1. |
Sortie Makes Sense
04:20
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This is the way we start our day
Counting flights tied to time in grade
Survive thirty-two and obtain a promotion
Advance three ranks and you get to go home
Sortie makes sense if you believe the dream
Dangerous situations don't increase the count
Reaching the target is not what the war's about
The Air Force has to have more planes than the Navy
Budgets are determined by counting too
Sortie makes sense if you understand the game
Some fuses were misplaced so take off with half a load
Whatever you do, keep the mission count sky-high
Why didn't anyone think of this before?
There's really no point in carrying bombs at all
Sortie makes sense if you throw away your brain
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2. |
Assault Raffle
03:48
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On this momentous celebration, witnessed by a thousand eyes
Of a monotonous occasion with no soul
I stand before you, duly sworn protector of the coin
It gives no end of pleasure to draw a number from this hat
The bullets aren't yet loaded
But you'll have time enough for that
Congratulations, son
You win a chance to shoot this gun again
In the Land of Opportunity, all of suitable tone and hue
Are equal in the eyes of Standard Oil
And every year, like clockwork, there was nothing could be done
A dozen dreams are sacrificed so terror yet may reign
Who will be the lucky few to sing in lethal rain?
Congratulations, son -- you win an early exit from the loony bin
Congratulations, son
You win a chance to shoot this gun again
To all who died so freedom could cleave air
We offer foolish thought and empty prayer
Instead of keeping them at bay
Let's give the tools of death away
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3. |
Manage Meant
04:55
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Maybe no one knew till much too late what manage meant
They got their chance to make this country go and away it went
Leaving peasants just enough to pay their rent
That's what manage meant
Leadership belongs in a museum or so they said
The bottom line is far more self-aware than a dream that's dead
Deception must have let the short term get into its head
The future was an angel; it tried to carry one away
But the present is a monster that put him in his place
For a moment, everything was clear: an objective to fulfill
Then a supervisor schooled in such things cited
"Obey instruction, suppress your skill"
That's what manage meant
Loyalty is your lover, rules your only poetry
Consequences are for others, purpose pointless fantasy
Hope a plaything for the unemployed and Good
Merely a grade between Near-Great and Fair
The job's to keep on swimming in a line
Not complain or break for foolish air
Regulations can be written and ignored but never bent
Innovation might be tolerated once
As long as there was no intent
Creative thinking leads to mass dissent
That's not what manage meant
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4. |
Process over Purpose
03:59
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Sure, it means something; the hoops are in spots
Carefully selected like connect-the-dots
Probably best if you leave that job to someone else
The more that you do, the less you'll have time
To worry about quality, reason, or rhyme
It's all going to make good sense someday
Process over purpose, man -- concentrate on body count
More is better since they're all the same
Producing beats creating; a bigger total's what it's all about
Numbers never lie or receive any blame
Analyzing's easier in black and white
Complications never seem to come out right
The reasons are built into the structure of the system itself
The busier you stay, the more likely you will be
The cat who finally killed curiosity
It's all going to make good sense someday
Complaining is pointless since you're stuck here anyway
Process over purpose, man -- do without examining
Trust your motivation to be treated well
Construction noise has got to count
The same as hearing Tosca sing
Otherwise a total couldn't ever tell and it has to tell
So cover every concept with a wood-and-nails box
Forget about the sunshine, keep winding those clocks
It's so much simpler when better is merely more
The system is stronger and faster than ever before
It'll all make good sense someday
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5. |
Schmooze the Boss
02:57
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Heard he's in a meeting -- oh, you're going to brief him
What you gonna say then?
Can you find, can you find, can you find some other way?
If not, your career will be over
He doesn't want, they don't want any word except "okay"
Take my advice: forget your valid objection
What you gonna say there? Don't become a nay-sayer
You know he doesn't play fair
Can you find, can you find, can you find some other way?
Our job's to make his whimsy happen
If you try to deny any part of the plan, you'll pay
Your rising star will find a sudden new direction
Yes I know, we all know that you're right; there's a risk to take
Yes, we're supposed to be advisors
Let it go, let it go; cut your throat some other day
The Big Guy made the call
How would prudence fare in the next election?
