Boy Sets Fire
The Misery Index: Notes From The Plague Years

01   Walk Astray (04:40)

Where were you the day they stole our innocence
And arranged a sacrifice for everyone in town
Drove all the words yet to be written underground
To save the money on the kerosene they'd need
Were you awake or were you sleeping
Or just too afraid to disagree?

Well, I don't wanna sing about freedom anymore
I wanna see it, I wanna feel it
I wanna know that it still sits beyond the lines that we've been told
Beyond the wars that keep our families from home
I know that there's a way
Dear God let there be a way
To change the path we're on
And believe in a better day

Our dreams are their worst nightmares, these songs, a call to arms
We can dance on the graves that held us, we can change the course of time
Stand up and fight, save yourself
Strike, the time is now

You and me, we are more like sheep
Forced to march, crippled feet, to the slaughter

I’ll stand on principle, banner lifted and a fist raised high
Filthy soul with a patriot heart, dancing rhythms in a world apart
Stand up and fight, save yourself
Strike, the time is now

You and me, we are more like sheep
Forced to march, crippled feet, to the slaughter

You and me, we can live like thieves
On the dreams that we stole from their fears

Casting pearls before swine, hanging dead on the vine
Can we strive to be so much more than this
Casting pearls before swine, hanging dead on the vine
Can we strive to be so much more than this

You and me, we are more like sheep
Forced to march, crippled feet, to the slaughter

To the slaughter ...

02   Requiem (04:13)

She cries, "It's freedom that we need"
But I have yet to see a cause to believe
(I need to feel it, please just let me feel alright)

It comes in waves of need
Ten ways to make you bleed
Before you get to die

Can we give it one more shot
Have we thrown all hope away
Does it have to be this painful
Just to make it through?

This is not a requiem
We're wasting time as victims
Why spend our lives
On bended knee
Choosing not to be free

He sighs, "I'm quickly burning out"
All that's left of me are jaded memories
(I need to feel it, please just let me feel alright)

Of what I could have been
If I had only been
Less of what they wanted

Can we give it one more shot
Have we thrown all hope away
Does it have to be this painful
Just to make it through?

This is not a requiem
We're wasting time as victims
Why spend our lives
On bended knee
Choosing not to be free

And we're still here
All together and all alone
Consumed with fear
That one day we'll discover
How empty we've become

Sickened and ashamed
We crave what they provide us
So we'll never feel alone

Can we give it one more shot
Have we thrown all hope away
Does it have to be this painful
Just to make it through?

This is not a requiem
We're wasting time as victims
Why spend our lives
On bended knee
Choosing not to be free

03   Final Communiqué (01:57)

Right now you’ve got us right where we want you
Below the radar sucking all you sold us
Patient and waiting while plotting and baiting
A stake through your heart with a smile on our face

1,2,3,4, we’ve found a new obsession
4,3,2,1, counting down to your extinction
1,2,3,4, we’ve found a new obsession
4,3,2,1, zero hour for the march of the damned

You’ll never see us coming, striking from the shadows
Head first fist raised to the sky
Pull the trigger, released in anger
we’ll bite off the fingers that feed us your shit

1,2,3,4, we’ve found a new obsession
4,3,2,1, counting down to your extinction
1,2,3,4, we’ve found a new obsession
4,3,2,1

Prepare for judgment in black masks with hearts of fire
Your time is up, we have decided
We wont give up until you lay down
And die you bitch

04   The Misery Index (04:10)

My life
Charred remains of a flame that’s burned out
My lips move but they won’t make a sound
I stand motionless, eyes to the ground

Back for more
With reopenned scars I remain
Battered savagely, knees start to shake
I just stand there, I take it, I wait

I’m just waiting for time to erase
And the world to change
Until then I will strive for nothing more
I’ll just wait for my heart to break
And arise from ash, reborn, reborn

Look at me
Cut my eye and allow me to see
What my life has become on my knees
I hear the screams, I watch myself bleed

But I can't feel a thing, what am I
But a victim unwilling to rise
Wretched shell of a man and his pride
Why stop living, I'm just waiting to die

I’m just waiting for time to erase
And the world to change
Until then I will strive for nothing more
I’ll just wait for my heart to break
And arise from ash, reborn, reborn

My life, it's so familiar
Why lie when everything's the same
But who am I
And what am I
Waiting for anyway?

