Rise Against the Wind - PAX JAPONICA GROOVE

A currency of heartache and sorrow The air we breathe is stale with mold To shadows we are slaves digging deeper every day But emptiness is growing so old Headlamps light the tunnels we wander They shimmer and they dance on the walls We're lost inside these caves as the chances of escape Grow slimmer 'til there's no chance at all This ink, it travels from the page Up my hand into my veins Choking on the stories I've told If there are words here left to say I just wanna let you know I'm falling on my knees right now I'm covered in the mess I made These colors used to wash right out But now they are a part of me I've been searching for a remedy When all along it's been in front of me I need you here, I need you now Right now We traffic in the blackest of markets Trade misery like diamonds and gold The angst that we exchange for applause and petty praise Is finally now taking its toll But there's a world above the ground A life that we can lead We're washing off the dirt from our clothes I don't wanna live without No, I just wanna let you know I'm falling on my knees right now I'm covered in the mess I made These colors used to wash right out But now they are a part of me I've been searching for a remedy And all along its been in front of me I need you here, I need you now Right now Right now (Black stains) They mark me like a letter (Don't fade) Cracking under the pressure (Black stains) Nothing stays gold There's a world above the ground A life that we can lead But we're lost deep down in these holes And I have seen the way out Now I just wanna let you know I'm falling on my knees right now I'm covered in the mess I made These colors used to wash right out But now they are a part of me I've been searching for a remedy When all along it's been in front of me Your voice it washed the stains away Woah oh, oh Woah oh, oh Woah oh, oh, oh

Are we so alone So distant, so forgotten As we think ourselves to be? These are our lives But did they ever even matter? Are we worth remembering? These machines feed on the tears Of broken lives and dying dreams (oh oh, oh) We're throwing wrenches in the gears Our lives will not be lived in vain (oh oh, oh) When this is all said and done We spend this life on the run Judged by the company we keep Our language, buried inside These lungs that keep us alive We breathe so selfishly Promises we plan to break Are made in whispered voices 'Cause our despair knows many names We make mistakes But we apologize with roses We never stop to smell along the way These machines feed on the tears Of broken lives and dying dreams (oh oh, oh) We're throwing wrenches in the gears Our lives will not be lived in vain (oh oh, oh) When this is all said and done We spend this life on the run Judged by the company we keep Our language, buried inside These lungs that keep us alive We breathe so selfishly We fell from the sky today We melt into balls of clay We sell ourselves every day Don't tell me how to live this way (live this way) Pushed so far to the edge We teeter just on the brink (oh oh, oh) You can lead me to the bloodbath But you can't make me drink (oh oh, oh) As these machines feed on the tears Of broken lives and dying dreams (oh oh, oh) We're throwing wrenches in the gears Our lives will not be lived in vain (oh oh, oh) My life will not be lived in vain

The music blaired with a calming frequency The speakers gently seeped the sound Of ambient keyboards and light percussion Creating a seductive soundtrack to our midnight drive Through curtains of blackness The windows were cold to the touch Reflecting the icy conditions in our immediate extremity Salt stains and fingerprints littered the glass And streaks of melting snow cascaded down its length The music pulsed louder, but gentle Like the far away squeal of a pot of boiling water The skyline was glowing faintly With vague hints of an impending dawn The car raced along a painfully straight stretch of road And she hadn't so much as turned the steering wheel Two degrees in the last twenty minutes Nor had we spoken As we were, so perfect, so happy They'll remember only our smiles 'Cause that's all they'd seen Long since dried, when we are found Are the tears in which we had drowned As we were, so perfect, so happy "Why are you doing this?" She spoke as if not expecting a response Her voice penetrated the still air of our speechless drive So suddenly that my heart had jumped "I'm not doing anything", I said But I didn't even believe that myself "This is what's best, for me, for you, for us" Or maybe just for me I thought, As a tear formed in the pit of her eye The music poured through the speakers And we were losing ourselves in the cadence She looked down momentarily and closed her eyes For a bit longer than a standard blink Then she was crying, then she was shouting Then I was shouting, now pouring confessions Having no answers or solutions We barely even knew the questions As we were so perfect, so happy They'll remember, only our smiles 'Cause that's all they'd seen Long since dried, when we are found Are the tears in which we had drowned As we were so perfect, so happy Don't put me underground I was meant for a life somewhere else Please, love, give me the wheel Before both of our hearts you, Will steal tonight (Will steal tonight) As we were so perfect, so happy They'll remember, only our smiles 'Cause that's all they'd seen Long since dried, when we are found Are the tears in which we had drowned As we were so perfect, so happy Our cracking voices became part of the music The car pressed on faster through the night As our voices lowered, the cadence again overtook the air Up ahead there was a curve approaching She made no indications of slowing

I'm calling out, only echoes respond But I scream 'til my voice is gone Crouching in corners and hiding your face I'm sick and tired of playing your games I'm not alone I stand amongst the voiceless millions in the unforgiving sun Here arm-in-arm We parade these streets and sing our songs (and sing our songs) We've had enough Is there even anything left to explain? (We've had enough) Am I really someone you need to restrain? (We've had enough) Can't you listen to what we have to say? (We've had enough) Unknowing, we lie in wait for the rain To wash away what they have made Face down in the dirt with your foot on my back In the distance I hear thunder crack C'mon, stand up This system of power and privilege is about to come to an end Here come the clouds The first drop is falling now (falling now) We've had enough Is there even anything left to explain? (We've had enough) Am I really someone you need to restrain? (We've had enough) Can't you listen to what we have to say? (We've had enough) Our futures burn in red horizons Ashes scattered in winds of change Casualty numbers are rising Now it's time to raise the stakes We're meant for something more than Living just to put food on our plates I can't help but wonder Why should we participate? Now we've had enough Is there even anything left to explain? (We've had enough) Am I really someone you need to restrain? (We've had enough) Can't you listen to what we have to say? (We've had enough)