Metal Storm logo
Fair To Midland - Fables From A Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True lyrics



Tracks



01. Dance of the Manatee

Take a little dive into the shallow or spy what do you see?
I see the tortoise and the hare in a rat-race and it fits like a glove under my sleeve, Just wait till then.
Their heads are the heaviest in operation,
He has still not lost imagination.
I can hear him mouth the whole ending -
Just wait till then.

We marys had ourselves a ball.
Oh, yes we did.
We marys had ourselves a ball,
I must admit.

Hang us those limbs hold no virtue.
Those told to hold: project on my cue.

Whether a he or a she, put your mouth where your money is.
Are the birds of a feather that clever?
If I knew I'd keep locks, that's a given, just wait till then.
Their heads cast shadows like skyscrapers.
Small enough to feed off the lesses to put it all into perspective with definition.

Oh, take a gander the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Not needy you'll see, not needy
And I come with open arms over trees.
Not needy you'll see.

Listen to my proven guarantees while you're rolling up your sleeves,
Beatin' on the chest.
But we can keep it in a jar when it's comin' cats and dogs for days.
Do you hear the concrete guarantees?
And what they've done for you they've done for me

02. Kyla Cries Cologne / Pre-Versa

Let me introduce you to a pair that strikes crude oil,
But I see pyrite,
It is the same old pattern - the goose that feeds the gander,
They choose to act but not I,

Planting the seeds you sow,
Is easier than growing the row,

Let's go outside and it might restore us,
More for the fire that fights for the freeze now mechanical,

So in the pair proceeded,
Another pulse defeated,
Can't say that I am surprised,
"It is the fly trap's color that caused the fall into her"
What is the shade that you saw,

Planting the seeds you sow,
Is easier than growing the row,

Let's go outside and it might restore us,
More for the fire that fights for the freeze now mechanical,

Bound by the salt not your earth,
The hat mocks the rabbit while the bee stings the shark,
Stop the start, these are my disguises,

Planting the seeds you sow,
Is easier than growing the row,

Let's go outside and it might restore us,
More for the fire that fights for the freeze now mechanical.

03. Vice/Versa

Mountains of molehills, a grapevine in my ear,
Spots on the tiger while the townspeople gather to hear,
While the nest in my hands starve forever,
Sticklers for cheap fun,
You oughta be ashamed to trade in your heirlooms,
For an all day black market parade,
For a grand prize a slap in the face for you,

Bold faced type covers your text,
It must have been winter,

Still frame, no dice,
Where do you get your evidence?
Move now, stay still,
It takes a luminescent hue,
The wood, the crest that's weaved outside your vest,
Still frame, no dice,

Loons light the skyline while you sleep on concrete,
With both your eyes open,
I just kept pullin' on both your feet,
Someday together we'll breathe for you,

Bold faced type covers your text,
It must have been winter,

Still frame, no dice,
Where do you get your evidence?
Move now, stay still,
It takes a luminescent hue,
The wood, the crest that's weaved outside your vest,
Still frame, no dice,

Roll down your toes and know there's a shark on a hill,
The long drive home is taking it's toll,
We just need to rest,

Still frame, no dice,
Where do you get your evidence?
Move now, stay still,
It takes a luminescent hue,
The wood, the crest that's weaved outside your vest,
Still frame, no dice.

04. The Wife, the Kids, and the White Picket Fence

Mail order brides, turtlenecks, and trophy wives,
Had the ways and means to breach,
The borders of easy street,

And to blend right in,
We all surrounded them in a white picket fence,
Now both ends meet,

Sufficed to say there's a time and a place,
So I wait,
For the tug-of-war and who you'll pull for,
While between you and me from point A to point B is a fine line,
That burns at both our good ends,

Two peas in a pod, a battleaxe, and a bastard child,
Took one step more and went straight to the source,
And to blend right in,
They opened fire with their rain checks spent to make ends meet,

Sufficed to say there's a time and a place,
So I wait,
For the tug-of-war and who you'll pull for,
While between you and me from point A to point B is a fine line,
That burns at both our good ends,

Go on, paint the whole town red,
I'd rather follow who cleans up the mess,
And so I wait,

Sufficed to say there's a time and a place,
So I wait,
For the tug-of-war and who you'll pull for,
While between you and me from point A to point B is a fine line,
That burns at both our good ends.

