In Times Of Transition
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As the title implies, these lyrics were born during a time of transition for me.
Written around my last year in college, In Times Of Transition captures a lot of turmoil. Because of taking fewer classes per semester, I stayed behind as others (including my girlfriend) graduated. This meant having to start over and making new connections in my final year, which was a strange experience. I knew several students who started after I did, but it was still weird having to rely on a new set of people to help me out.
A few summer trips I took in 2006 and 2007 were also big influences on the grouping. I went camping and to a cottage with my future wife and her friends, so a lot of the imagery here is associated with it. Being a big period of adjustment, that’s really what fuelled a lot of what I wrote around this time.
As a result, a major theme of this grouping is shifting relationships. A lot of dynamics were changing both personally and between people around me, so it really influenced what I decided to explore. I also went through another bout of writer’s block but didn’t force myself to continue on this time. Waiting until inspiration struck, it turned out a lot better than with Sorry For The Mess.
That’s not to say I was entirely patient however. Getting close to the finish line in October 2007, I spontaneously released In Times Of Transition on a whim. While I’m satisfied with it after some revisions now, putting the lyrics up without better quality control was a big mistake. Still, my favourites are probably Summer Stars, Learning To Forget, Flashlight Waltz, Won’t Be Waiting Anymore, For The Present To Regret and Some Questions.
For enquiring minds that want to know, the original version of In Times Of Transition can be found in the Fireteddy National Library. You can also check out what didn’t make the cut here.
Lyrics Contents
01. Summer Stars
04. Flashlight Waltz
08. Cuts And Bruises
11. All The Same
12. Some Questions
Summer Stars
We lost our lives to those summer stars
Is there a chance we’ll get them back?
We’ve been burning holes to lose control
But there’s nothing to attack
In the end you know it’s all for fun
We’re like the wounded on parade
But all around when the lights go down
In this town we’ll have it made
We’ll walk with our disasters ’til they sort away our heads
Celebrate the scars we have while truths remain unsaid
No one has the answers but they’ll always play pretend
Still I promise you I’ll never be misled
We lost ourselves to those summer nights
But there’s hope we’ll still survive
We’ve sunk some ships with our loose lips
Now there’s nothing left to hide
In the end you’ll find it’s all for show
We’re like some cavemen on display
We’ll guide the flock while these people gawk
Then just talk like we’re okay
We’ll walk with our disasters ’til they sort away our heads
Celebrate the scars we have while truths remain unsaid
No one has the answers but they’ll always play pretend
Still I promise you I’ll never be misled
I promise you I’ll never be…
In my eyes there has to be some meaning
But in your heart there has to be some truth
While all these compromises keep repeating
Pretty soon you’ll see it’s wasted youth
So what’s to say and what’s to feel?
When absolutely nothing’s real, I don’t know
We’ll walk with our disasters ’til they sort away our heads
Celebrate the scars we have while truths remain unsaid
No one has the answers but they’ll always play pretend
Still I promise you I’ll never be misled
I promise you I’ll never be misled
Reasons Left To Stay
Everything keeps changing
Why can’t it all just stay the same?
With a tight grip on that heart of yours
And a bullet to your name
I’m sure it’s irresponsible
But every letter goes unseen
It still stabs you in your heart strings though
So these words can be redeemed
Suffering thoughts are led to rot
So they can settle up the score
Someone’s hit the jackpot now
But it still feels like before
Everything keeps bending
Until the roles are finally swapped
You’ll defend what’s in that head of yours
Before the paranoia stops
I’m sure that it’s irrational
While each intention stays unknown
There’s a flaw in this behaviour though
In the end it’s all condoned
Suffering thoughts are led to rot
So they can settle up the score
Someone’s hit the jackpot now
But it still feels like before
Gotta get your head up, gotta get your head up
Gotta get your head up above the waves
Gotta get your head up, gotta get your head up
Gotta get your head up above the waves
Are you gonna live in fear and wait for things to change??
