Alexander Black
Part 1 (Across from the Fire)
Verse 1
It all started in the back of a washed up brain
A soul for hire who was looking for a new pain
Standing on the corner of the middle of nowhere
He sang and he sang of a life without a care
Now walking down the side of the street
Using his guitar and the sound of his feet
He began to construct the beginning of the end
Or, at least, the beginning of the trend
Chorus
Now a good boy who came out okay
Who kicked and screamed and argued on the way
The name of this man was Alexander Black
Taking my name and taking it back
Now the lights are cold, and the air is still
And the reality of it has given him the bill
He wrote a check his death won’t cash
And now the drawbacks are leaving a rash
Verse 2
Without a point and without the truth
He was just as lonely as a telephone booth
Making calls to whoever would listen
‘Cause they too didn’t know “what they were missin’”
On their own; walking through the halls
Remembering the faces, the voices, and the calls
And a couple of verses about being broken-hearted
Sitting across from the fire they started
[Chorus]
Part 2 (Cardboard Life)
Verse 3
This is the story of the last man alive
Giving no one but his ghost a high-five
Giving no one but his shadow a kiss
The only one still ignorant with bliss
Lost inside of the only thing known
Joining the party like just another clone
Guessing and smiling and crying the whole time
Trying to put it all into one complex rhyme
[Chorus]
Verse 4
Like all the other nights, he’s up late again
Up to his heart in this addiction he’s in
So he can at least sleep without a nightmare
So he can at least sleep without a hint of a care
And now his feelings leave him feeling like shit
‘Cause he’s so full of love, and he’s so full of it
He feels a hopelessness that stabs like a knife
As the sunlight washes into his cardboard life
[Chorus]
Part 3 (The Dreams and Nightmares)
Verse 5
In a room as dark as his mind and soul
After the homelessness had taken its toll
He wore faces to keep with the times
And kept it up to wear out the rhymes
He was the creation of a broken-hearted poet
A clichéd architect of words and you know it
A mad scientist with a love for the insane
A madman who was trapped in his own brain
[Chorus]
Verse 6
Like any other night, he was reminded of her
And like you’d assume, there’s a certain stir
Keeping with the spirit, she doesn’t even know
But he told himself he’d let her in though
Suddenly, he grabbed his only prized possession
And headed for the streets with his last confession
Of the love and compassion he’s convinced he bled
And the dreams and nightmares he left in bed
[Chorus]
Part 4 (A Song of Honorable Mentions)
Verse 7
Now pay closer attention to what he has to say
He’s closed to suggestions and this is his way
Of feeding his hunger to hide his affliction
Saying just enough to feed his addiction
Like Chris, he didn’t mind if the sky was blue
He knew it was a waste of time without you
This was the song of the emotional cynic
The abnormal man who was permanently homesick
[Chorus]
Verse 8
Popping the pills, he’s at the top of the hour
Getting rid of this person; so ugly, so sour
This is the end; the final frontier
Finally brought out by the blue ribbon beer
So he started to play a tune for the young
From behind the lips, and beneath the tongue
Not seeking to answer millions of questions
But singing a song of honorable mentions
[Chorus]
Part 5 (Just Another Drone)
Verse 9
A song about the boy he once knew
About the last of the start of them too
Switching between hipster and resident cool kid
Whichever emotion was placing the higher bid
It was about how he missed what had passed
And how he was grasping to things that wouldn’t last
Just counting the minutes until he exploded
When he finally stopped speaking in words that were coded
[Chorus]
Verse 10
And now there was only the spiral to the ground
The fizzing firecracker that makes not one sound
When he finally stops seeking the help that he needs
And silences the graves from which he feeds
One day he’ll stop and go back from where he came
Still with his dark mind, still feeling the same
In the asylum of kin, he still feels alone
He’s a spineless wreck; just another drone
[Chorus]
Part 6 (The Drawbacks)
Verse 11
He wanted to wear out the pain, and to wear out the lies
The sinister secrets hidden behind his eyes
And to do it all again the very next day
It seemed that life was funny that way
All he knew was that it isn’t with you
But deep down you knew that too
So you move on, and you don’t look back
‘Cause you’re convinced it was just an attack
[Chorus]
Verse 12
Now turn to page seventeen for the sources you need
For his pain and his hardships, now follow his lead
But we’re closed to the world like a diary with a key
So we’ll keep this top secret, between just you and me
So we’ll move on, and we won’t look back
‘Cause we’re convinced it was just an attack
And they’re from the heart, so we’ll call them heart attacks
Alexander’s flaws, his pause, and the drawbacks
