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LOCKED IN A VACANCY LYRICS
"Exit The Futility Ward" (2000)
1. Beware The Jabberwock, My Son...
2. Office Politics
3. Sarcophagus Inscription
4. Control Panel 1
5. I'm The Best At What I Do, And What I Do Isn't Very Nice
6. The Fine Art of Self-Segregation
7. Lincoln Zelda
8. Morituri
9. Control Panel 2
10. Shakespearean Tragedy
1. Beware The Jabberwock, My Son...
For in life the purest thing
in your heart, in your mind
is not without temptation and greed
but we must aim higher
A higher plane
My outlet for self-expression
an exchange of ideas and opinions
a catalyst for open discussion
tainted by your avarice.
What does it benefit man
to gain the whole world
gain the whole world
and lose his soul?
You're losing your soul!
Enter the oculist
to salvage the impaired vision
of blind aggression
perception shadowed in green...
Those blessed with acumen defy the propaganda. Recognize the relative ease
with which the indoctrinated legions would slit each others' throats for
baubles of fashion. Deny their narcissism. Suffer their iniquity. With heads
held high and purses full they will burn in the lake with the rest...
With heads held high and purses full they will burn in the lake with the
rest!
For I will cast my eyesight higher
up above the rising sun.
Intellect and introspection
growing more and more each day
though ne'er the twain shall meet...
2. Office Politics
conform!
assimilate to fit their mold!
surrender, to preconceived notions
of what your life must be
embrace, the white-collar upper echelon
wrap yourself in the cloak of uniformity
you'll adapt to the stench in little time
cherish, the structure of your daily routine
a web of contacts forged, through networked insincerity
upward mobility
begets financial security
the end-all of your pattern life
your pattern life
I refuse to be
just another cog in the wheel
of our consumer infrastructure
I'll take the arduous path
every time
every time
conglomerates grow fat on the backs
of undereducated wage-slaves
working overtime to make ends meet
as execs reap the fruit of their labors
how much longer
can the disgruntled underclass
wallow in the quagmire
of potential destitution?
My resistance is persistence!
3. Sarcophagus Inscription
Time is the enemy
From birth we wage fierce battles
against the inevitable
Our personal expiration dates a mystery
All too often the Reaper's sickle
claims another one of our loved ones
before we can summon the breath to express
just how much they mean -
how much they really mean to us
A lack of foresight? Perhaps
Yet once the earth reclaims their shell
a veritable fountain of extolations springs forth
These memories of yesterday in time will fade away
No! We won't be the victims
of this bloodletting ritual!
And we will not be the victims of your system
And we will claim our freedom from this bloodletting ritual
The challenge is this:
To reclaim our emotive spirit that has been cast by the wayside
in lieu of contemporary stoicism, lacking the embrace of sentiment.
Though frustration and ire are quickly ascertained, affection's now a
stranger - how peculiar. Will we accept the challenge that has been set
before us? Will we reignite the flames?!
Ignite the flames that burn in our hearts!
4. Control Panel 1
5. I'm The Best At What I Do, And What I Do Isn't Very Nice
I will always convey emotion. Intelligent opinion on socio-political issues.
Far too many already waste their breath - screaming out loud but saying
nothing. Your views may run askew from mine. That is no crime. And if it
were, call me a felon. Provoke to anger - incite to action. That is my goal.
Do my words upset you? Do they make you uneasy? At least I made you think!
6. The Fine Art of Self-Segregation
Transcend their teachings
hypocrisy ignored
Bigotry ingrained
without a thought as to the cause
See the college campus
encourage separate dorms
ethnic specific, “to unify”
Jim Crow would feel at home
See the house of worship
Doors open to all
So long as your likeness conforms
to those within its walls
So-called institutions
of higher learning and praise
inspire animosity
and mistrust amongst the race
Generations lost
fall in sync
to perpetuate the lies of their elders
this new-found normalcy
But...
I will circumvent
Stifle the downward spiral
The mentally constipated
must learn to accept:
If divided we stand, then united we’ll fall!
Into their trap
stratagem of old:
“divide and conquer.”
That is their way
We won’t comply
All is not for naught
we will teach
what we’ve been taught
So much more can be derived
from fraternizing with those
unlike yourself -
why would you limit yourself?
Reject the ignorance
Multi-culturalism
the dream of our forefathers
must not be forgotten
Those who fought
Those who died
Who paved the way
for us to try
To integrate
not separate
see what’s within
not melanin
And all the churches
and universities
must stand against
this disease
All is not for naught
we will teach
what we’ve been taught
7. Lincoln Zelda
Smitten by your inner beauty
a shared value system
interest similarities
time spent together cherished
thoughts of you when we’re apart
a learned stoic broken
staring through silent eyes
so easy to look at
Your lips
your hips
your smile
your kiss
your hair
your face
your warm
embrace!
Conversation comes easy
learning from each other's insight
nihilistic disposition
deadened, by your facetiousness
But is it mutual?
Mixed signals cause confusion
and apprehension - hesitation
searching
north, west, south, west
for a sign
before my window of opportunity
slams shut
'Cause it's not mutual
But I'll survive
just like the last time
after all
we can still be friends, right?
Things'll never
be the same
between us, between us
Annihilate!
It's not the same!
8. Morituri
we face the fire
that surrounds
the evils of this world
flourish and abound
our light is fading
fading fast
a once bright future
now overcast
we cursed youth who query fate
we know our time is drawing nigh
we who have been born too late
we who are about to die
this necrofix now permeates
our thoughts and seeps into our minds
stifled by inconsequence
despair sets in, and confines
no tomorrow! (x3)
apocalyptic cataclysm!
no tomorrow! (x3)
prophesied Armageddon!
give us the chance
to prove that we can stand
for what we know is right
the odds might be against us
but that's just part of our plight!
we'll educate the masses
show them that things can change
the task at hand seems daunting
but it's well within our range!
you have no choice
now hear our voice!
now hear our voice!
we are the new mutants
don't call us x-babies anymore
nothing to lose, nothing to hide
by our own rules we will abide
lashing out, with all our might
a strikeforce, that's born to fight
to open hearts, to open minds
start from within, that is the key
using what little time we have
to cause this world's benestrophe
we will stand together
united as one
we will stand together
'til the job is done
we won't give up now
we've come too far
the doorway to our hopes
now left ajar!
9. Control Panel 2
10. Shakespearean Tragedy
For in the last days
mankind will become
lovers of themselves
moreso than lovers of God
These superficialities
bombard me from all sides
through the window blindly
foreshadowing our own demise
The inner self ignored
left unexplored
As I endeavor
to never measure up
I cannot recall the day
when I found myself
unsatisfactory
the mirror doesn’t lie
unpleasing to the eye
Never thin enough
never built-up enough
Never measure up
never measure up
Secret prayers etched in carbonite
Exalted images
of plastic perfection
Tear them, tear them down
Self-mutilation
for sensory gratification
Tear them, down to the ground
I lose myself
preoccu-passionately
dim mak affliction in the pupae stage
spawns the sickness within this chrysalis
leaving behind a man now dead
I remove you from myself like a gangrenous limb
before the infection spreads
For in the last days
mankind will become
lovers of themselves
moreso than lovers of God
These superficialities
bombard me from all sides
through the window blindly
foreshadowing our own demise
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