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A Stone Throw From A Glass House

by Illusion of Joy

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1.
Chorus: Heads up! Precious cargo Eyes out – no damages Strapped down: constrict the movement That’s how we deliver it Run far away We’ve done a bad thing You’re my accomplice Burn, throttle up This is a rough ride They can not catch us Defiance: a shiny light Pass a law, doesn’t make it right Don’t speak words of rebellion Hollow rhetoric is through We’re the liars, but we know the truth That crime was simply more fun Chorus Keep it all cool Mind the back chamber Don’t lose your nerve Make the voices stop Rest for ten minutes And we’ll move on Say again what we do is right Awake in such cold sweats at night Such horrifying pictures Tell the truth: have we both gone mad? We’ve redefined the good and bad Less thinking, more action Chorus Take the long road home Assuming we can get back Road, river and rail Unite me with my heartland Take the long road home Assuming that we have one You filthy radicals Redemption is a sad joke Matted hair, formaldehyde Let’s take these monsters for a ride We can just do, they have all died Let’s take these monsters for a ride Come on, monsters – ride! Chorus
2.
Undertow, you can now take me I am done, I am free Have I given a full lifetime? What is left? A cavity Call the rocks and call the breakers Gather close, witness the fall Trace your tear trails down your features Know this is no end at all Chorus: Learning to breathe under water I will be a submarine Being one in fluid motion Render us unto the sea Swallow salty inspiration Cough up sickly memories By the anger and frustration My old habits, my disease Chorus Open your eyes and let the burning pass Adapt and surely you will see Open your hands and wash away the fear Reach out and touch and you’ll believe Open your heart and cast away the doubt Open your doubtless heart to me Chorus
3.
They can crawl inside of you Make you writhe around screaming Until you push the infection out Then you’re only filled with doubt If they strip all away Sell your useless parts for scrap “Hey, let’s get together again man!” You call these people your friends? Chorus: Every note that you played Every song that you sang Was the start of something beautiful But you did better You are the idol If they shove it in your face It’s your migraine companion Leaves you broken and bleeding But you bet they’ll say it’s needed They can put you on the show They can pull all of your strings Abandon your insecurities This is how you’ll make your living Chorus
4.
Broken Toys 03:46
And so we play with broken toys The silence permeates, consuming all the noise You try to hold it but your grip is loosening No more noise Broken toys You lay the blade against my skin Apply some pressure, let’s begin You say you need it – it will kill you in the end Bleeding skin Let’s begin Feels like an army marching on A force ten million units strong Sit down and protest – it’s your empty victory Army strong Marching on And so we play with broken toys If silence is so loud, we’re killing all the noise You fight no longer, it’s so easy giving in No more noise Broken toys
5.
Your rust-encrusted heart is mine To have forsaken Steel wheels jumped over the line All signals mistaken Nostalgia and apathy call out Come with me now, sleep with me now, man You make your connection and swallow Roll over the wrong direction Your moss-covered tracks are mine Lay down for the trails not taken Blood-blister, drag down the line The undergrowth has forsaken Do you hear the ghosts keep crying? Walk with us now, dance with us forever The skull, the stone and the contact This is our last connection And now let the Earth reclaim us Destruction to dust, monuments, rust There stands here no one to remember That is how it should be
6.
Distance 03:40
There’s a little dot on the horizon Turn your head sideways, adjust your eyelids Leaning forward, reaching out and it’s gone Twilight creeping in, light pricks the darkness Smokestack, windward vision obscure the sunset Flying over, looking down and we fall Chorus: I remember when we said, “forever” Brushing lips on skin and it was never Reconciled, pass to denial and done Reconcile, pass to denial and done Learning to be one with your enclosure Concrete groove and hum toward a better pasture Accelerating, acclimating, come on Morning fading in, deep blue retreating From pure revealing light we hide until evening Crawling back under our usual rocks When you say you are a god, I know that you’re not Chorus
7.
The Shaming 07:14
I really should just say it to your face You self-absorbed, self-righteous waste of space You claim you’re only helping You body fascist, rape apologist I know you’re so proud of your brand new life You’ve made yourself a son and perfect wife You are born again and baptised You jog the straight and narrow 9 to 5 Little wounds, little pricks There’s no room for opinions that dissent Day by day closed some more Lose your mind, lean your head against the door You were not shy in pointing out my flaws A self-deluded pervert without pause There is no justification When everyone else tells you to preach on I don’t know why I’ve let you in my life Hindsight brings no good features into light You tell me that you’re joking A wink makes every barb you toss all right Jump around, monkey cage It’s a joke – don’t get bent out of shape Very smug for so long Sketch me out, I can kill you in a song Come on, bitch, now sing along Chorus: Shame – I love to take you home You burn into my shell I’m grateful for the immolation Run, run, run away – it’s a pressure-cooker day Run as fast as you can – nobody can escape Oh, Run, run, run, run, run away – it’s a pressure-cooker day Nobody can escape Nobody gets away Nobody wins the race I’d really love to vanquish this unease In ignorance you abort your studies What you condemn as vices… I see as a way towards being free Shackles off little bird Fly away – admit there is no cage Dogma song…keep singing You’re still wrong You’ll always be the same One more time into the flames Chorus