I’m just waiting for time to erase
And the world to change
Until then I will strive for nothing more
I’ll just wait for my heart to break
And arise from ash, reborn, reborn ...

05   (10) And Counting (03:32)

I can remember when
There were times I thought we’d never eat again
And salvation was our drinking

Things were different then
It was five of us against the world but then
The world sure seemed much smaller

Broken down, down and out
Out of gas, out of food, without a doubt
Broken up, up in arms
Armed to the teeth with ways to kill the pain

I was around back when we would fight each other for a couch or bed
Though we’d never end up sleeping
We could rely on friends through the good, the bad, the ugly times that
We spent together when we were
Stealing our daily bread, naming vans until they all became our friends
At least until they left us

Broken down, down and out
Out of gas, out of food, without a doubt
Broken up, up in arms
Armed to the teeth with ways to kill the pain

I wouldn’t trade these drunken days to be like you
And say "I willll be safe, I’m just waiting for
Waiting for life to start."
You can hate what we create
But we’ll be standing here when everything falls apart

Broken down, down and out
Out of gas, out of food, without a doubt
Broken up, up in arms
Armed to the teeth with ways to kill the pain

06   Falling Out Theme (03:46)

07   Empire (03:37)

Here I am with my empire
I’ll bring you to your knees
Ebb and flow with my desire
Cause it's all that you’ve been taught to be

Yeah, I’m the bastard son
Of what’s been overcome
And again we plant the seed
So place your fork to mouth
Eat, consume, be proud
Of what I let you see
Cause we’ve made quite sure you can never leave

Here I am with my empire
I’ll bring you to your knees
Ebb and flow with my desire
Cause it's all that you’ve been taught to be

I speak, you throw parades
Ignore the sense of rage
Welling up inside
Pay no mind to what we do
Cause we’ll sell it all to you
In modern luxuries
And we’ve made quite sure you believe you’re free

Here I am with my empire
I’ll bring you to your knees
Ebb and flow with my desire
Cause it's all that you’ve been taught to be

From the cradle to the grave
We try not to be saved
From what we own

For next to nothing spent
Turn your dollars into cents
Fighting for the right to die alone

(Just believe, believe you’re free)
Cause you’re on your own
It doesn’t matter just be sure
That this is our empire, this is war

Forgotten heroes
Chessboard roles
To make you think you’re something more
But you’re on your own

Here I am with my empire
I’ll bring you to your knees
Ebb and flow with my desire
Cause it's all that you’ve been taught to be

08   So Long... and Thanks for the Crutches (03:10)

Just enough freedom to forget you're a slave
Just enough anger to make sure we get paid
Easy does it, baby, don't lose your head

Cause we both now
That ideals
Don't sell
Come now
Pass us the saccharin
Part 1
To part 2
Who knew
You had it so easy

Hit it, hit it, we'll go straight to the top
It's all a matter of whose cock you suck
We got the money, hey, come on, let's go
Ha, you know you want it
Hey, you know you want it, well come on

Hit it, hit it, we'll go straight to the top
It's all a matter of whose cock you suck
We got the money, hey, come on, let's go
Ha, you know you want it
Hey, you know you want it

Shake it like a rebel, just don't cross the any lines
Cause family, god, and country are back in style
Sex, drugs, and politics are fine, just remember

That we own you
We bought you
And we'll sell you
whenever we want to
We break
Your legs
And you will
Thank us for the crutches

Hit it, hit it, we'll go straight to the top
It's all a matter of whose cock you suck
We got the money, hey, come on, let's go
Ha, you know you want it
Hey, you know you want it, well come on

Hit it, hit it, we'll go straight to the top
It's all a matter of whose cock you suck
We got the money, hey, come on, let's go
Ha, you know you want it
Hey, you know you want it, well come on

We wanna fuck, but we end up kissing
Is this still rock cause the danger is missing
You gotta feed it, gotta feed your addiction
So pack a lunch for the next crucifixion
You wanna feel the applause
You wanna win at all costs
Well you better learn to play nice and eat shit like a dog

Hit it, hit it, we'll go straight to the top
It's all a matter of whose cock you suck
We got the money, hey, come on, let's go
Ha, you know you want it
Hey, you know you want it, well come on

