Metal Storm logo
The Agonist - Lullabies For The Dormant Mind lyrics



Tracks



01. The Tempest (The Siren's Song; The Banshee's Cry)

I say!
Why do you grip so hard, that way?
Of what, is there left to be afraid?
Let the waves elope with your empty remains
They erode your foothold, anyway

They mosh
Unaware of their own might
Hypnotizing
Shore-ward swallowing
They storm me, ganging up on me!
What's become of the home that supported me?
They spit me back after drowning me
Then slip away dragging their fingers behind them

But you expel the salt sink down lower
Than the undertow would bring you
You just don't seem to see how returning
To them is so far beneath you

But then
How come my corpse - it rises up?
And it is my soul that has sunk?

Hear!
That sound rings out across the land
Over, the roaring waves through every grain of sand
Is it of loss and pain or made to seduce man?

Listen!
The oohs and aahs of
Funeral spectator's
Death admirators
As they bathe in ritual memories and fake tears
Life's underrated
Jaded and hatred
Isolate you so abandon your fears

And spread my ashes like a bouquet of seeds
Far up, far out
To show you what I'm made of
Kill the parasite in every co-dependent
Brain fallen slave to pull the waves

The pull of the waves
The natural decay
Of all that is made
Is how redemption is paid

But you expel the salt sink down lower
Than the undertow would bring you.
You just don't seem to see how returning
To them is so far beneath you.

Say, Dickinson, who do you blame
For your romantic death wish?
And does it remain true
That angry winds feel like a lover's breath?
That's why you grip so hard
No!

It's simply condition keeping me locked in!
I could escape if I knew how to swim!
Look? feel? you're aided
Wind, sun and strangers
Have come to guide you so the choice is clear

We'll spread your ashes like a bouquet of seeds
Far up, far out
So show us what you're made of
We'll kill the parasite in every co-dependent
Brain fallen slave to the pull of the waves

Playfully
Badgering
Casually capturing
To escape the surface chaos is to sink
Not to swim

You say
To release the stranglehold
Keeping me safely beneath
But, as sea foam rises up
Tickles my lips and sinks inside
Doesn't the choice of future paths
Become a matter of pride?
When I've struggled so hard to excel
Why is it so unappealing to survive?

02. ...And Their Eulogies Sang Me To Sleep

All I heard was the sound of fish who'd drowned
All I saw was the inside of my eyelids
All I said fell short of reaching open ears

Words floating, clouding the view
'See no, hear no, speak no evil'
Leaves you deaf, dumb and blind
Because the bad is all you'll find
A deeply heart-felt goodbye
To the part of me that died
When I decided to put others before me, yes
My heart fell asleep - boredom and fatigue

I always said I wanted to die smiling
To pretend I'm at peace
Now from my corpse beams a frigid
Blank grin and once hopeful eyes are sunken in
Like a lullaby to the cradle
Is the eulogy to the casket
All my flaws swept under the table
To grieve the porcelain doll that was me

Their solemn songs sang me to sleep
As my body escaped me
Their solemn songs sang me to sleep
As my body

Welcome down into the New World!
Happiness is being interred!

Such a shameful masquerade!
Fleeting, frozen minutes on display
Why is evolution such a shameful thing to say?
Can you feel your bodily decay?

(Arms are beside me, hands open wide
Seems I was living my life in rewind
Taking so many steps backwards, not looking behind)

Because I can sure as hell feel my brain going blank
If my body betrays me, there's pollution to thank
This condition infects my cells like it controls my mind
Internal army, defend me behind enemy lines!
Fragile vehicle of mine! Don't abandon me yet
There is so much to live for that we so easily forget

Fascination with the fear
The concept escapes me
All encompassing fate
How it wrenches our hearts
Torments our souls
And sings us all to sleep
To an eternal keep
No matter what beliefs
It sweetly sings us all

03. Thank You, Pain

So, lowly criminal, please tell me, how do you plead?
Now, honorable judges, ladies, gentlemen of the jury
Please allow me to present my case
Ha! What case can you possibly present
To rip a man from his family, faith, and friends? Defense?
Listen before you convict, you see
I never did intend to ruin anything!

