The Awkward Silence and the Bellowing Echoes

Reconstruction Site [[John K. Samson cover]] This is a thing I...

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:38:00 -0400

Reconstruction Site [[John K. Samson cover]]

This is a thing I did after fixing myself a very tequila-y sunrise. The smell of summer is drifting through my window, and I am missing home.

Fear, or something. We keep letting these moments pass us by,...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:21:00 -0500

Fear, or something.

We keep letting these moments pass us by, there’re some things we’ll never know if we never try. But no matter how many times I tell myself the same thing, it’s just another line.

And that’s just another lie.

I can’t say what I really mean.
I can’t express myself the way I need to.
I can’t be who I need to be
Around you
It’s true, I’m scared of your judgement
But I’m more afraid of myself.
Terrified of what I may actually be.
Who lies beneath this skin
Who it is that never lets you in.

But, maybe this is all I am.

A frightened little girl in big sister’s clothes.

Crashing Cars, Awarding Stars Another Songfight! I got lazy and...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:01:00 -0500

Crashing Cars, Awarding Stars

Another Songfight! I got lazy and didn’t enter. I wanted to add more to it, but couldn’t figure what. I still kind of like it, though.

Your car crash break up
Has left me to pick up
The pieces
The heartache it’s caused

To my friends.

If it were a movie
I’d give it 2 stars
The plot was cliched and predictable
The script read like a thirteen year old
Your performances were emotional.

But, it’s something I’ve seen
A million times before
I can’t believe you didn’t see it coming.
We all saw it coming.
We all saw it coming.
We all saw it coming.
We all saw it coming.

This Needs to Mean Something More A drunk at 3am...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:30:00 -0400

This Needs to Mean Something More

A drunk at 3am creation.

I’ve developed this heartwrenching nostalgia for things I never had.
Things I only ever wished I had.
Things I’ve wished for so long that they have manifested into vague memories.
Vague memories of things that never happened.

The rain came down in sheets
Like trees turning into reams of paper.
I rode the bus home that morning, but the sky never got lighter
Only darker.
All day it was night
I waded through puddles of dreams until the water was up to my neck.
I started drowning in my sleep.
I woke up gasping for air.
Every breath I took I tasted rain
But none ever touched my lips.

Billie Meyers had nothing on me.

My Guitar A few months ago, my friends and I started...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:26:57 -0400

My Guitar

A few months ago, my friends and I started OMGsongclub! This was my first submission.

My guitar is starting to look like my life
More cracks, less bright.
So dull, no fight.

I remember when we met, you were standing in the street. I said, “I’ve seen you around, you’re in every local band I ever dreamed to be.” I remember you smiled and said something witty, but I believe this to be a false memory, because after getting to know you, I know you would never smile.

I remember when we tried to start that band. We were so young back then, no instruments, just tin cans. It quickly devolved to game of telephone. “Hello? Hello?” No answering machine. No one’s home.

Hello, My Old Heart The last Songfight! Tiff and I did together...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:21:00 -0400

Hello, My Old Heart

The last Songfight! Tiff and I did together before I moved away. I may have gotten a little too carried away with spining the whirly-wind in places it didn’t fit… but, other than that, I really like the way this one turned out.

Found you in some old documents today. I forgot all there was to say, the past washed all the words away. Hello, my old heart.

Now I see it, see it oh so clear, I feel as though you could still be here. I wish it could be, I wish it could be dear. Hello, my old heart.

Boy in the Supermarket Checkout Line This one’s for all...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:10:00 -0400

Boy in the Supermarket Checkout Line

This one’s for all the boys out there that ever stood in a supermarket checkout line.

Boy in the supermarket check-out line, I think you’re pretty fine.
But, I can’t say it out loud, so I’ll banjo it out: boy in the supermarket checkout line.
You glance over at me, I look away, cause I’m worried I won’t know what to say.

Boy in the supermarket checkout line.
Yeeeahhh!
You’re pretty fine.

(untitled) I always liked this one. It’s not really...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:29:00 -0400

(untitled)

I always liked this one. It’s not really anything, I think that’s why.

