1. |
The Phantom King
03:51
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I am the downtown phantom king
you are the mystery in song
styx trickles from our toes
ghosts that find the way back home
fill these houses up with tales
of preternatural wails
the cold of our embrace
ghosts that find the way back home
we could be translucent on the opaque plain
a masterpiece melting in the rain
I'm gonna hold ya til death and back again
let's shrink to pinhole size
let's become unrevised
let's take forever for a moment
ghosts that find the way back home
wisps of nightmare kisses
grown up tears fall
the terror and the shine in childrens eyes
as they watch the moon rise
every night
I feel a smile
all the time
whether we both come back as cats
or a fish and bird in love
or the sound that shapes the fear
ghosts that find the way back home
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2. |
Modern Murder Line
04:04
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I'm pleased to meet you but I don't need your name
You are my reason for being
I've waited my whole damn life for this fleeting chance
…just to kill a man
I flew my righteous muscles when I can
my fingers tickle the cold will of creation
I am the savior that bares arms
blind beggar of justice
rocket launcher of liberty
your shift eyes see me waiting for you
to pull out that piece
I know it's one of you, or maybe two or three
but I'm Dirty Harry here
and you've never been some mother's child
don't blame society or youth
I don't need the cause or the root
I'm just warming up your grave
and there'll be no roses as I spread your ashes into the sky
I am the reward for the crime
ahh…
that's close enough for me
close enough to see the whites of your eyes
ahh…
as I cross your name from the modern murder line
as the crowd moves… I wet myself again
today they'll know to dub me a hero
drown me in kisses
crown me an armored saint
and if no one makes a move today
I'll be back tomorrow to play my vigilante game
said you'll never be tamed
so I put you down like an animal
I see your fatal mistake
you sit by and watch
as the world dives into the void from a ninth floor window
but I'm scanning the crowd for tell-tale signs
for cats and birds who step out of line
the coins on their eyes change from pennies to dimes
the closer you get to the crime
ahhh…
that's close enough for me
close enough to see the whites of your eyes
ahhh…
as I cross your name from the modern murder line
who's lining up to die today
cause without the mole there would be no mallet
and without the murder there'd be no ballad
no, no, no, no sone at all
until that trigger goes click...
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3. |
Devil Killin' Blues
03:08
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rode the roller coaster with the devil by my side
shook hands as we parted, but he never left my mind
started missing that old devil and his love for the obscene
I called his name out every night at the crossroads of my dreams
the devil found me sleeping in a burned out factory frame
said "son I don't recall your face but I never forget a name"
he'd changed, that sickly devil, to the villain of the earth
at the top of that old stairwell had me questioning my worth
i pointed out my winnings, he pointed out my signings
I pointed at the sky and said heaven's my only home
and as he stood there laughing, hysterically gasping
I stood up to his horned frame, I said "it's time for you to go"
gonna kick that devil down the stairs
make that devil cry
all good things eventually make that devil die
kick that devil down the stairs
make that devil bleed
if I told him once, I told him twice to leave
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4. |
Galaxy of Doom
04:26
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two way mirrors line the paranoia city
too much meat and not enough plates
when the black hole sucks all the life from your party
speak clearly in the mic at the pearly gates
fists held high as we face the flood
pinch hit mobs throw buckshot stones
washed in the water and stained in the blood
tower to the sky but you're stripped to the bone
galaxy of doom
spindle legged star
melt into my arms
I'm slipping in the dark
make me a believer in the words of modern men
make me a believe in the hands of fate again
I stare at the stars and no one stares back
you put your tiny life in my hands
oh my god it eats me alive
elusive dreamer with the universe unplanned
make me a believer in those ghostly words again
if he speaks soft to you tell him I miss him like hell
I'm hiding underneath my umbrella
oh my god it eats me alive
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5. |
The Birth of a Star
03:21
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my new bride
you wonder what the heavens plan for you
do signs align tonight for you
when forces from beyond
slam matter together
collapsing into one
the birth of a star is a curious thing
the dust clears
it's brighter than you've ever seen