Intent is a guilty conscience's
White flag against pride
So I find you guilty of the crimes
I know, although I don't believe
It's not only my afterlife I bereave
Appeals will be denied!

The line of duty calls for enforcement of laws
So you're our property now
Intelligence has failed you somehow
Oh, what a shame that you play this game!

Through senses, what can we explain?
Not joy, not guilt, not pain
Is love the same?
This senseless argument in vain
Erodes my sense of shame
Who's to blame?

Thank you, Pain! (For crippling my body)
God bless Suffering!
Thank you , Pain! (For freeing my brain)
For preventing me from returning to the source again

So it shall be! Now do you see the error of your ways?
Of Rats and Men you speak
Standing up tall but you are weak. A smiling thief
We are all murderers, you see
But you let taboo human chemistry
Blind your needs. Live is greed!
Logic won't concede
Think about the statistics you feed
Think before you plead

Through senses, what can we explain?
Not joy, not fear, not pain
Is love the same?
This reckless argument in vain
Erodes my sense of shame
Who's to blame?

Thank you, Pain! (For crippling my body)
God bless Suffering!
Thank you , Pain! (For freeing my brain)
For preventing me from returning to the source again

04. Birds Elope With The Sun

Air like water, water like stone
Birds elope with the sun

A velvet quietus furtively draped over ears
Quartz underfoot and crystalline opal tears
Welcome webs of gasping despair
Nival anaphora textures the air
Anamnesis waltzes through
The windows, shut tight, and the fires are fueled
Reminding naivete of its magnitude's inferiority

Skywards stretching arms become thin and weak
Bony fingers comb the clouds
Then curl into fists, admitting defeat.
Blood concedes to gravity's pull
Leaving hollow skeletons all erect
Perforating the skyline - an impenetrable cage
Like skin drawn tight, and canvas cracked with age

Escapist flights and lengthy nights
As some succumb and slumber awakes
Faces count minutes til noon
Solar ghosts come kiss the moon goodnight
Grey memories for now

A thousand families, down, will fall
Nival tears bury them all!
Like absconding tides
Birds elope with the sun

A barren desert soaked in bleach
A sickly pallor and opal touch
Hallucinating, shattered glass
Falls as if the atmosphere cracked
And we are invaded by emptiness black

The brain keeps the body company
The continent is a new born, trying to breathe
Accepting his fate and falling asleep
The child is woman, resting in peace

Accepting the sleep as a blackness
Forcing its way in and pushing air out through heavy lungs
And heavy are the clouds that reach
So deep and smother the land in a heavy shroud
Eves press closed and words are now visible

The sky is an eggshell waiting to hatch
The ground is the the, the wind, the trees
The Earth, the water, the first
Sculptors working the clay, carving angels and gargoyles
As pixies dance to appease the leaves
Faces that once turned to catch light
Frown and turn desperately down towards darkness
Float to the stiff, grey Earth

Escapist flights and lengthy nights
As some succumb and slumber awakes
Faces count minutes til noon
Solar ghosts come kiss the moon goodnight
Grey memories for now

A thousand families, down, will fall
Nival tears bury them all!
Like absconding tides
Birds elope with the sun

05. Waiting Out The Winter

Which is more elusive
Freedom or sanity
When one disappears the other
Follows so quickly

Certain species, races, beings are gifted, you see
With the power to rob us of either
Should they feel so inclined
To bother

The land is run by a man-made set of rules
Described as Holy or patriotic tools
Ethics are invented
Although a consciousness is not
Adamant beliefs are highly protected
And when challenged frequently emerge victorious

You can't speak, think or feel
Severed wings never heal
So justifies the kill

Wait out the winter
Under forced custody
The static cold feels more like home
Than this open-armed penitentiary
And we embrace the comfort of lost liberty

So fictile is identity
Without self-governance
That's why free-thinkers always feel
So lost and desperate

And I just witnessed my first death
I watched the last escaping breath
I just saw a life turn into death
For them to claim it doesn't count
Is reckless, blind ignorance

A cry for help - silenced
I saw her go
I don't know where
A frightened stare
Became a lifeless glare

Suddenly she was no longer there with me
Although I'm there with her
I didn't know when it was okay to exhale
The excuse-making race decides
That breaking their own laws applies
But, taking any life is wrong
I feel the pain for every one

Though you can stand, learn, still ignore
The weight of knowledge cracks glass floors
Ink runs quickly, blood runs slow
So wait for the rain waters to flood the snow

Wait out the winter
Under forced custody
The static cold feels more like home
Than this open-armed penitentiary
And we embrace the comfort of...

