer working out of his home in the Boston area. He records his music in what time he can get, and plays out around Boston as often as he can. Though he comes from a pop/rock/grunge background, his writing tastes vary. He is a strong believer in the album, and works hard at his craft. ... more
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