Welcome to the top tier, think of what you'll see here
You're lucky just to be here
Can you find, can you find, can you find some other way?
Stop making trouble
Schmooze the boss and forge a new connection
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6. |
Only Avoid
05:31
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Time is the sky through which we fall
Like different flakes of snow
From the same cloud gently down onto a dusty desert dune
And love is a rainbow far away, an unapproachable reminder
Beauty must always be admired from afar
We can only avoid, never face head-on
Other souls' primal fears and the source from which they come
Truth, truth is the sea in which we drown, hapless victims
Of the same disaster, knowing well the end is coming soon
And hope, hope was the best ship we could build
Now she lies beneath
The surface we can know in the depths of who we are
We can only avoid, never understand
The appalling infinite weight which will crush
Then erase the noblest man
We cannot feel or reason through
This thing no writer can describe
It stands forever beyond the edge of space
Yet erodes us from inside
And so we try to create a system that will never be destroyed
To save us from a destiny we can only avoid
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7. |
Up or Out
02:38
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Can't see, no light; can't sleep, no quiet
You can't learn from mistakes or pump the brakes
You got to move and it's up or out
Can't grow or heal or know what's real
You can't laugh or sob, can't even do your job
You got to move and it's up or out
There is no free action, only these rules which you must follow
And your reaction: to wish for something to believe in
If you know your role, you'll be on the dole
If you find your niche, there's the door; capiche?
You better move and it's up or out
Forget the free market -- the system forces fast promotion
Line your own pocket; why wish for something to believe in?
The purpose of bureaucracy is to give the appearance of control
Over a sequence of events dictated by the hardwiring
Of billions of surplus brains
There is no deep reason, only some rules which can't be broken
Questions are treason and there is nothing to believe in
True power costs money; your sense of duty interferes
With our careers, dummy
God knows there's nothing to believe in
It's a race for wealth, no time to love yourself
If you try to stay you'll be in the way
You better move and it's up or out
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8. |
Measure for Pleasure
03:24
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Come on now measure, oh for pleasure
Give me quantity the whole night through
I need you to measure, measure for pleasure
Don't care what you're doing, just want you to do
And if you measure, you measure for pleasure
Then I'll promise to say you did it so well
Don't want no masterpiece, no manifesto
Aspiring to excellence is such a waste of your days
But now let me tell you -- I have to confess, though
Your pointless toil could never be replaced
Because I'll measure, you rest easy, I'll measure
What you did and say you did it so well
We got our numbers racket, our clever little scheme
Creative dissenters can take a seat under the bus
We're patriotically bureaucratic and there's no why in team
Child, I tell you: nobody can jump through hoops like us
It's just like the army except instead of killing
I don't even have to, do I?
'Cause you know exactly what I'm going to say
Come on now measure, oh for pleasure
Give me quantity the whole night through
I need you to measure, measure for pleasure
Don't care what you're doing, just want you to do
And if you measure, you measure for pleasure
Then I'll promise to say you did it so well
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9. |
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Suffering for some reason, while the years slide by
Munching on mental popcorn
Watching the world burn and not knowing why
Such a total waste of precious time
DNA, and mostly empty space
Surely you must have thought this, maybe pushed it down
None of it seems to matter much with the daily grind
And young girls wanting nights on the town
E-distractions all around
As you underthink it over and place one foot in the ground
Oh, you can't beat the system; no matter what you do
Wrestling with a monster as if that's something new
Heroes live forever and so do snakes who work in sales
You can't beat the system but you better be ready when it fails
No sense feeling helpless -- you are not alone
No one queen or genius
Could ever stop or slow the madness on her own
It's within our grasp
But steering toward a brighter future is too much to ask
Who's got time for big dreams as the small talk grows
Louder and more insistent; yes a library would be nice
But greed did away with those, so the story goes
The everyday concerns of hanging on are all a rich man knows
You can't beat the system and the system doesn't work
Propelling itself toward nothing like a to-do list gone berserk
