“Well, there’s literary reference and we’ll keep doing that because books are more reliable than the internet by far, but why not a lyrical reference as well.
I always asked too many questions. It always did get me into more trouble than I realized. They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but, too much, oof.
What was the thing the guys used to say? If knowledge is power, then secrets are… (mind gap) I guess I’m not supposed to know the rest.
I started writing songs and poems about the mysterious nature of certain family passings and then found out just how dangerous questioning can be.
Anyway, here’s one that got me into trouble, and is saving the day for me now, ’cause it’s nice to have some validation in isolation;
BEDFIRE (~2018)
(F, Gb, G)
How could they not know
That their bed was on fire?
Oh, they did it to themselves.
And when those flames got higher
They spread to my door
Just like they knew that it would
Accountability
Not everybody’s got the same ability
Next to nobodies got the same
Definitions that you do
Ah, but if we recognize
We walk similar lines upon very different lives
And every little stroke is just a part of the whole
(F, A)
Everybody, everybody’s got some sort of head start
Some more than the others do
Everybody, everybody’s got some sort of hangup
Some are tied with a tighter noose
(F, E7)
Ah, but if we empathize
Help ’em out if we recognize
That nobody’s born knowin a thing
Everybody just does what they know
We learned it all somewhere
If you don’t understand, then I’d guess you weren’t there
If your concern honestly extends beyond
How you feel, it’s about yourself
You could be the difference
A good kind of influence
Someone who’s actually listening
Who doesn’t clutch so tight to their reality bein realest of all
Doesn’t clutch to your judgements
Clutch so tight to your sacraments
Give the calling out a cause
We can help us, help them, help us, help them, help ’em out
All this suffering sure is some kind of mess
Get out your brooms & rags, we’re cleaning house
Sometimes normalizing oppression’s a survival mechanism
And if it’s normal to you it permeates everything that you do
We can help us, help them, help us, help them, help ’em out
We can help us, help them, help us, help them, help ’em out
La da da da..
Looks like the family gift of sight is with me whether I want to see it or not.”
………………….
I guess another common mistake that we are oft to make is to think that just because something is art means it’s a dramatization, just ’cause it’s on the stage means it’s a performance. I knew when I wrote this nine years ago that I meant it, that it was true to my own life and what I’ve been through. I had no idea how much I was not knowing about what I was knowin when I wrote it but I meant it all then, it just means a lot more now that I’m knowing why it scared some people so much. I was crying out to myself on the page, begging for myself to hear me while getting mad at everybody else for not doing it, oof. I wish that we knew what I know now when I was younger. Anyway I’ll just let it speak for itself until I speak on it some more later, probably. If anybody ever wants to play it it’s Dm G7 E7 A. You’re welcome to it. Please take it before it gets taken over. Forgive me, i’m forgetting my own songs. On the other hand it’s a miracle I remember my own name after what’s been done to me.
HEART (~2017):
(Dm, G7, E7, A)
Well, my heart is so full that it’s heavy
And lord, it’s so heavy, it aches
And it aches so bad it could be bursting
And it can’t burst if it can’t break
A creature so wild you can’t tame it
You can’t contain what you don’t own
But you can treat ‘em kind, give em a reason why
They should follow you home
Claiming power in that you named it,
Don’t make it a thing that you know
All the words in this whole wide world
Won’t describe what that creature holds
So, get to work on the good life
Stick your last, do what you’re told
You were born in the house that oppression built, but
That don’t make it your home
My Heart is so full that it’s heavy
Lord it’s so heavy it aches
Aches so bad, it must be bursting
And it can’t burst if it can’t break
So, what I was getting at is that my heart was breaking constantly, for very good reasons that should matter more to people.
“That creature’s so wild you can’t tame it you can’t contain what you don’t own”
I would be proven wrong, unless I’m owned
“claiming power and that you named it fails to make it something you know”
that goes for all of us
“’cause all the words I’ve tried in this whole wide world is not enough describe what that creature holds
so get to work on a good life stick your last do what your told
But being born in the house the opression built doesn’t make it your home
Did you ever think it was the shadows that cast your doubts
Now you’ve got a wolf on your bedroom door, you cast a blade, you cast it out.”
I can think about a 1000 ways to explicate this for you and still won’t describe it. I could shorten it right down to some punchy words like ritual abuse or Nazis, I can’t make people see what they won’t look at. But maybe I can give them some treat ’em kind and give him a reason why they should follow me home. Except for I don’t know the way and it feels like my brand of kindness doesn’t translate. I can give you too many reasons why but they won’t matter if you won’t hear them. Justice for the redacted. Worthy time to ask yourself what you do to protect yourself from deception, coercion, coercive control, manipulation, mind control, brainwashing, whatever you want to call it. If you think you’re too secure to get manipulated, you’re probably one of the easiest people to manipulate right now. Now I understand why I know so much about how that works. I’ve been done in by the best of them my whole life. Blessings to my family. Love you all. “
Solve for x 
Leave a comment