so hallelu, my baby blue is a new star
wise men wandered
through the sky for centuries
searching for the earth's reprise
a world born
an unknown form
some kind of new experience revolving in the night
the birth of a star is a dangerous thing
few souls get close enough to see
so hallelu, my baby blue is a new star
a new life
a universe
like fantastic voyagers
new lands to explore
and every night
and every day
another cosmic miracle
this planetary life support
the birth of a star is a marvelous thing
I never knew until i saw it happening
so hallelu, my baby blue is a new star
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6. |
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stranger of the springtime
be my only mirror
nothing in reverse
I'm walking cold and clear
in the springtime I was a young man too afraid to die
three-foot tall and rising
whirlwind in his hair
when gravity defies him
I try to be right there
I don't want to be an old man too afraid to die
madman improvising
screaming simple songs
javelina manners
louder than a bomb
and I don't want to be an old man too afraid to die
half my face and half of hers
and double both our moods
stubborn boy I love you too much
hope you got the news
see my true reflection
boy in front of me
each impatient action
curiosity
and I grow old
I wear my trousers rolled until the day I die
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7. |
The Fog of War
04:42
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one thousand nights of bitter foreign battles
over moonlit lands
she walks in the mist and I laugh like I'm home again
conquered by a single kiss
she moves through my thoughts like an angel with a knife
into a war torn life
I know that after all the soldiers fall asleep
she cracks the walls that hide me from the sea
crawl low, sweet boy
the killer peddles silence through the shattered air
I fall to my knees
rain hell in 360 degrees
gray skies cry black tears
she reaches for my hand over bullet-ridden shores
the thickest fog of war
I know that after all the guns are snapped in two
trenches shift to panoramic views
after all the legends have been maed
still life captures an angel's serenade
but I never thought that you would command the enemy army
moment maneuvers cease, I'll sign the jagged line of peace
his lover safe in bed,
the soldier rests his head on the lunette's edge
and waits for it to fall
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8. |
Border Jumpers
03:37
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big fish dig deep
tunnel underwater
big man pass by
let's laugh at the comics
that stare at skies for falling change
walking on the streets of gold
diamonds for rocks
plug up the clocks
no time in the world
little wings take the sky
border jumpers
the canopy is on fire
we're crossing over
scythe-like focus
lasers melting metal
hangman on the moon
drops words from his pockets
they fill the world like a dandelion
blown from a child;s breath
impending schemes
exploding dreams
take over the world
little wings take the sky
border jumpers
the canopy is on fire
we're crossing over
don't want to fade like fireworks
obscured by their own smoke
whatever you try I will admire
even when it burns
little wings take the sky
border jumpers
the canopy is on fire
we're crossing
so hop aboard that mystery train
border jumpers
the engineer lives again
we're taking over
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9. |
I was a teenage confusor
02:45
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with his death sentence haircut
he's got some time to bend
gets his second glances from the misses on the mend
he's an easy operator on abandoned elevators
he's a switchboard plaster caster
always interviewing natural disasters
well, he's paralyzed with motion
straddling the ocean
trying to make you forget what you just said
and spitting out sarcasm in an endless razzem dazzem
is it art in the accidental ramblings of the hordes of living dead
a world of teenage confusion
lording over ruins like a prince with a family portrait smile
he sucks the toes of terror addicts
more like afterthought than habit
if you've had it all
you've had it silver platter severed headache style
a fantastic mind
with chance encounters hoping to find
the secrets of the world
within your outer orbit
your haunted resting place
these phantom limbs keep twisting
the dreams of peer lachaise
he loves you like a bomb
a neurotoxin song
he is kennedy to ketamine
he's every planet in between
he's distressed when trying to relax
he's stronger than piano wire
skips stones on the lake of fire
never gonna know him till his horse is busy
stomping on your back
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10. |
Terminal Velocity
03:10
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my love bullets through the window
plotting escape from alcatraz
two minds overflow in tandem
never wanna leave this bed
my love, I'm victim of your gravity
wingless in mid-air
when I reach terminal velocity
will you find me there?