05. April Fools and Eggmen Ciperion

Rest assured they're weighing words in sympathetic ink,
And they don't waste their time suspending disbelief,
They face the facts with thinking caps,
They map out and display,
But that's not the only way,

Common sense won't pay the rent and doesn't grow on trees,
But splitting hairs can get you anything you need,
Who would have thought connecting dots might get you to the point,
But charity is a rarity almost as much as modesty,

Take the bait and save however much it takes,
Before you've made your wish however much it takes,

Rest assured they're weighing words in sympathetic ink,
And I don't waste my time suspending disbelief,
Masterminds want bottom lines to map out and display,
If I have every bit of faith,
I won't be turning in my grave,

Take the bait and save however much it takes,
Before you've made your wish however much it takes,

Take your own advice before you take a side,
Run for middle ground,

Take the bait and save however long it takes,
Before you've made your wish however much it takes,
Before you lie in bed, however long it takes.

06. A Seafarer's Knot

Lucky are the leaves of the clover,
She's diggin for chemistry with the butcher's tools,
Shifty are the eyes of the gambler,
He's making his tricks -- and a job well done.

Through the motions waving wishes to your confidence and eloquence,

He's turning a-green from these envious glorious things,
Applied ambitious faith that can keep us all safe,
Invoking a blue that's meant for us too,
What small amazing things we will turn to rain,

Lucky is a deer in the headlights,
Those two are as thick as thieves - not a penny more,
Shaky are the hands of the gun shy,
He'd rather give up the ghost than stick by,

Through the motions waving wishes to your confidence and eloquence,

He's turning a-green from these envious glorious things,
Applied ambitious faith that can keep us all safe,
Invoking a blue that's meant for us too,
What small amazing things we will turn to rain,

Gather 'round, hold your glasses up high,
Drink to love while we wait for high tide,
Keep it short, keep it brief,
You have my word,
Gather 'round while we wait for high tide,

He's turning a-green from these envious glorious things,
Applied ambitious faith that can keep us all safe,
These spots, these seeds, like her,
We're all a mess as though we all...

07. A Wolf Descends Upon the Spanish Sahara

If you're keeping score then you're bound to win,
A birds eye view of a burning bridge,
You've gone through ghost towns settle past,
Hoping the risk was worth a cause,

Oh, sound off the false alarm,

But i'll make my own colleague from wood and from ivory,
And reap the rewards of proximity,
I'll assemble my equal from what I lack and require,
And gather what's left unaccompanied,

It smells like disaster,
It looks like a trap,
So go by the wayside,
And never look back,

If you could spare me forty winks,
While you cry wolf and I count sheep,
What good old ghosts in Kevlar vests,
With backbones like a jellyfish,

Oh, stomp on your land again,

But i'll make my own colleague from wood and from ivory,
And reap the rewards of proximity,
I'll assemble my equal from what I lack and require,
And gather what's left unaccompanied,

It smells like disaster,
It looks like a trap,
So go by the wayside,
And never look back,

If you are keeping score then you are bound to win,
A ring side seat at the main event,
Oh, stomp on your land again,

It smells like disaster,
It looks like a trap,
So go by the wayside,
And never look back.

08. Walls of Jericho

What splendidly weaved from an atom bomb,
Retrieved from a teleprompt,
Practical, you are not,
Break the ice with a cotton swab,
A fever that cools us all,
Handshake's a contact sport,

No one was waiting to throw out the pilot,
We'll float on the back of the winds that you send us,

Another tomorrow,
Shedding the shade we made yesterday,
Disguised as the lightning,
Dissolving all of the thunder,
Then appeasing a monster under the acrylic skies,
Another tomorrow,

So grab my hand here comes the crash,
I live for the strong impact that renders both our airbags,
Takes every letter you send,
Don't fold if you're made to bend,
Rekindle the feud again,

No one was waiting to throw out the pilot,
We'll float on the back of the winds that you send us,

Another tomorrow,
Shedding the shade we made yesterday,
Disguised as the lightning,
Dissolving all of the thunder,
Then appeasing a monster under the acrylic skies,
Another tomorrow,

Did you recognize your next door neighbor today,

String up your harp,
Play like today will last five minutes,
This won't take long,
Sing us a song that stops the silence,

Another tomorrow,
Shedding the shade we made yesterday,
Disguised as the lightning,
Dissolving all of the thunder,
Then appeasing a monster under the acrylic sky,
Another tomorrow.