My thought process is shot, I’m thinking like it’s last year. Oh, I wish, I wish it was last year. I know regret will get me nowhere, I’m just scared, I’m scared without you here— I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to move. I just need to hear you say, “It will all be okay.”
I’ll be okay.

Titties N’ Shrimp This one was for Shane Nelken. We had a...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:21:00 -0400

Titties N’ Shrimp

This one was for Shane Nelken. We had a lengthy conversation with the Awkward Stage after a show, at one point he told my friend and I that if he ever opened a restuarant, he would call it Titties N’ Shrimp. I told him I was going to write a song about it.

Pocket George Clooney, you’re such a rock star.
You have the names of every city taped to the back of guitar.
You have local sports banter, you play it out in your head; you got your Winnipeg Jets, your Montreal Allouettes, your New York City Mets.
Every night, girls flock to your top bunk.
You may not have showered in a week, but they still think you’re a hunk.

But we know your dirty little secret, we know where you spend your free time. We know the name of your controversial franchise…

Titties N’ Shrimp.

City Walls Apparently I decided this should be played faster...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:12:00 -0400

City Walls

Apparently I decided this should be played faster than I could strum. Needless to say I fucked it up, but it’s all in the name of punk rock, right?

I know I said I’d be coming back, but summer’s such a tease. These old walls are out of offers, there’s nothing left here for me.

When the colour weathers to grey, and you can feel winter coming on, grab your camera and send a photo to me, so I can know that I wasn’t wrong.

If home is where the heart is, I think I lost it years ago. If home is where the heart is, I don’t know where to go.

Feet A Songfight! avec Steph. They help you get around, keep...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:38:00 -0400

Feet

A Songfight! avec Steph.

They help you get around, keep you balanced on the ground, they’re good for kicking things. Don’t step on glass because it stings!

La, la, ladedada.

Sometimes they`re very hairy, hobbit feet are really scary. I like to play piano with them with them everyday.

La, la, ladedada.

It`s good to understand these bones that help you stand: cuboid, navicular, talus, calcanuem.

La, la—- Wait! Don`t forget your tarsals and your metatarsals!

La, la, ladedada.

We give them shoes to wear, but most of them don`t even care. It really sucks of you don`t have them, so this for you is not an anthem.

La, la, ladedada.

You Are the Dirt Beneath My Paws as Stars Burn Brightly Above My...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:28:00 -0400

You Are the Dirt Beneath My Paws as Stars Burn Brightly Above My Head

Tiffany and I taking a stab at irony.

I hate you like a dog hates a cat. I hope you drown in all your lies, cause I’ve learned to paddle through this water, and you’re just miserable soaking wet.

Ou ou. Ou ou.

I hate you like a dog hates ticks; you get under my skin and itch until it burns. This is the last hole you’ve melted in me. It’s funny because you’re the one I can see right through.

Ou ou. Ou ou.

Stars cloud my vision as I’m sucked back in to your black hole. We’re moving too fast. Too slow. IN CIRCLES. I’m getting dizzy.

I’m spinning, I’m spinning, I’m spinning, I can’t see.
How could you do this to me?

Ou ou. Ou ou.

Scene by a River One of the first full songs I ever wrote,...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:20:00 -0400

Scene by a River

One of the first full songs I ever wrote, getting caught up in some angsty teenage betrayals. Also during a time I thought I would be more hardcore if I used barre chords.

You threw me in the river and watched me sink like a stone, I’m not a witch but you swore you didn’t know. Pulled down by the undertow of lies and deciet, how could you betray me?

But, it’s okay, I’ll forgive you some day, when your head’s in the sand. Like an ostrich, you’re really awkward.
I can’t wait until you grow into yourself my friend.

I’d have done the same to you, if false accusations ultimately proved, that you were the convict and I was the mouse, and no harm should then befall my house.

“It’s okay,” That’s what you’d say, “She’ll get over this, you’ll see what she can do.”
You’re not hurting anyone but you.