There’s no one you can talk to now and no one left to blame
Suffering thoughts are led to rot
So they can settle up the score
Someone’s hit the jackpot now
But it still feels like before
It still feels like before
Everything’s still hanging
Why can’t you turn and look away?
With a simple call for the life you have
There’s no reasons left to stay
Learning To Forget
One year’s gone past and nothing’s the same
We fought and we fought until we all felt ashamed
But somewhere in combat some hearts still grew strong
If only to wind up back where they belong
I feel like I’ve failed you and that’s only the start
It’s a shadow that’s broken but still cast on my heart
and somewhere again we’ll reflect on our friends
But sometimes I wonder if this shit ever ends
And it’s always stuck in my head
All the roads that we travelled instead
As we all drive away, there ain’t nothing to say
But it’s the price that we pay ’til it’s dead
And it always seems stuck in my head
One month has passed and the silence sets in
We all know where it’s going but forget where we’ve been
While somewhere in darkness some hearts fell to ruin
If only to show us that it happened too soon
You feel like I owe you and that’s what’s perceived
In distress you walk blindly in a rush to proceed
In the night we refrain as it goes down the drain
In an instant it vanished but it’s still unexplained
And it’s always stuck in my head
All the roads that we travelled instead
As we all drive away, there ain’t nothing to say
But it’s the price that we pay ’til it’s dead
And it always seems stuck in my head
Forget what you’re told and forget what you’re fed
We could forge many highways in our own wilderness
I’m tired of this waiting and that’s just what I said
Why don’t you analyze my head?
As I stretch across the bed
And it’s always stuck in my head
All the roads that we travelled instead
As we all drive away, there ain’t nothing to say
But it’s the price that we pay ’til it’s dead
And it always seems stuck in my head
Forget what you’re told and forget what you’re fed
We could forge many highways in our own wilderness
Flashlight Waltz
Save me this last dance, if you feel so inclined
I’ve done a whole lot of thinking, there’s so much on my mind
And we’ve all got our secrets that we’ve struggled to hide
Locked up in attics for our thoughts to confide
These shadows run distant like stars in the night
Some black holes to swallow any wavering light
Won’t you please hold my hand as the silence sets in?
We won’t know where we’re going until you see where we’ve been
But I know that it isn’t the same
I still wake up to signs that all find you’ve been passing the blame
And I know exactly what you think
Yeah I know that I’ve been here before but I’ve never felt more wide awake
I’ve never been more, I’ve never been more wide awake
Please save me this waltz if you feel so inclined
In our distance by flashlight, now it’s still hard to find
But we’ve all got some demons brushed away to the side
Chained down in basements where the light never hides
But I know that it isn’t the same
I still wake up to signs that all find you’ve been passing the blame
And I know exactly what you think
Yeah I know that I’ve been here before but I’ve never felt more wide awake
I’ve never been more, I’ve never been more wide awake
I’ve never been more wide awake
No I’ve never been more wide awake
I’ve never been more wide awake
Smoke And Mirrors
I’m tired of these whispers coming up from the ground
When all this fucking bullshit always seems so profound
No one wants to hear it, but they open up their ears
You know that being older ain’t just running down the years
Convince me not to speak out, so we’ll always play these games
It’s such a pretty movie, ’cause the parts are all the same
I swear that it’s so crazy, how these things all fade in time
But if I could find the antidote, would it give you peace of mind?
