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s​/​t

by Surface Area

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1.
Deploy this valediction, circumspect, and raw contention One-way tickets to suburbia The horse the rides the mule I canter about, trotting on the feeding soil Where’s your thirst for life? (Mistakes) Give the path direction (Outtakes) Fashion it its length (Intake) Stop dead in your tracks There are bigger, greater beasts here Ones your dreams will honor vague And thousands of tricks to eye Study their faces and study their motions, Study their patterns and formulate yours, Keep this under control Just breathe and be still so they won’t see you A taste is so sweet, but a mouthful is bitter As bittersweet, though hackneyed, Attacks my wits, attracting A donor for the heart It’s endosymbiotic Fetters chained to a freedom sign Investigation 9 to 5 Distance all the leads across the aisles Sow them all to save The turn-ups won’t turn out this year Better think of how to break the news And don’t leak it to the press The wolves will hunt to stay alive Don’t confess a thing Them, they all are toys to bat around And reasonably now You’ll calm things down, and rightly so Keep this under control You’ll never see the mess here with the lights out And won’t you be so kind to give it rest In peace there lies a place to hide, a place to lie And worry no more Cut off old limbs to walk on the new Into the Pearly Gates (Mistakes) Erupt amidst the factions (Outtakes) Tremors through the crowd (Intake) And everything is still before it goes
2.
You’re a place inside my head that I’ve never seen, but I’ve always lived I’m hoping that if I just pretend not to see you, you’re not there But I’ll still listen and I will talk until I learn to let you go We’re perfect strangers and we walk side by side and never say goodbye, “how do you do?” You’re an ache in my spine where your hand moves my arms up and down But you’ve lost your voice Now I walk in traffic and sleep next to railroads with my heart on the tracks Sleep on the ocean floor Sleep next to the shore Sleep on the ocean floor, and never come up for air (Waited for the tide, the waves came too high, We tried, we tried to work it up to say goodbye)
3.
Raise the shades, fold the sheets Put flowers out, keep everything pristine Cook a feast to feed him well “Welcome home, I hope you’re hungry” I’ve prepared a thousand meals for nights you’ve missed back here And I’ll make them all again until you arrive With a smile I’ll greet and see that you’re okay That these won’t have been for nothing (these years) With my arms I’ll tie around your neck and I’ll never let you go That stands for any night you ever decide to come home Even if you haven’t heard a soul And I pray that yours is okay There’s food here if you’d like it, there’s a place to lie and sleep Right next to me like we did years before Before hearing those words “Ma’am, your husband’s been given to recourse, His body ground to sawdust to cultivate the land” This house, this home is empty Two pillows with only one head You know you can always come back I’m not going anywhere
4.
This room is made of glass I’m a stone’s throw away from the outside world Let’s get out of this bell jar for good Don’t you want to see everybody crying? Don’t you want to breathe the rotten air? Don’t you want to leave while you’re alive? Everybody else is alive Inhale, exhale that body you’ve maimed Imprint your fingerprints on mirrors, take the tour Where will you be tomorrow morning? When will you see the sun rise? A thousands hands to grope you and a hundred hands to shake A dozen ropes to whip you and a few to pull you up And there’s one rope hanging from the ceiling We’ve punctured as we’re punctual And plunged right back on through Danger’s call beckons us forth, Bring a calming centrifuge Take my hands now (bring past shadows) Lay your head down (bring out to shade) Lay your sinews low (bring me up above when you go) I’d rescue you on horseback, but I never learned to ride I’d sing to you, but I can’t carry a tune Inhale, exhale your sinuses Reason with me, please
5.
Godspeed You’re running out of time now The winter comes on strong, too long for you to wait Don’t wake your painted face The sake should hold your place You’re sacred For sale a million miles from here: A portrait paradise where the sun only shines And the seasons never change And change never withholds your life to spare Cast off, sit back Take off those troubled shoes Raise your feet and tell us of the damage that was done Inside the places that you’ve seen What’s left of them anyway, what’s left of you? Have you seen your own reflection as of late? Surely something’s wrong, could the sights have gone aghast when you were looking for the sound Of dulling rifles in the distance? Cry allegro, allegra, voice ignites the flame As ashes pile on, until the Winter’s gone What’s worse, hypothermia, or when you suffocate? The wood will flare and crackle and the soap will fill your lungs, it’s the same ball and chain We look back on the forest that stood here and notice only charred stumps remain If the field could grow taller than the plains in the side yard we’d have subsistence, But fertile be the land if dangerous the skies, and the ground’s been resisted So Godspeed