I think I was a bit too young to comprehend what your sentiment was trying to intend.
What kind of friends were we anyhow?

Outside Paradise Another Songfight! I was ridiculed for being...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:59:00 -0400

Outside Paradise

Another Songfight! I was ridiculed for being too religious on this one. All I learned about the bible, I learned from Craig Finn.. and the Simpsons.

Outside paradise looking in
Oh what we wouldn’t give to live there again
But our sin can’t be forgiven
Held out, held back, by temptation.

Why did we give in?
Of all things this wasn’t worth it.

My feet ache, my back breaks, my hands shake
Oh, how I curse that damned snake
This couldn’t have been meant to be our fate
Why can’t you forgive us father? For god’s sake! For our sake!

SLAB OF HAM When Tiffany and I decided we were better off being...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:46:00 -0400

SLAB OF HAM

When Tiffany and I decided we were better off being grunge. Apologies to your ears.

SLAB OF HAM I see you in that deli case.
You’re looking at me like you’re still a pig; a pig with a face.
Holy fucking shit, ham in my mouth; I’m having a fit.
Ham on my tits.
SLAB OF HAM.

One Wish Another silly one. Circa.. 2006? The Get Up Kids were...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:21:00 -0400

One Wish

Another silly one. Circa.. 2006? The Get Up Kids were still broken up. You could imagine my excitement when they did the Something To Write Home About reunion tour.

If I had one wish, it would go something like this: the Get Up Kids would reform and play all my favourite songs, on and on into the night. Everything would be just right, and at the end of the show, Matt Pryor would kiss me.

Amy A silly song, written for my then-manager, about her...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:05:00 -0400

Amy

A silly song, written for my then-manager, about her covering a graveyard shift. My microphone was in the process of breaking at the time.

Amy, this is for you. I’m really sorry I didn’t come through; I was drinking milkshakes and ignoring my phone, when came back to work, you were already there.

So, let me tell you what I’m doing now: I’m lounging in bed, but I’m not gonna sleep… although I could sleep. Sleep would be pretty awesome right now, don’t you think? Gonna watch The Office, season two, I have lots of time, so maybe all the way through. Gonna make some popcorn and read a bit, write countless songs, one’s bound to be a hit. Then I’m going to think about how glad I am that I’m not at the Radisson. Yeah. I’m not at the Radisson.

Oh, Kathleen I believe this to be the second song I ever wrote....

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:32:00 -0400

Oh, Kathleen

I believe this to be the second song I ever wrote. Inspired by watching my best friend sort through old photos in her basement. (Circa 2005)

These photos are making me more nostalgic than ever, I’m pining for the old days. I guess what they say is a lie, cause honey, we didn’t even try to stick together after he died. We just let ourselves fall apart, cause he went down with our hearts and we didn’t know what to do without him.

I remember all those years we went down to the beach, and that one time we thought we lost you in the sea; after hours of searching we came back in, only to find you under some blankets in the den.

Oh Kathleen, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years and we didn’t speak. No, we haven’t said a word.

I can’t imagine how much you’ve grown, or even how long it’s been since you’ve been inside our home. If I saw you today… I don’t even know what I’d say. Maybe things are better this way.

Thank God for Memphis An unsubmitted Songfight!. She said,...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:25:00 -0400

Thank God for Memphis

An unsubmitted Songfight!.

She said, “Thank god for Memphis.”
I said, “It’s all pretentious shit: ‘I dreamed we fell apart, in a cinema alone, incredibly drunk on whiskey.’
I’ll do whatever you want, up in the highest room / The night watchman finds us stirring up.”
Thank god for Memphis… only if they were less arrogant.
Thank god for Memphis… where did they come up this lounge bullshit?
Thank god for Memphis… how do they expect us to dance to it?
Thank god for Memphis… only if Torquil eats it.
Thank god for Memphis… thank god for Memphis…

Man Speaking German My first ever Songfight! Possibly my...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:13:00 -0400

Man Speaking German

My first ever Songfight! Possibly my first ever song that interwebz heard.
(Circa 2007.)