Under The Microscope

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So this is where things start to get a bit weird.

As with many lyrics on the site, Under The Microscope has been revised over the years. While Sleepwalking was about the previous 12 months up to that point, this grouping is about what was happening around the time I wrote it.

I’m not sure if my revisions were just better, but this seems to hold up more strongly. Despite being weirder than Sleepwalking, it doesn’t rip off its influences quite as blatantly either. It’s obvious to me that Radiohead and Matthew Good Band (MGB) helped to shape this one, but nothing aside from Mr. Machete feels like it strayed into plagiarism.

Another thing that sticks out though is how short some of these are. I actually posted different lyrics on an MGB message board and Matt himself responded. He mentioned that they would either make the songs over six minutes each or result in me passing out from singing so much (I’m paraphrasing.) I took his constructive criticism to heart and went through a writing period where a lot of stuff was cut short. (This is especially noticeable on Constantly Travelling too.)

Looking back, I think the grouping would’ve been better if I’d cut a couple more things. With hindsight, Distances To You and Missing probably would’ve been left off because they really drag things down. End Music comes after two more ballad-type things and is less impactful as a result. I also think the aforementioned songs are pretty weak when compared to the rest.

Finally, I have a confession to make: Crack was written and included in 2003. It replaces something else I cut from the grouping several years after the fact. Not written specifically for that reason, the lyrics still had a similar tone and slotted in seamlessly… in my mind anyway.

For those interested, lyrics that didn’t make the cut can be found here. The original version of Under The Microscope is also available in the Fireteddy National Library.

Lyrics Content

01. Rest A Little While

02. Mr. Machete

03. Shadowlawn

04. Lights

05. The Elephant That Forgot

06. Pitiful Existence

07. Never Understood

08. Crack

09. Cars That Never Leave

10. Fucked Up

11. It Never Fails

12. Distances To You

13. Missing

14. End Music

Rest A Little While

Lost in these sound waves

I’m trapped in the storm

Nothing here’s safe

But I’ve been here before

Ignoring all conscience

I’m afraid of this guilt

To match all my knowledge

From the power you spilt

Let’s go out to the ocean

We’ll sail for miles and miles

Running out of hot air, hurry

So we can rest a little while

It’s really not my style

Stranded in storm clouds

In flight with the birds

Never looked back

As I humoured these words

Now it’s hardest to tell

With this misguided youth

Ive been trying to yell

Never speaking the truth

Let’s go out to the ocean

We’ll sail for miles and miles

Running out of hot air, hurry

So we can rest a little while

It’s really not my style

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Mr. Machete

Well last year

I didn’t think I would

I guess that’s

Why I never understood

So now I’m

Planning my escape

I hope that

They never find the tapes

Hey Mr. Machete

Tell me how are you today?

I’m lonely but I’m ready

So please don’t go away

Please stay

Well this time

I know it serves me well

But this sight?

It’s better than the smell

So now I’m

Waiting for some noise

I’ll act like

I really had a choice

Hey, Mr. Machete

Tell me how are you today?

I’m loaded and I’m ready

So please don’t go away

Please stay

Hey there

Mr. Machete

There’s a party

Laced with confetti

Soon now

We’ll all be going home

But somehow

I still feel so alone

So please stay

Please stay

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Shadowlawn

Behind these closed doors

They’re locked up in meetings

Inside of your brain

They’re only deciding

If they think you’ll remain

Well it still doesn’t explain

It still doesn’t explain

Behind these four walls

They’re teaching a class

Inside of your head

They’re always deciding

If they feel you’ll remain

With nothing explained

Nothing explained

Behind these closed doors

They’re locked in a meeting

The clocks keep on ticking

And now you’re residing

You don’t know what you’re missing

Don’t know what you’re missing

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Lights

Call me when the lights come on

I’ve been waiting here for days

Every time your bad genes call

It seems we’re parting ways

So you can call me if you’re fading

And well even if you don’t

I know you find it so frustrating

The fact you know you won’t

Maybe I’ll just screw this up

To fix it in the end

Not quite sure I’ve had enough

But sometimes it depends

Sometimes it depends

Call me when the lights go out

So I can wait around for years

It’s funny how your good genes come

To cry your bitter tears

So you can call me if you want to

And well even if you can’t

You know that I can make you happy

But I’ll never be your man

Maybe I’ll just screw this up

To fix it in the end

Not quite sure I’ve had enough

But sometimes it depends

Sometimes it depends

Will this ever end?

