Manic Impressions
Album - 1990 - Debaser id 4330

[Lyrics by J. Sullivan]

The roll of distant thunder breaks
The afternoon of silence wakes
They hurry through from Petergate as if they know this dance
In fury blind I drive at night
Across the moors, the open roads
Beneath the freezing starry skies, racing in some trance

These cities are illusions of some triumph over Nature's laws
We've seen the iron carcass rust and buildings topple into dust
And as the waters rise it seems we cling to all the rootless things
The Christian lies, technology, while spirits scream and sing...
Oh, God, I love the world

Well I never said I was a clever man
But I know enough to understand
That the endless leaps and forward plans will someday have to cease
You blind yourselves with comfort lies
Like lightning never strikes you twice
And we laugh at your amazed surprise as the Ark begins to sink

The temple that is built so well, to separate us from ourselves
Is a power grown beyond control and a will without a face
And watching from outside I wish that I could wash my hands of this
But we are locked together here, this bittersweet embrace...
Oh, God, I love the world

And if one day the final fire
Explodes across the whitened sky
I know you said you'd rather die and make it over fast
With courage from your bravest friends
Waiting outside for the end
With no bitterness but an innocence that I can't seem to grasp

I know, somehow I will survive this fury just to stay alive
So drunk with sickness, weak with pain
I can walk the hills one last time
Scarred and smiling, dying slow
I'll scream to no one left at all
I told you so, I told you so, I told you so...
Oh, God, I love the world

All those things that I tried to be,
While wandering further from me
I 'd choked myself in my apathy,
Until I no longer could breathe

My heart, and my hand, always reaching...
Without you within, I was searching...
For something real

The fear followed me and tightly closed my eyes.
The pain crippled me and buried deep the will to even try...

To see so much standing before me
And think there was nothing here for me
How much more wrong could I be?
How much more wrong?

The warmth of life had forgotten me
And left me so cold and alone
But you covered me and placed into me
A feeling like none I had known

My heart, and my hand, I have traded...
With you in my arms I am closer...
To something real

The fear followed me and tightly closed my eyes.
The pain crippled me and buried deep the will to even try...

To see so much standing before me
And think there was nothing here for me
How much more wrong could I be?
How much more wrong could I be?

My heart, and my hand, I have traded...
With you in my arms I am closer...
To something real

To see so much standing before me
And think there was nothing here for me
How much more wrong could I be?
How much more wrong could I be?

[Lyrics by J. Emery] Donning a sweet contented mask Acquiring bliss, a grueling task Adoring a regretful past Wondering how long it can last Frequenting a cold empty void And fearing I am, paranoid Obeying this despondent way The crumbling hopes, the price to pay Contorted veil of false fulfillment So easily explained away... explained away Nothing changes the future past Pretending to the very last Contorted veil of false fulfillment So easily explained away Driving onward, must gratify I'm posing in a satisfied lie Disregarding this emptiness And settling, now, for so much less Contorted veil of false fulfillment So easily explained away Donning a sweet contented mask Acquiring bliss a grueling task Nothing changes the future past Pretending to the very last Contorted veil of false fulfillment So easily explained away... explained away... Explained away...

[Lyrics by K. Nardi]

We have pretended far too long
Ignoring far too much
Accountability long overdue
We have neglected far too long
Assuming far too much
Hoping out ignorance will see us through

We have hated far too long
Hurting far too much
Feelings of compassion stripped away
We have followed far too long
Denying far too much
Responsibility has gone astray

I hope in my heart of hearts
With all my soul and mind
That it's not irreversible
That this isn't all there is

We have accused for far too long
Blaming far too much
Never really able to accept
We have doubted far too long
Distrusting far too much
Our contempt leaves no room for empathy

I hope in my heart of hearts
With all my soul and mind
That it's not irreversible
That this isn't all there is