Verse 1
It all started in the back of a washed up brain
A soul for hire who was looking for a new pain
Standing on the corner of the middle of nowhere
He sang and he sang of a life without a care
Now walking down the side of the street
Using his guitar and the sound of his feet
He began to construct the beginning of the end
Or, at least, the beginning of the trend
Chorus
Now a good boy who came out okay
Who kicked and screamed and argued on the way
The name of this man was Alexander Black
Taking my name and taking it back
Now the lights are cold, and the air is still
And the reality of it has given him the bill
He wrote a check his death won’t cash
And now the drawbacks are leaving a rash
Verse 2
Without a point and without the truth
He was just as lonely as a telephone booth
Making calls to whoever would listen
‘Cause they too didn’t know “what they were missin’”
On their own; walking through the halls
Remembering the faces, the voices, and the calls
And a couple of verses about being broken-hearted
Sitting across from the fire they started
[Chorus]
Part 2 (Cardboard Life)
Verse 3
This is the story of the last man alive
Giving no one but his ghost a high-five
Giving no one but his shadow a kiss
The only one still ignorant with bliss
Lost inside of the only thing known
Joining the party like just another clone
Guessing and smiling and crying the whole time
Trying to put it all into one complex rhyme
[Chorus]
Verse 4
Like all the other nights, he’s up late again
Up to his heart in this addiction he’s in
So he can at least sleep without a nightmare
So he can at least sleep without a hint of a care
And now his feelings leave him feeling like shit
‘Cause he’s so full of love, and he’s so full of it
He feels a hopelessness that stabs like a knife
As the sunlight washes into his cardboard life
[Chorus]
Part 3 (The Dreams and Nightmares)
Verse 5
In a room as dark as his mind and soul
After the homelessness had taken its toll
He wore faces to keep with the times
And kept it up to wear out the rhymes
He was the creation of a broken-hearted poet
A clichéd architect of words and you know it
A mad scientist with a love for the insane
A madman who was trapped in his own brain
[Chorus]
Verse 6
Like any other night, he was reminded of her
And like you’d assume, there’s a certain stir
Keeping with the spirit, she doesn’t even know
But he told himself he’d let her in though
Suddenly, he grabbed his only prized possession
And headed for the streets with his last confession
Of the love and compassion he’s convinced he bled
And the dreams and nightmares he left in bed
[Chorus]
Part 4 (A Song of Honorable Mentions)
Verse 7
Now pay closer attention to what he has to say
He’s closed to suggestions and this is his way
Of feeding his hunger to hide his affliction
Saying just enough to feed his addiction
Like Chris, he didn’t mind if the sky was blue
He knew it was a waste of time without you
This was the song of the emotional cynic
The abnormal man who was permanently homesick
[Chorus]
Verse 8
Popping the pills, he’s at the top of the hour
Getting rid of this person; so ugly, so sour
This is the end; the final frontier
Finally brought out by the blue ribbon beer
So he started to play a tune for the young
From behind the lips, and beneath the tongue
Not seeking to answer millions of questions
But singing a song of honorable mentions
[Chorus]
Part 5 (Just Another Drone)
Verse 9
A song about the boy he once knew
About the last of the start of them too
Switching between hipster and resident cool kid
Whichever emotion was placing the higher bid
It was about how he missed what had passed
And how he was grasping to things that wouldn’t last
Just counting the minutes until he exploded
When he finally stopped speaking in words that were coded
[Chorus]
Verse 10
And now there was only the spiral to the ground
The fizzing firecracker that makes not one sound
When he finally stops seeking the help that he needs
And silences the graves from which he feeds
One day he’ll stop and go back from where he came
Still with his dark mind, still feeling the same
In the asylum of kin, he still feels alone
He’s a spineless wreck; just another drone
[Chorus]
Part 6 (The Drawbacks)
Verse 11
He wanted to wear out the pain, and to wear out the lies
The sinister secrets hidden behind his eyes
And to do it all again the very next day
It seemed that life was funny that way
All he knew was that it isn’t with you
But deep down you knew that too
So you move on, and you don’t look back
‘Cause you’re convinced it was just an attack
[Chorus]
Verse 12
Now turn to page seventeen for the sources you need
For his pain and his hardships, now follow his lead
But we’re closed to the world like a diary with a key
So we’ll keep this top secret, between just you and me
So we’ll move on, and we won’t look back
‘Cause we’re convinced it was just an attack
And they’re from the heart, so we’ll call them heart attacks
Alexander’s flaws, his pause, and the drawbacks