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The Elephant That Forgot

I once had a dream

Like many other things

While it didn’t shake out

It’s not what it seems

A long time ago

Like every other dream

Things lost to the night

I think you should know

I’m trying to push, I’m trying to fight

I’m trying to hold on, trying to hold on

Trying to live, I’m barely alive

I can’t break through, won’t you help me survive?

I once had a time

A precious little time

That’s when I realized

You wouldn’t be mine

Pretty soon I went

Came back and passed it up

Passed it up in the end

It never made sense

I’m trying to push, I’m trying to fight

I’m trying to hold on, trying to hold on

Trying to live, I’m barely alive

I can’t break through, won’t you help me survive now?

So that’s how it goes

A fact still unknown

That I loved you

I loved you

I loved you…

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Pitiful Existence

Shot out from the ground again

I don’t know if I’m a man

Not as smart as I think I am

Not smart enough for you

Shot down from the sky tonight

Not quite sure if I should fight

Not as good as I thought you were

Not good enough for me

I think it’s time for you to see

I’m only what you think you need

I think it’s time for you to see

I’m only what you might believe

This pitiful existence

And now it seems I’m bound again

Tied up and I’m gagged

Not as great as I think I am

Not great enough for you

Falling from the sky today

Not quite sure that I should stay

Not as good as you want to be

But I’m still too good for you

I think it’s time for you to see

I’m only what you think you need

I think it’s time for you to see

I’m only what you might believe

This pitiful existence

Opinions that are justified

Opinions to ignore

I’ll hide this truth behind the lies

I’ll hide like once before

I think it’s time for you to see

I’m only what you think you need

I think it’s time for you to see

I’m only what you might believe

This pitiful existence

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Never Understood

I dreamt that I lived in a house on the hill

Looking for reason and something to spill

A rain cloud that sat here for hiding the sun

Never once saw how the hiding was done

Running mad manic for hours and hours

Looking for souls and some love to devour

The world is so quiet when it doesn’t exist

No breaking my bones with the stones or the sticks

I lived in a time where I still felt complete

A time where my past and my present would meet

But now I’ve changed and change is good

Though you never understood

No you Never understood

Locked up and contained in a little white cell

They brought me to life so I could watch you in hell

The good years, the bad months, the hot days the wind

To keep me from seeing how these things all sink in

Running mad manic for hours and hours

Looking for souls and some love to devour

The world will stop spinning if there’s something to hide

Throw stones at my bones for my reasons confined

I lived in a time where I still felt complete

A time where my past and my present would meet

But now I’ve changed and change is good

Though you never understood

No you Never understood

Locked in this room and trapped here for weeks

Until everything else starts to look pretty bleak

Do what you want with the hand that might feed

But remember you don’t know when there’s something you’ll need

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Crack

I’m isolated from the world

With no newspapers at the door

Got no means of civilization

It doesn’t matter anymore

Laughing at the fear to go on

Living a lie that nobody sees

With no means of new revival

Got no meanings for me

You’re the crack, the crack in the street

Where doubt and desperation meet

You’re the last, the last resort

Just turn the handle, open the door

Just a crack in the floor

Watching birds circle overhead

Touching down from time to time

Making nests out of the dirt

They don’t know what’s on my mind

You’re the crack, the crack in the street

Where doubt and desperation meet

You’re the last, the last resort

Just turn the handle, open the door

Just a crack in the floor

You’re the crack, the crack in the street

Where doubt and desperation meet

I’ve been stuck here, stuck here alone

So come home

Come home

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Cars That Never Leave

It’s blindingly boring

Or boringly blind

Cars always park here

Lost souls to find

How can you save them?