Here we fight our battles behind some smoke and mirrors
Where there’s nothing that’s worth losing and nothing left but fear
You’d better watch your back before the words all disappear
When you’re fighting all your battles behind some smoke and mirrors
You’ve been fighting all your battles behind some smoke and mirrors
Somewhere in the distance, your past will live to say
It tells you what you wanna hear, but you know you can’t escape
Even when it shelters all the plans for your demise
You find it hard to concentrate and strain to close your eyes
Pick a side to fight on and watch the flames consume
Every thought you’ve ever had, until your memory’s been exhumed
Revisionary history and truths you’ve learnt to bend
But it doesn’t really matter where you wind up in the end
Here we fight our battles behind some smoke and mirrors
Where there’s nothing that’s worth losing and nothing left but fear
You’d better watch your back before the words all disappear
When you’re fighting all your battles behind some smoke and mirrors
You’ve been fighting all your battles behind some smoke and mirrors
In times of transition I’m stuck here in a rut
But the things that get repeated make me feel like I’m the slut
If this is called a living you can take my last words back
Because the time that I’ve been given is more precious than the past
When there’s nothing left to say, there’s nothing to retract
But now you know there ain’t no going back
Now you know there ain’t no going back
Won’t Be Waiting Anymore
No offence to you, I can’t be held inside these lines
It still won’t bring us closer, it just creates a great divide
Call it what you want to honey, it’s all a waste of time
Some gangs to fill these vacant streets of absent minded lies
It seems to me I’ve seen this and it’s all been done before
You want to label something ‘cause it needs to be adorned
I’m not sure where this drops off, but we’ll pace across the floors
Beheaded from all meaning, stretched beyond what we’ve ignored
But I won’t be waiting anymore
I won’t be waiting anymore
When we started out here, there was fire in our veins
But now we’ll just grow distant, with all these things left unexplained
Call it a disaster honey, you pass off all the blame
For all the nights we lied awake and waited for the rain
We wondered what the future held and what the past was for
But now I’ve seen it all and I don’t want it anymore
I don’t know how to fake it, now I’m running for the door
A vacant mind to roam the streets of truths we can’t afford
But I won’t be waiting anymore
I won’t be waiting anymore
Forget those secret winter nights
We’ll pass them through the morning light
Forget those secret winter nights some more
It won’t bring us any closer, it just creates a great divide
Well no offence to you, I won’t be held inside these lines
For The Present To Regret
For every single last desire
I’ll light your flame with eyes of fire
Nothing found but come up strange
I’ll sell my soul to try and change
We could stand here, years unknown
But what you need ain’t set in stone
With every chance I’ve ever had
You’ve told me that this ain’t so bad
If the past dictates my memories
And the future holds what’s next
Then what’s left for the present to regret?
Though all these changes still take place
We’ve left a path that we’ll retrace
To lead us back where we belong
In open arms that write our wrongs
We could stand straight, stopped for me
But I’ll march against adversity
I’ll still resist these things for you
You’ve shown me words to be renewed
If the past dictates my memories
And the future holds what’s next
Then what’s left for the present to regret?
Oh what’s left for the present to regret?
What’s left for the present to regret?
Cuts And Bruises
As we laid motionless, beneath the summer skies
The stars reflected off your brown and teary eyes
I can’t help these thoughts, I still drift back sometimes
My heart was in your vice, but you had lost your mind
Like the moonlight peaking through the autumn trees
Your life was such a waste, you were almost on your knees
In a silent prayer, you never made a sound
And now you call for help, but there’s no one else around
These cuts and bruises never seem to heal
These cuts and bruises never seemed so real
Your tears kept falling before the rainstorm in the dark
And soon your misty eyes extinguished every spark
Blow out the candles on the cake of your despair
I tried to save you, but the smoke was always there
Like the London fog that wraps around the night
You billowed in the air and drifted out of sight
In the morning light, I knew these things would change
Everything held dear was flooded by the rain
These cuts and bruises never seem to heal
These cuts and bruises never seemed so real
So tell me now what I should feel
The past was wrong, it’s been concealed
Revealed for what it couldn’t be, oh no
Let it drop and watch it go
Let it fade until you know
Until the feeling always ends up overthrown
These cuts and bruises never seem to heal
These cuts and bruises never seemed so real
These cuts and bruises never seem to heal
These cuts and bruises never seemed so real
These cuts and bruises never seemed so real
These cuts and bruises never seemed so real
I Won’t Rescue You
Everybody lends defense
But I don’t understand a thing
Yeah the last time I checked in on you
You were trying to pull some strings
Could it just be that I’m jaded now?