Hit it, hit it, we'll go straight to the top
It's all a matter of whose cock you suck
We got the money, hey, come on, let's go
Ha, you know you want it
Hey, you know you want it, well come on

09   With Cold Eyes (03:44)

It’s no wonder we’re all scared
When our submission makes demands
And who the hell are you
Is it asked or forced to do

Do you pray for holiness
Or just prey on my willingness
To starve, beg, consume
For something you can’t prove

If I’m unworthy, it’s you that brought me here
I sacrificed so much just to let you own my fears
Please don’t let go of me

And I will carry on
With your burden on my shoulders
Where’s the white washed tomb out of which your god’s been exhumed

A corpse to force my guilt
Through lips you thought you'd sealed
And sins you can't let go
Have blinded you on your throne
And left me here alone

If I’m unworthy, it’s you that brought me here
I sacrificed so much just to let you own my fears
Please don’t let go of me

While god sleeps the righteous feed upon the meek.
What kind of father sits and lets his children bleed
Don’t just stand there show us all if this is true
That your love and mercy isn’t for a chosen few

If I’m unworthy, it’s you that brought me here
I sacrificed so much just to let you own my fears
Please don’t let go of me

10   Deja Coup (02:54)

Relax, just sit back and absorb
Make sure you’ve got all that you can’t afford
Listen for your cue to help you deal with the shame
It makes you wonder who is holding on to the reigns

It’s the way its always been and the way it will remain
It doesn’t matter when you’ve got nothing to believe

Sit down, shut up, just consume and be bored
You know your place and you’ll find it so easy to ignore
That everybody knew it wasn’t gonna be tame
Cause honey, the kill is just part of the game

It’s the way its always been and the way it will remain
It doesn’t matter when you’ve got nothing to believe
Don’t bother trying

From the dawn of time, should come as no surprise
What we’ve set out to achieve
A little pressure there, a little money here
And they’ll be begging us, "Please"

We’ll make it squeaky clean, ignore the blood for now
Mundane and so pristine, come on, just dance to the sound

It’s the way its always been and the way it will remain
It doesn’t matter when you’ve got nothing to believe
Think it over

11   Social Register Fanclub (03:03)

I’ve seen it before
Everyone seems eloquently bored
The laughter stops and starts again too forced
So what’s the use in trying anymore
Nothing makes you stop and notice
(And where did you go)

When did you give up
And decide you had enough
In the last five years of your life what have you done
You feel pray to the throne they passed on

Run your mouth
Precious little thought while others drown
Your standards put you high above the crowd
But your safety net wont let you hit the ground
And nothing makes you stop and notice
(And where did you go)

When did you give up
And decide you had enough
In the last five years of your life what have you done
Except shine the throne you sit on

Reflections of your pretty face
Betray a soul you can't replace
At the end of the day
The high horse that you rode for so long
Has trampled you and now moved on
But you’ll never change

Cause you're lying
To yourself and
When did you become so boring
Just stop trying
To pretend you're right
You lost touch before you started out

You were never cool
And we're not impressed, so tell me

When did you give up
And decide you had enough
In the last five years of your life what have you done
But become the throne you sit on

12   Nostalgic for Guillotines (04:36)

Breathe,
Breathe in the burning air
Then sigh,
Be relieved there’s nothing there

We were free
Long before your free advice
Now the flags,
They will burn in paradise

Rest your head here
Feed our nation for us, please
And retreat
To the back of our lines for your needs

As the blade
Is raised, thoughts get clearer
What if dreams
That you had came crashing down

Would you change
Or erase the memory
Of the day,
Oh, the day you made us bleed

Rest your head here
Feed our nation for us, please
And retreat
To the back of our lines for your needs

We sew
The seeds upon your grave
So you know
You’ll feed us either way

Wash away your sins and begin again
Resurrection from empty hands
Back against the wall, watch your tower fall
To the ground with your head

Time to move on
Your power is gone
It's your turn to run
Your hour has come

Let the blade fall
We'll feed our nation as we please
As you grieve
Our children will dance in the streets

We've sewn
The seeds above your grave
So you know
You'll feed us either way

And the meek shall inherit the earth

13   A Far Cry / Still Waiting for the Punchline (07:25)