When they can’t save themselves

It’s always the same then

No struggles for help

The cars that never leave

Please close your eyes

And wait for the kiss

No time for lies

I’ve been waiting for this

You’ve been changing in spades

From one tune to the next

As innocence fades

With a love to reject

The cars that never leave

Disappearing in lights

You struggle to live

The sounds and the sights

Enough not to give

Something you said

That I’ll never forget

But it’s all in your head

And the lines have been met

The cars that never leave

These cars that never…

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Fucked Up

We’ll carry on like it’s alright

Nothing mattered before tonight

The days go by and we’re still here

The days go by and we still fear

The coming of a new invention

The coming of a dawning light

Everyone is so pretentious

But we’ll carry on like it’s alright

It’s just fucked up the way things are

And in your soul there lies a scar

Nothing more and nothing less

We’re all fucked up, I must confess

We’ll carry on like it’s okay

Nothing mattered before today

The nights go by and we’re still sleeping

The nights you cried and you’re still weeping

The coming of a new intention

The coming of a brand new way

Everyone is so infectious

But we’ll carry on like it’s okay

It’s just fucked up the way things are

And in your soul there lies a scar

Nothing more and nothing less

We’re all fucked up, I must confess

Moving on or moving back?

Sitting down, time to relax

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It Never Fails

Oh I went down to find it

Then I heard you on the radio

You were coming through in hi-fi

You were coming through in stereo

So now the days are drifting

With all the writing on the wall

You know the higher they all jump

It decides how far you fall

I need vacation from my holiday

A wind to push my sails

It keeps on happening all the time

So I swear it never fails

Eventually I went home

To find you on the TV screen

You were coming through in colour

You were coming through the in between

So now the days are melting

When I’ve been begging for some sleep

And the things in your possession?

Are the secrets you can’t keep

I need vacation from my holiday

A wind to push my sails

It keeps on happening all the time

So I swear it never fails

Now I think that I’ll just stay here

Since they’re never gonna know

If you can find a better reason

Then wind me up and watch me go

They tell me it’s so easy

But it’s really all for show

When there’s nothing I’d return to

I’ll head down south to Mexico

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Distances To You

I had a vision

Not a dream

An apparition

A false belief

I used to think

You’d lead me back

Now I’m left here

I can’t react

I know what you meant to me

I know why you’re so mean

I know that you can’t help yourself

So why not just come clean?

You’re gonna see, you’re gonna see

I had a revelation

Not a wish

This devastation

Brings me to this

I used to feel

It was always there

I’ve come to realize

You never cared

I know what you meant to me

I know why you’re so mean

I know that you can’t help yourself

So why not just come clean?

You’re gonna see, you’re gonna see

The winds are gonna change

Pretty soon the seasons too

With nothing left but distance

These distances to you

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Missing

I’ve been missing your eyes

What happened to us?

The times that you cried

What happened to trust?

I never had a lot

Still missing your voice

Like everything else

I’ve been missing the sun

But I think that I’ll melt

I never had a lot

I’ve been missing the good

Are you missing the bad?

I miss almost everything

That we used to have

I never had a lot

I’m still missing what’s real

Well maybe we’re not

To touch is to feel

But I kind of forgot

I never had a lot

Maybe I miss you

You’re not missing me back

I guess that I’m missing

A lot of things…

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End Music

My crying girl

Inside of her cave

Now she always pretends

Her life comes in waves

With her teary eyes

She’s pulling me through

So I’m still not surprised

Her intentions aren’t true

I’m sick of running around

With the knife in my hand

Just to hear all the sounds

When the sky hits the sand

My dying girl

She’s my drama queen

A life barely living

So stuck in between

There’s a beating heart

But she’s always asleep

So no one can help her

Especially not me

I’m sick of running around

With the knife in my hand

Just to hear all the sounds

When the sky hits the sand

It’s all in this world

Where there’s nothing to give

Yeah it’s all in this world

Where we’re trying to live

Held to yourself until it starts sinking in

Where have you been?

I’m sick of running around

With the knife in my hand

Just to hear all the sounds

When the sky hits the sand

I’m sick of running around

With the knife in my hand

So I think that it’s time

That I just let it go

Now it’s time to let go

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