Well I’m not so sure that’s it
But in fairness I was wrong at times
While these games all made me quit
Hypocrites and politics, I’ve come to know a few
If you hate something so strongly honey, don’t you do it too
No don’t you do it too
Another line and then I’m finally through
You just need to know that I won’t rescue you
Everything’s Okay
Every move you make is just another on the list
You wanted me to settle in, yet still I must resist
With nothing left to hold onto, there isn’t much to fear
Biased or unbiased, you can make the call my dear
I’ve known a few somewhat like you, but crazy all the same
When everything here falls to ruin, you’ll try to pass the blame
Sadistically made jealous, I’m not sure if there’s much space
Between the answers that you still hold true and your obvious distaste
Tell me are you waiting for another chance to say
You wanna prove me wrong I know, but everything’s okay
Pretend we’re done and then you’ll run to chase another day
But everything’s okay now baby
Isn’t everything okay?
Is there something you won’t sacrifice to get a taste of this?
Another call for comas where the past still won’t exist
It’s getting dark and stormy, yet the sun’s behind the clouds
You try to put a brave face on, but the thunder’s still so loud
Hide out in your shelter now to dodge the pouring rain
I know that I’m the bad guy here, but you’ve slowly gone insane
Tragic doll, you’ll take the fall for everything again
But I can wait for you on the other side with these letters you won’t send
Tell me are you waiting for another chance to say
You wanna prove me wrong I know, but everything’s okay
Pretend we’re done and then you’ll run to chase another day
But everything’s okay now baby
Isn’t everything okay?
They’re wondering what went wrong with us
From eight to four to one to dust
We never really had that much
But we’ll never make a fuss
Stalking eyes from outside in
We’ll make them think we’re free from sin
But we’ll never make a fuss
We won’t ever make a fuss
Every move you make is just another on the list
But everything’s okay now baby, isn’t it?
All The Same
As the anger subsides, what’s there left in our hands?
No it’s not suicide, but it’s forced reprimand
I’m so tired of this waiting for the words to come down
Because it’s all so absurd and we can’t turn around
Can you look in the past and then stare at the light?
Oh we’ve seen our mistakes, but we’ve all lost our sight
Now all of these phrases, they get lost in the flames
But as the days wander by, there’ll be no one to blame
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same to you?
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same to you?
As our heads all cave in, there’s no respect to be had
But that’s where hatred begins, when things were never that bad
And now our whispers have formed, because these lines have been used
Oh I don’t know anymore, but I think you’re confused
If we held onto life, like we champion death
Would we shine in the night? Would there be anything left?
I’m so sick of these lies as any sympathy wanes
Why can’t you look in my eyes and find a good thing to say?
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same to you?
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same to you now?
Rolling in my head, it was destined to be
Nothing worth repeating , but this secret society
If the words were all so meaningless, why would you even care?
When the lights came back on, you were never really there
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same to you?
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same?
Ain’t it all the same to you?
Ain’t it all the same?
Now there’s nothing left, nothing left to do
Now there’s nothing left, there’s nothing left to do
They say it’s all the same so there’s no use
Some Questions
Everybody’s leaving, cause there’s nothing left to see
And there’s no such thing as secrets that everyone can keep
For if there were, I’d keep you and your heart would stay with me
Forever as two lovers, like a shipwreck in the sea
Tell me all the meanings and the gold I’ve yet to find
Nothing’s all that sacred, yeah we’re all just wasting time
But maybe if you answer all the things that come to mind
You’ll see that we’re both destined for our lives to intertwine
I’ve yet to find resistance or a pathway back home
But I’ve come to find that my questions have all been disowned
And I’m a stone, I’m a stone’s throw away
From something to say
As autumn stumbles through and destroys the summer air
Planes are always crashing but no one seems to care
Only blinded people who once found the sun and stared
They can see beyond the surface but I guess they’re still impaired
Treasured are the secrets, they’re the moments we recall
We’ll always have the memories or some fondness that evolves
While everybody’s leaving, will you wait here in the hall?
I’ve been working on a mystery that no one else will solve
So without some clear resistance or a pathway back home
Now I’ve come to find that my questions have all been disowned
And I’m a stone, I’m a stone’s throw away
From something to say
I’m a stone, I’m a stone’s throw away
From leaving today