Disgrace yourself because you've caged yourself in
Destined path's a dead-end
Eyes take snapshots from broken clocks
Motion slows to a sleep-walk
And senses shut down with the frost
And all is ending
Mental hibernation

06. Martyr Art

Awakened, as from a tormented sleep
With eyes anxiously looking to creep
Beyond this twisted dementia displayed on the walls
Mysterious mindsets and ink-droplets fall
Muses take flight in an all out war

Shall I catch with open hand?
Or let it fall and start again?
Such words burn the skin

So, enter stage right, mic in hand
Before the micro-cosm, stand
Display my efforts, after all
Don't expect them recognized
Hourly torture, chaos ignite!
Beauty and art give a sign of life
But, as Balzac and Hardy profess
The martyr will burn for her canvas

Elusive horizon
I'm not a threat
You see, I'm for some reason always on trial
Object of detestation - always on trial

O, Solitude! With thee I dwell!
With thee I dwell
In our assiduous, gated hall

Trivial - this mind and spirit world
You can't compare their worth to what is real
At its best, all critics must confess
This work can outlive death - so what is real?

Because I can't describe half the shit I feel inside
For your crimes
Targeted intent eviscerating innocence

I swear I'm not a threat
Put down your defense
I swear I'm not...

All I can do is watch in awe
Feet raking the sand
hands bound by molten ire
As the broad guillotine blade

Sinks into the horizon
Streams of burning gold burst forth from ultramarine
Expansive veins and reach towards me
Lending heat to the air
As the Earth is sliced in half and
The dividing line approaches

For every stage turned wonderland
For every sound turned song
For every song turned experience
For every hour drawn long

Accablées de misere en décembre
Les muses se baignent en flammes
Noyées dans l'ombre elles disparaissent
Attendant le divin peintre de l'Univers, le Soleil

07. Globus Hystericus

What says the tree to his friends the rocks?
When he lives and breathes and they sit and mock
And he grows strong for centuries long
But finally dies and begins to rot

'We will last intact this way!
And you my friend will soon decay'
'But I can breathe - am commensal;
The shade, the fruits, the nests on bough
And if, with this, my time finite
I'm glad to have spent it doing right'
But rocks prefer to simply sit
To win none, lose none, just exist

But nary should an ocean rise
They'd become sand and dissapear with the tides
When trees ignite a cyclical life
From plant to animal to Earth and back;
Whom, even when their roots are plowed
Have left exponential impact

Steel, concrete, technology
May stand intact for centuries
I say with actions
But faced with wind, flood or quake
Like toys will crumble, bend and break
What you do with words

And so the greedy human kind
To conquer trees tall, mountains high
Erects gigantic splinters of steel
That shame forests, make mountains kneel

And progress spreads like moss on stone
Evolution dictates that men are prone
To outdo those that came before
'You see? We'll last forever more!'

We improve what nature made
We'll challenge mountains, transplant lakes
There is no confirmed master plan
We do it just because we can

But foolish is the one who
Complacently thinks himself King
Because when time erodes the past
What remains are nature's things
Quite Shakespearean duals
Those between parent and offspring are!
As Chronos devours his Son
Gaia to Mankind so starts

Steel, concrete, technology
May stand intact for centuries
I say with action
But faced with wind, flood or quake
Like toys will crumble, bend and break
What you do with words

We won't outlive our generation
But our impact surely will
This - the Rocks' humilitation
When they witness we are still
Alive in what we've left for others
Like Nature gives, so selflessly
So pay respect to our true Mother
And take your rank amongst the trees

08. Swan Lake, Op. 20 - Scene, Act 2, #10 - Tchaikovsky (A Cappella)

[A Cappella]