6.
This is how the bottle breaks against the wall This is how we hold back our blood with our sleeves One, two, lift the receiver Three, four, yes you remember One, two, three, break down the door And five, six, seven, eight They’ll arrive too late if you choke So lower your voice, what will the neighbors think When your car is gone? Look low, watch the ground, keep suspicion down They won’t know a thing if you keep this in your confidence Make sure the doors are latched Close the blinds tightly Closely, now, we can’t make any more mistakes What did you think was going to happen? You really think you’re in the clear? Nobody ever gets away with it Your story’s trite and trivial
7.
What’s the matter, have you fallen ill? You don’t look so well, perhaps you should get this looked at I’ll write down the name and number of someone you could see But I know you, and I know you’ll never meet him So I’ll call myself, and see what he can do For now, just relax, you’re getting too much stress Veins are jumping from your neck and forehead You’re getting much to tense You’re breathing rather heavily You’re gonna raise concern Draw too much attention You don’t get enough sun, your skin is pale as angels You have a severe lack of vitamin D You don’t get enough protein and calcium, you’re fragile Your bones would snap like cedar under pressure And stay away from carousels, and flashing lights and anything that spins The motions won’t agree with you Your prescription is in, but the doctor forgot words in important places So when read, the syntax is muddled beyond comprehension Wait the break of dawn, we’ll set out for the tropics And settle at a beach house, proclaim it as our own And war after war won’t win it back Miners, they hide underground, and clergy in the chapel, Business men belong in conference rooms, But we were fit for battle, triumph over anyone who would dare oppose this stubborn rule And you can be the leader, finally have peace and quiet To rest and regain your health, and your posture And on this salary you’ll be able to afford Everything that you would ever need
8.
Raise the shades if you think they’ve given up on you They can’t find everyone, some are never caught, But wouldn’t you like to be? There’s only so much they can do when the traces always fail Here you’ll be safe from harm Let the line down so slowly, nobody will see Hanging from the window And widows left to stay and recreate what went away, So nobody remembers why they’re sad, and so distressed You’ll never guess A lion and a wildebeest at bay, but the eyesight is poor, The teeth so very sharp, and this brain is small and short of air The grass on the ground turns to sand and we drown, Patience never got us anywhere You’re feeling slightly overwhelmed That’s quite typical, considering the facts The wolves will run the tabloids and offer a reward for your face The seam between the were and dog seem to coalesce Can you sit back and stand the raw conviction? Can you wait the rush of heat and friction? The streets are full of criminals, the alleys aren’t safe The monsters take the citadels, the thieves are on your grave The shovels will sustain, but the concrete won’t let the best of them get by On their selfish ways It’s hard to go out at night Care to watch the lines and walls and mirrors for your cause The bugs could crawl subtly unnoticed But when they put the pieces down, they’ll have you in a heartbeat And if you disregard you can’t keep the front gates up You’ll have to stand the heat and bear the bitter cold And feel the shine if you don’t pony up and play this simple game Holes can only dig so deep, rivers only run so far Combs can only gather scant the evidence You know they’re gonna nab you on the simplest of things You’re not fooling anyone
9.
Le Cauchemar 06:55
There, it happened again You keep waking up with a cold sweat on your face And lo, the face you make As if you’d seen a ghost Do you need anything? Warm milk, or ice-cold water To make sure that you’re awake for real this time It seems every time you drift, you start to drown Are you choking, or are you held under? You make the waves that get inside your skull and ruin the brain You make the waves that tip ocean liners You make the grade, however stale, bereft of your intentions You make the waves that fill the air (but nobody gets it) You’re a tough shell to crack, but once you leak, you’re gonna fry Just fess up You won’t get far on parlor tricks (This is something we can’t stand for We don’t have time to waste Just tell us why you did it) Darling, you were tossing and turning all night It seems like every time you doze, you end up dying How do they get you when you’re asleep? Do you fall, or do you drown, or do you bleed? Or does somebody keep their hands around your neck, Holding tightly? You’re not fooling anyone We have the evidence we need How would you like to make payment for this unjust act Be it obvious or not, be as quiet as you must You’re only wasting time We could let you go Sitting, with a few thousand volts We’ll treat you well with one simple injection Or would you like to meet the greatest killer of the revolution? I’m sure she’d be glad to meet you If a firing squad, or the maiden is too much for you Either way, you should say your prayers But not too loud We surely do not want to offend anyone Because other people know God takes no mercy on the likes of us