Each small part is sensible, the big picture is a mess
You'll never beat the system
But you better be ready nonetheless
Four billion years of building, just to tear it apart
A stab at gallows humor
Planned by a bored jock milquetoast without a heart
Or possibly a roll of faceless dice
Either way, the joke's on you and me
Back in '97 when the Earth was young
The power of words and music
Seemed enough to carry us through
Till the rise of the red giant sun; now all that's come undone
Put your Sunday best in mothballs
The work week from hell has begun
You can't beat the system and the system cannot last
All stale appeals to progress shall be directed toward the past
Every mortal in the brick wall must gradually recognize
You can't beat the system and it's taking us all out when it dies
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10. |
Keeping up Appearances
03:33
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Look how he stopped those Cuban missiles
Raised all-in against the guy who banged his shoe
That's the way you do it: outcrazy the bad guys
Ignore the stuffed shirt who keeps talking about
Vienna '61, the stupid Bay of Pigs, Powers and his plane
That's over and done
And it's been eight years since Dien Bien Phu
You see we're keeping up appearances
That's what it's all about
Got to make the other side blink
And he'd have really done it, son, without a doubt
If you truly believe in the grand old flag
Burning down the world is part of keeping up appearances
History lessons are for far-left snowflakes
Stick to what's important in the present day
That's the way you do it: outcrazy the bad guys
Ignore the little nerd who keeps talking about
Berlin in '33, Caesar at the river, Napoleon and his crown
That's over and done and it's been six weeks
Since those kids were blown away
You see we're keeping up appearances
That's what's it's all about
Only whiny losers ever stop and think
And we're really going to do it, son, without a doubt
If you truly believe in the sacred cause
Loyalty to the cult is part of keeping up appearances
Keeping up appearances -- that's what's it's all about
Repeatedly dragging us all to the brink
And it's totally going to happen soon, without a doubt
If you actually believe that the clan your birth chose
Deserves to oppress any and all who oppose
The only way to follow your dreams
Is to blow the whole planet to smithereens
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11. |
Too Big to Flail
05:02
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One learns, with luck, leaves the pattern, becomes unstuck
And glimpses beyond the cheap thin walls put up
By those who lived in fear
Sees the shining sun
Then concedes that some things he's done
Caused pain and perhaps he sees how he hurt someone
For an instant, his mind is clear
Everybody makes mistakes; almost no one ever wakes
Like balloons that are too full of air and never will land
Occasionally, and not often gracefully
An inmate escapes for good
And begins to be a force acting on its own
Perhaps he begins to tell others why they don't feel so well
It's because they don't know how to think about themselves
And never will be shown
Everyone who hears, take heart: you don't have to be a part
Of a system that's too big to flail as it crumbles to sand
Preparing for trials that don't matter
Succeeding in meaningless trades
Betrayed by those holding the ladder
Promoted to falling on grenades
Or trampled by victory parades
Mouth open, eyes closed, awaiting a moron's command
Everyone who knows, take heart: you don't have to be a part
Of a nightmare where peace and destruction walk hand in hand
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12. |
School by the Numbers
03:14
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You can measure by the rate at which the kids graduate
Whether a school is good
And you can count each degree as if they matter equally
After all, they should and what more could education be
Than a chance to level out the ground
Dumb the lofty mountains down
That is school by the numbers, school by the numbers
You can be a supervisor; they're better paid and clearly wiser
Than the teaching crew
Consider every publication to hold equivalent information
After all, they do and that's what true education is
One more chance to make a buck
Raising children at a loss would suck
And this is school by the numbers
Yes it is school by the numbers
I hear they say school is hard, but they've got plenty of guards
To protect themselves each day
So you can put in your time, maybe shape someone's mind
Before they're blown away
Who can say, but that's the standard line
While the system still draws breath, there's data in every death
That is school by the numbers, yes it is school by the numbers
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Fextonia Hawesville, Kentucky
Founded in 1996 amid the hills of southeastern Kentucky, Fextonia quickly evolved from a high school jam band into a songwriters' convention and continues to record original albums.
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