09. Tall Tales Taste Like Sour Grapes

Too much patience,
No resistance,
Within shouting distance,
You can hear a blind man's bluff,
Dragging names through the mud and still bitting his tongue,
The devil's in the air and I'm spitting out prayers,
While the ravenous all eat their fill,

Tell me, tell me a story,
Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone,
So turning, turning a deaf ear,
So that I don't hear them throwing stone,

Too much hogwart,
Not enough hearsay,
Always made the front page,
You could use a fine tooth comb to get a word from the wise,
Would be a welcome surprise,
Keep an ear to the ground so to drown out the sound of the failures that make me whole,

Tell me, tell me a story,
Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone,
So turning, turning a deaf ear,
So that I don't hear them throwing stone,

These walls don't talk,
Even when somebody knocks,
These walls don't stand,
For anyone else but themselves,
These walls don't fall,
Even when gravity's failing us all,

Tell me, tell me a story,
Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone,
So turning, turning a deaf ear,
So that I don't hear them throwing stone.

10. Upgrade^Brigade / When the Bough Breaks

The sideways man walks on his hands,
Can't keep from dragging his feet and when he tries,
I try,

They twist his arms to get a head start,
Tycoons love hitting the jackpot,
To get back what they've lost,
He'd have to raise the bar,

The desert heat left us all in the dark,
They buried the sun so I carried the torch,
Head over heels with eyes on the prize,
I settled for less and it's more than enough,
Just say when,

Truth be told,
I'd rather be sold than juggle stepping stones,
But when he tries,
I try,

They all take part to get a head start,
Big whigs love hitting the jackpot,
Taking all the cheap shots,
The referee was wrong,

The way they left us all in the dark,
They buried the sun so I carried the torch,
The way they left their eyes on the prize,
I've settled for less and it's more than enough,
Just say when.

The way they left us all in the dark,
Head over heels, but it's never enough,
Just say when.

11. Say When / Ozymandius

Glow but don't shine,
A fuse for a blueprint devices my hands built,
For these roads want the rain in my raincoat,
Drown in the flash flood,

For we are alive,
Given air; not used to Al Fresco,
Does the sun know,
Today, I forgot the zeros and ones,
Told you to conquer the rush,
Sunday, I remembered paper beats rock,
Reached a mile high if I reached a foot,

Leopard skin is not above or beyond,
He's no more a prince than a frog is,
For these roads should not have shed for a witness,
Taken bites to avenge us,

For we are alive,
Given air; not used to Al Fresco,
Does the sun know,
Today, I forgot the zeros and ones,
Told you to conquer the rush,
Sunday, I remembered paper beats rock,
Reached a mile high if I reached a foot,

I'm figuring out the one thing he's not is above or beyond,
And no one's packing up, taking on or making goodbye for me all alone,

Today, I forgot the zeros and ones,
Told you to conquer the rush,
Sunday, I remembered paper beats rock,
Reached a mile high if I reached a foot.

12. An Honest Con Man

It's highway robbery,
And I have my receipts
The skeletons I meet say they'd lay on their backs just to
Pave our way,
Right back to the starting gate.
They run circles around
The king without a crown,
The speechless make a sound and
Start spreading their love with a boxing glove.
What would you expect from us?

Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!
Let's let you carry the weight of a drifter,
We doubt you've attempted.
Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!
And push your luck if it makes you a promise
That turns Con Men honest.

The life of luxury
Is not a mercy seat
The skeletons I meet say they'd lay on their backs just to
Lead to way,
Right into the everglades.
They thank their lucky stars
And lose their memory cards,
Cowards are in charge and they're
Painting their trust with a coat of rust.
What did you expect from us?

Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!
Let's let you carry the weight of a drifter,
We doubt you've attempted.
Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!
And push your luck if it makes you a promise
That turns Con Men honest.

And these days,
You're raking it in but forget
That regret is counting the cards in your hand.
And these days they probably have to ask themselves,
"What did you expect from us?"

Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!
Let's let you carry the weight of a drifter,
We doubt you've attempted.
Believe it! Believe it! Believe it!
And push your luck if it makes you a promise
That turns Con Men honest.