10.
The roads are gonna be slick as an oil spill And you’ll be the seagull trying to fly I just don’t want to see you here anymore I don’t really care where you go You have ruined everything one too many times For me to just forgive, I’m tired of getting nowhere, Just get out There was more to it, but you missed the end of it when you closed the door The engine started churning The air was taken by carbon monoxide Just sit still Like anesthesia Take the time to gather the patience you’ve got left And spend it on a daydream where she finds you, and wants you back She never expected this They say you’ve got a phone call, and look at you confused You try to play it off like the garage door was jammed But nobody believes you These things take time, I know, but I don’t want them to be up now So please come back, and we’ll talk this over Making nice again So you peel out and speed there The cops are never out here And at any rate, they’ve never even see me in this rain The headlights of oncoming cars light the flood on the windshield, The road glistens and flows The wheels, on their one good shot to the big times choke, and can’t get a grip You hold your breath As you careen He asked for you to come and see him, he said he was heading your way He must have been going much too fast when he hydroplaned We found his car here wrapped around a tree He says he feels okay, but he can’t move We don’t think he has much time left So if you’d like to speak, of just to see him It’s better to be with the ones you love at times like these (take my limbs, take me) Just say it and I’ll give you everything you need Take my limbs and organs if they’ll save you You can bleed me white, if you’d get out of this alive Say the word and I’ll build you again
11.
Have you said it all your life, or did you make it up last night? You’ll have me running up the walls, well that’s just crazy enough to work Did you fall asleep inside my arms, or did you pass out in my bed After the guilt settled in that I’m terminal? I’d bet the latter on Tell the letter carrier To make his haste I’ve been waiting on this postcard all my life I’ve a thousand prepared on return I’ve walked down to the post to see if this letter has arrived every day now If you’ve died in battle, or one the purple heart Well mine has atrophied since you’ve been gone So I sort through all the clippings And I sift the quicker sand But in the end It’s just the same old thing, a hundred questions, over and over This drill is passed elementary And on to grammar skills and nuclear war So I guess I’ll comb the glass out of the sand Until the hour drops The stars don’t keep you up at night, but the coyotes do And they’re dying for a game that’s sound asleep It’s all these natural habits that will get the best of you And catch you making a stupid face It all naturally happens when you’ve lost your alarm You let down your guard, you’re coming up roses You’re pushing up daisies You’ve planted your tomorrows in the ground But there’s no rain to feed the soil You’ll put the taste of metal in your mouth, but don’t go so bitterly Without a fight And you know I’ll cry “Chief injustice!” And you’ll cry battery acid And pack your things to leave Leaving all the things you need And fill out all the paperwork And to complete the field where they want to know your last words You say just the same old thing that everybody says It’s not my time to go
12.
Your will was first to go Then you sent for your happiness, it never showed Beneath your flesh and bone, Your blood and marrow grew too thick to hold What now, would you leave us behind Waiting to raise and object? Then how, if you’ve left us behind, shall we know where to direct? These, this is what you missed, truncated and dismissed, from finer subjects found The seasons are out of touch, sail upon this Flying Dutchman, this vessel just to honor thou Carry you to sanctity, imperial and lined with smiling faces, and they won’t haunt you now Hands to hold and shoulders to lay your head to rest, or tears to grave And no reason to ever be afraid Tell them who you were, dear Tell them who we are Teach them to be there for a reason, And we’ll tell everybody left down here

about

This album was written back around 2001-2004 when I was in high school. I recorded them very crudely in a demo called "The Side Yard." For the longest time I could never get drums and a distorted electric guitar to sound right. Now that I know a good thing or two about mixing (and can actually sing :0) I have redone them with the help of my friend Jon on drums. He recorded all his parts up in Washington, I did everything else here in my apartment in Oregon.

credits

released September 13, 2011

Music written by Pete Davis (petedavis.bandcamp.com, invalids.bandcamp.com). All music except drums performed and recorded by Pete Davis. Drums performed and recorded by Jon Lervold (www.jlvaudio.com).

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Surface Area Corvallis, Oregon

Surface Area is Pete Davis on guitar, bass, vocals, piano, accordion, glockenspiel, and synths, and Jon Lervold on drums.

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