1. WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA

Probably never shoulda even opened my mouth
And I had no right to say what anything meant to you
I'm still trying to figure out what it all meant to me
We all know sometimes I speak too quickly
Been known for choosing all the wrong words
Seems I wasn't very careful when traveling back in time
Remembering how I'd wished we coulda burned a little bit brighter
The second time around
I was holding out for something greater
Than broken slogans, empty sing-alongs
I still do
It's still not

Maybe it woulda been easier if I was less honest
When giving the answers Lord knows can be so hard to hear
Like the older we get the less that there seems to be worth fighting for
Don't you think that makes me sad too? But I was just reciting basic math
Same tired words
Familiar Let Downs
I could not help but see all those lines that you were drawing in the sand
Would blow away at the slightest wind
But I have been giving it some thought and I have decided
That I'm not sorry, not sorry, not sorry about nothin'

And I never shoulda named names when it wasn't you
But all the faces, all the ideas, bands taht came and went and came again
Just could not find the patience to differentiate
But based on your reaction the lesson still remains
Bonds built on your words don't mean a thing to me
And with friendships like ours who needs friendships anyway
I didn't then
I don't now


2. POT COMMITTED

Will not back down now
I've got no place else to run and hide to
Have come too far to buckle now
Can't lay this one down to the likes of you

And I don't say that with some bullshit sense of pride
I need you to know that I'm not done screaming
About whether or not your foot has the right
To be in some kids face

WIll not back down now
I've got no place else to run and hide to
Have come too far to buckle now
Can't lay this one down to the likes of you

And if that's the case
Then I say arm us all
And we'll get this asshole contest
Right under way

But it would be just like you to drag your keyboard to a gunfight
And so long after the smoke had cleared
I stood there all night as if you had so much to say
Instead of running home lion tail between your legs
Crying about the little needle stuck in your paw

I don't give a fuck if my words have grown old
I've never been so willing to see a relationship fray
I don't give a fuck how thin this ice has become
I'm stomping on it anyway


3. ONE FOR THE BOYS

I'm in the big blind
With an average stack and aggressive image
The four seat limps right after me, never a good sign
He's been beating up the table showing down strong cards all night
The maniac in the nine throws in another raise, he loves to raise
Confusing foolishness for courage and swinging on a vine
I peek at my cards
And decide I'm gonna defend the four seat does the same

And we all buckle in for our favorite ride

I'm first to act and bet the pot hoping to win it right then and there
But the 4 seat calls and the maniac folds
And I'm out of position with a lowly pair of twos
The dealer burns and turns
It is in this half second where life becomes perfect
The mind a weapon
Tomorrow's worries and yesterday's mistakes, they crumble and fall away
For now I'm on the wire

I check, the four bets
THe trap snaps shut as I push my whole stack into the middle
He shakes his head to let me know
He doesn't have those dreaded pocket 8's
And sighs "I have to call"

The river comes, that sexy, sexy Ace of spades
And all is well in the world

Now you wanna take a good man down?
Send him back to his wallet to steam off another 500?
Well you just wink and show him threes up


4. HOODS UP

TELL ME that I am not wasting my time sitting in this room alone
TELL ME that 1000 men with 1000 torches could not take what is in our hearts
TELL ME that this is still for the kids, by the kids, about the fucking kids
TELL ME that we have not become just as cheap as everyone else

TELL ME the loud guitars backed by loud ideals is still what we're all about
TELL ME that beauty is more than who you are on the outside
TELL ME that a word like "unity" is not just ink spilled out on the page
TELL ME that there is so much more, so much worth screaming our heads off for

It's your turn... I wanna hear it
It's your turn... You gotta yell it
Before I throw my arms up and walk right out that door
'Cause to tell you the truth, I am not all that sure
How much longer my voice can hold out for

TELL ME that this is still for the kids, by the kids, about the fucking kids
TELL ME that we have not become just as broken as everything else

It's your turn... I'm on my fuckin' knees


5. END WITH AN ELLIPSIS

Who was it who asked about the last mile being the hardest mile
Trying not to spend more time looking back
There's still a bit more to go
Can't stop measureing strike outs to home runs
Trying to justify these compromises that have piled up and dulled my blade
Maybe we stayed too long, didn't say enough, swing hard enough
The years just sort of ran away
And the ones that follow won't be as fun
I'll never love anything else the way that I loved this
So you know it's not gonna be so easy
To just let go

But the credits, they will roll

It's getting harder and harder
To give too much of my body and soul to a mess overrun by morons and thugs
Whose only purpose is to break this, not hard enough to make it
Fighting on their own
We stand bound and gagged as they pee on our rug
THe end result of not a single motherfucker willing to take the hard road
Makies it that much easier to watch as the door swings slowly shut