09. The Sentient

Here once stood
One hundred million species
Undiscovered until extinction
Here once stood
Unnatural amounts of prey turned product
Mechanized slaughter

The sentient flaunted their machinist superiority
An ersatz compensation for real instincts lost

Millennia of ancestry
Plowed down for modern industry
The solution to their housing crisis
Was in fact the cause

So why not humanity for habitats
Because they are damned if they do
And damned when they can't!
Euthanasia is a crimless death penalty
But it's still better than what they get

When tortured, brutally murdered
Because some fucking coward can't make a clean living
So he picks on the voiceless children
'Well they're not smart like us
They won't feel a thing!'
Thats a fact? Please explain!

Why should we even care?
The things we destroyed did not need to be there
It's survival of the selfish!
The bi-pedal tyrant goes down with his ship in the end

Here once stood
Invented laws and morals
Applicable to selective followers
And, as such, rulers reserved the right
To control matters of death and life

Oxygen and oceans

Metal rusts, cement crumbles
To err is human, not divine
Prayers are so intently mumbled
When proud man is forced to decline

Why should we even care?
The things we destroyed did not need to be there
It's survival of the selfish!
The bi-pedal tyrant goes down with his ship in the end

10. When The Bough Breaks

Alone... she was
And we face this journey alone
Helpless and weak
Dependent on others' decisions and needs
But who's to say what is right
To protect a soul or to save a life?

Is it a plague or a gift
The ability to create in the way of the Gods?
We are instinctual artists
Atlas had nothing on what we've got
When half a race carries the weight of existence
And society shuns most circumstances
Reputation screams to conform
And cast out anything deviating from the norm

The only way to believe your lies
Is to spread them far and spread them wide
Creation like a limitless universe
But boundaries are what define size

Wake up
Remember nightmares by
Sharing them upon gaining consciousness
A flooded nation is soon to spoil
So wave your flags west!

Equality will never be attained
When blaming Eve for the sins we've gained
A fighter until the end
But sympathy only kicked in once she was dead

The sacrifice of a life
Or rather and exchange, instead
Pity, regret and sorrow turned to hope
But even then the newborn winds up dead
Black - white, right - wrong
Quite a simple hypocrisy

Since when is an accident a responsibility?
If you play God once, I can play God twice
Give me the decision and I'll handle the fight

Materialism now subsides
The only way to believe your lies
Is to spread them far and spread them wide
Creation like a limitless universe
But boundaries are what define size

Tradition exists when no one has the guts to change
Someone asked me what difference One can make, one day
For we're the moss; the Earth - the stone
So let us do as did the Tree
For silence will long be ignored
And action recognized quickly

What if? I should have
Hindsight always haunts me
A thousand Judases could never stop me
Slings and arrows disappoint and taunt me
But I'm not wrong, and I'll sacrifice everything
Just because I know the way since the beginning
Hindsight always haunts me
And then the bough breaks

11. Chlorpromazine

I awoke to a complex chemistry
So, I went to a neuro-surgeon inquisitively
To see what she could see
But she only knows what she's taught
So I turned to a tree to see what he thought

And he asked: when does three equal one plus one?
The answer is birth life's creation
Then suddenly flames rushed past
Green turned to black, and life turned to ash

Because I believe in everything
I'm convinced of nothing
United we ran divided we crawl
It just takes a common enemy
To make a friend
Marry hope and fear
Invent a color

And so, its gone as quickly as it came
Raging tides galloped forth to extinguish the flames
And, thus, was born a cloud above
But all else was gone, and one plus one equaled one

Because I believe in everything
I'm convinced of nothing
United we ran divided we crawl
It just takes a common enemy
To make a friend
In harmony with gravity
Always bring everything down

Tear out your mother tongue
Chlorpromazine incursion
The rights of the voiceless will be revealed

Flesh is food and bone is stone
A grey matter case for inner demons microphones
Fields of shells that luck in murky waters
A bed of nails for less traumatic slumber

Logics taught but brains are sweet
We've served ours up for the demons to feed
Project loathsome apathy redefines reality
Paranoid self-victimization in a cage of skin rage
And intimidating lack of control
Bring a once bright life to stone and ice