8.
Submission 04:32
Hello, come in – here, let me take your coat Nice to see you’re thinking of what I wrote Is there something that you wanted to see? Come in, let’s begin, now please take a seat Play it open, place it flat on the floor Obfuscation? There’s no time anymore Let us play a game of mutual chance Respond, s’il vous plaît and bring yourself back Pre-Chorus: And you know I’m going to carry your weight You press down; is that all that you can take? I decline in any way to dissuade… As you place another stone Chorus: I left a message today You are the apple I crave Let’s be together enslaved From lust there is no escape Take a breath and suck it back down your throat Keep your eyes open, don’t you dare let go Wrap your ribbons round and make it pretty Transformation to the other’s conceit Now create a world, don’t take it away Curtains open – let them all see the play Don’t get tired, come on – just pull on through Light the script on fire, make up something new Pre-Chorus Chorus And you know I’m going to carry your weight You press down; is that all that you can take? I decline in any way to dissuade… And I want it so bad Bring me to my knees Supplication never was so sweet Hands down, your collar frees you to care…I’m aware… Is there nothing more to say? Chorus You are the apple I crave
9.
Evolution 03:55
You and I… An argument against intelligent design A random mess Dumb luck is the best explanation for how we’ve survived Taking a piss in the gene pool Floating upon the sea of fools Chorus: Now I’m crawling, oceans falling I will match your evolution Our desire, build a fire Burning fast in evolution It’s our nation, a civilisation What a rate of evolution Drop the bomb and it’s all gone So concludes our evolution Say goodbye… To vestigial plans and extinct alibis Step on up Witness the static warnings of all those who came before you, all those who died Splitting the atoms for a laugh HA HA HA Watching our lives rendered in halves Chorus You and I… An argument against intelligent life
10.
Place your little hand in mine Keeping close I will protect you from the lie As the pages turn in time I hope to be absolved of my failings by design Faking confidence Faking competence Carry on until you can convince yourself that you have made it Standing on the side Standing deaf and blind I fear to find myself fully extraneous to this engagement Chorus: My love is baby’s breath My love is razor blades My love is daffodils My love is hand grenades Always an afterthought They could take you away Always an afterthought You are not mine to claim Sitting frozen by the shore Recalling warmer days in which we had been here before Wrapped up tight inside our coats As a static winter field waits patiently to be reborn Want to see you play See you smile again A momentary amnesia from all the conflicts I retain Bound by legacy Bound by history A shiver that the photo framed is a mirror pointed back at me Chorus
11.
This is how they make you scared This is how they wear you down This is how they play your trust Now is it fair to trade an ulcer for a uterus And this is how they change the plans This is how they take advantage This is how they sway the doubt Say, “dead baby” and like magic you become a god Pound by pound, ounce by ounce When the numbers add up, they’ll let you out The numbers and the charts, the charts and the graphs If you stare at them too long, they’ll drive you mad I hold vigil No candles to light, but my heart is on fire Stay in control Hold back the tears, try and make it through the night Don’t wake me up, I’m living in the dream Day by day, look by look I’m holding on with every single risk we took They’ve made you up in bed and they’re keeping a close eye And they say I’ll be the first to know if you should die If you’ve got hope Keep it to yourself, like every rip-off I’ve known How about the truth? Is the time running out? Will we all end up alone? Don’t wake me up, I’m living in the dream Month by month, inch by inch The healing process exceeds what they’ll pay for it The price is set, now they’ve turned you out And with clean hands they have left you to the cold of doubt It’s no surprise The evidence points to a murder attempt We’re the odds defied When Hippocrates is smothered under blanket programs Don’t wake me up, I’m living in the dream
12.
Standing outside Two broken boots, ten inches of snow Pain-painted glass Imagine the warmth, entranced by the glow Mama take note Is there a need for you to attend? Outside this house There stands a wretch and a brand new friend Inside this house We’re building a society Communal bliss A frayed, patchwork, stitched-up family Here are the rules Simple commands, cut straight to the point Keep to yourself And no one will be put out of joint Over and over and over again You’re a raggedy man, you’re a victim, my friend This is an indiscriminate house, you can stay Twisted outside brought your sordid affairs Now a scissor misstep to a fall down the stairs Partake of an indiscriminate path and you’ll pay So we stand a stone throw from a glass house Fingers clasped, convenience in hand As we stare stalemate at each other Mutual thieves and mutually damned

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released October 28, 2016

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Illusion of Joy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Illusion of Joy is the duo of musicians Seth Warren and Maresa Whitehead based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Influenced by a plethora of alternative 1980s musicians including The Cure, Public Image Ltd. and The Bolshoi, the retro aesthetic of Illusion of Joy is balanced by lyrics that alternate between contemporary and timeless. ... more

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