my love, posing for the cameras
entrance fashionable queens
hands held
blood-relation minefields
I kiss the only girl I need
my love, I'm victim of your gravity
wingless in mid-air
when I reach terminal velocity
will you find me there?
my love, verbalizing cyclones
her words might begin to sting
I know they never understand you
but it's alright
you really seem to get me
my love, I'm victim of your gravity
wingless in mid-air
when I reach terminal velocity
will you find me there?
a certain type of strange love
one false move
and everyone is dead
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11. |
Marie in the Lunette
05:56
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you team up with all-stars
but we bought your trademark
with bottomless billfolds
and fistfuls of power
crown the new welfare queen
sharpen the guillotine
when your dying legs dangle
you move like no other
she's draining your wishing well
do you still believe in magic
and where is sweet marie?
getting dressed for the party
she dances in the tuileries
says everything you have belongs to me
all the robin armies
always trying to co-opt her chemistry
she poisons the reservoirs
before eating her breakfast in style
a figment of your fantasies
just laugh at her jokes while she slits your throat
in a world of war
I want to be uncivilized
there's nothing like good old-fashioned war
to make you realize
her fingers point at lies
the truth was in the crime
boogeymen in ballroom towers
sniping the peasants
marie, like a glass doll
knocked from my fingertips
catapults through the air
and waits for collision
she creeps in the alleyways
makes love to the imbeciles and paperweights
she looks up to see the guns are being drawn
on the front lawns of a world of war
I want to be un-civilized
there's nothing like good old-fashioned war
to make you realize
step into our secret world
whole-hearted boys and girls
marie thinks so much of you
take off your hats and your shoes
no one noticed the mad hatter's tea party
till madness fell into fashion
so have a cigarette marie
cause you know where they lead
they don't care what you believe
hide in our exclusive club
like butterflies in paper cups
until the match is struck
barricades are caving in
untouchables chewing your skin
multitudes mangle your holy spire
why are you smiling while your hair is on fire?
in a world of war
I want to be uncivilized
ain’t no three, four, five ways about it
we’re gonna get to the end of the novel
these pages burn and your fingers are guilty
see history when it’s in syndication
I thought you’d won the war, Marie
premature effigies
collapsing stars looking sweet
sucking the lights out
your lips spill their shapes marie
your showboat eyes fade, Marie
the basket meets the blade, Marie
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12. |
The Man From the Future
06:04
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I threw myself into the machine
to turn the gears from within
I really don't know what separates a false start
from a clear win
but I can still see the light in the man from the future
tied a chain of blankets and sheets
from window to street
each slips away from the other
my story is complete
and the ground leans in
to give me a good night kiss
and I'm back in my room again
breadcrumb trail gets eaten by the birds
I'm lost deep in the trees
I laugh out loud
and watch the sun stumble through the leaves
as epic men lead epic lives
in deep hibernation
conquering the castles of their dreams
light the sky my firefly
the morning is stalking all your midnight friends you never see
mother earth sends her sons over unknown waters
the man from the future stands up to leave
galaxy of doom
it isn't very far
melt into my arms
just let your secrets out
mirror of your smile
hold me like a child
I'm sleeping in the dark
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13. |
Wolves
03:54
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the city without dreams has no place in my head
it's leveled instead
and all the shop keepers have been executed
we leave no regrets
the girl of my dreams has a place in my bed
watching my breath
a combined taste for a violent life
space-bending nights
let's bend the time back to when we didn't know sex
and make love til we never forget
rewrite the stories that are only folk tales
my memory fails
let's sing of love in a world built for death
that one hollow breath
tear off my clothes like a curious child
the wolves of the wild
lull me to sleep
throw yourself from the shroud
I dream aloud
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Joshua McCormack Tucson, Arizona
From the odd acoustic pop of Joshua Mccormack Presents Holiday Girl , to the electronic-tinged rock of The Phantom King , to
the collection of sonic oddities on The Dunce Cap, he’s been restless for years.
His recent album Lights Out 4 Baby Grand, shows a more personal side, while The World, Just For You is a collection of cover songs he recorded to survive the dystopian ambivalence of 2020.
... more
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