Then there are those I'll carry with me forever, live deep in my chest
Watched as you took your last breath on that floor in Wilkes-Barre
The room loved you so deeply our hearts broke as you faded
And I can never repay the lesson you left me as we rolled outta town that night

Not a thought in my head of beginnings or endings
Make most of these days while they are still unfolding
Keep right on dancing while that curtain is closing


6. MY THERAPY

This is my therapy
You breathe life into me
My only sanity
Within these walls is where I'm free

Square peg, round hole
Faces come and faces go
There is so little cast in stone
Regarding life, luck, loss, love
But there is one thing that I know for sure

These are the only crowded rooms
Because of these days I'll never have nothing at all
Because of these times there's only so far I can fall
There will always be a place, there will be a crowded room
Where I'm not all alone

The years have come and multiplied
So much of me has been washed out with the tide
Still there's nowhere else
That I'd rather be
Drawn in like a moth to a flame
Without these days I'd have gone insane
So many hearts pinned to so many sleeves
Within these blessed walls
You have set me free

There is no mistake, that I'm not free to make
All because of six strings stretched across a board


7. DON'T GO

I wish that I could spread my arms so wide
That I could wrap them around everyone I've ever known and loved
Protect them from the crashing waves
The storms that will take us all one at a time
The unheard goodbyes that we are never ready to whisper
Turning once strong men into lost little boys
Standing well dressed, staring into six-foot holes

Sick of this chill everytime the phone rings too early or too late
The what-if silences that linger in between
Why can't I build a raft strong enough
To carry us through the coulds, the flames
OR any of that shit I don't believe in
I would do anything to not have to squeeze another trembling body
Who was not ready to face life's end
TIred of sitting slumped in the corner trying not to come apart
As the lines stretch around the building

Why does only death show us how much we truly mean to each other
THe beautiful things that we're not ready to lose or have yet to try
Knowledge does not come in books, it comes in caskets
I don't wanna see how brave we can be anymore
I've seen the strength it takes to get past and move on
And would trade it all away to know how to keep you here forever
Maybe I've grown too old
MIssed out on the glamour and the glory
Just can't see past the tears and the pain
Oh please don't bury me in the rain


8. WASTED ON THE YOUNG

Hey, I was just thinking that maybe you don't need to waste
Some of the best days of your lives, trying so hard to abide
By some preset list of rules
Talking about conviction
When you haven't even been convinced of anything yet
Just stressing about letting down all of your friends
It's like having your mom pick out your clothes for you
You're still too young to know where you stand on anything yet
And there is nothing wrong with that
It might be kinda fun to get to know yourself a little while
Take a left at every fork, stare into every cloud
On the journey to find what's in your heart the only thing to be united
With is that pulsing in your veins
But seriously, fuck all that for awhile
What's the point of being a kid
If you are not gonna run wild and break every stupid rule
Even the ones that make those bands seem cool
You might as well hang out in church

Mark my words
There's still so much that you have yet to learn

Your strongest beliefs, the ones that will see you through
Will come to you when least expected
They can't be forced, will not be shaped to fit
Truth does not come when called
And if you're only young once and these days, they move so fast
Why would you waste one second of them
Falling in line, following rules
It sounds so simple but I know it's fucking hard

It's gonna take a little while to find out exactly who you are
But then maybe the day won't come
When you have to turn your back
On all those things that you once stood for
Left behind like an old pile of shirts
I've seen it happen so many times before
Spit in the face of a sacred oath
That some of us took when ready


9. WHAT KEEPS US HERE

What keeps us here
Is a few shining lights
Who brighten our paths
Whenever we roll through
Its more than music
Not part of some crew
It won't last forever
But it's thicker than blood

The best reason I can think of to have come all this way

What keeps us here
Is bonds that we share
From so far away
Throughout all the years
So few decisions
Will ever cost you more
Than those who you choose
To place in your trust
Consider your friends

The best reason I can think of to have come all this way

You are what this means to me

You crouched in the corner
Rolling dice before the show
With a smile and a hug
"I've been counting down the days"
The hours fly right by, so we stay up all night
Talking movies, talking life
Remembering where we came from
All that's changed, but you've remained
And that's enough for me


10. SWAN SONG

Today won't be like yesterday
The bell tolled for an hour straight
Screaming mothers chased their chidren down
Fathers tear out their eyes
As the city crumbled to the ground

Outside the streets are in a panic
Truth sellers jump from tall, tall ledges
No sign of Christ with a sword in his mouth
Beneath the blood red sky, I'll sit and laugh with you tonight

This is a promise I made to you
I'll be right there
I'll be right next to you

When the trumpets blare the loudes and cannons roar
All that trains that once came for you
Spill off the track's floor
All your horrors they multiply
And you realize your fears
I'll block your ears with both of my hands
Kiss away the tears

When armageddon's been locked and loaded
I will come back for you...