Lyrics from dumbing It All Down
Dumbing It All Down
(Steph Gunnoe)
Same old fantasies
Everybody reads
There’s only saints and sinners and rules
Everybody’s fooled
It’s overrated in the end
Reigning, reigning, reigning ourselves in
It’s too hard to, to say how
We’re dumb, dumb, dumbing, dumbing it all down
Dumbing it all down, dumbing it all down
Dumbing it all down
Same kind of setting free
Everybody needs
Just rehabilitation, the drug
Everybody loves
Chorus
There is no time to fight
Everybody’s right
There’s only saints and sinners and sides
Everybody hides
Chorus
Depressed Area USA
(Steph Gunnoe)
I know it hurt us so
Learned about our squalor from a TV show
Holler girl, if they come
They like mud on our face when they take our picture, hon
They like mud on our face when they take our picture, hon
It’s not really hard to put it on
Walter Cronkite’s come to show us off
That’s the way it is Kentucky
That’s the way it is
Everybody leaves here muddy
That’s the way it is
We gave em pause, a favorite cause
We’re the wild poster-child they once lost
Wait to smile till they go
They’ve got love in their hearts when they make their tv show
It don’t really feel that bad
But we made Walter Cronkite sad so
That’s the way it is , Kentucky…
I knew you all before it aired
Better than how your characters fared
You can’t be mad when I sell
All these priceless old things you won’t keep for yourself
All these priceless old things you won’t keep for yourself
It don’t really feel that bad
But we made Walter Cronkite sad so
That’s the way it is , Kentucky…
-Solo-
That’s the way it is , Kentucky… (2X)
I know it hurt us so
Learned about our squalor from a tv show
I Will Do Anything
(Sean McCollough)
Point of view
Me and you
Words only get in the way
Words don’t have too much to say
Tell me what you’re seein’
Tell me what you’re feelin’
Tell me what you’re dreamin’
Cause I would do anything
I will do anything
I will do anything
I will do anything
For you to see me
Fight or flight
Think I might
Pour out my heart anyway
Got nothin’ safe left to say
Tell me what you’re seein’
Tell me what you’re feelin’
Tell me what you’re dreamin’
Cause I would do anything
I would do anything
I would do anything
I would do anything for you
For you to see me
Thick or thin
Pierce the skin
I Swing from the wrecking ball chain
Over and over again
Don't tell me what you’re seein’
Don't tell me what you’re feelin’
Don't tell me what you’re dreamin’
Cause I would do anything
I will do anything
I will do anything
I will do anything for you
For you to see me
Tiny Trees
(Steph Gunnoe)
Picture this… a childhood fueling all my wildness
If I could… join you, join you in those adult woods
Those great adult woods
Those great adult woods
Get along like a fox in the suburban dawn
Don’t look at me, I’m so bare in these tiny trees
Let it start, ain’t no way not to break
Not to break, not to break, not to break my heart
Feature this… your light highlights my hiddenness
Shut the door… feel the dreams and fight your civil wars
Your old civil wars
Your old civil wars
First things first… show up newborn at our baby’s birth
Hard things last… heel-drug, heavy from the days gone past
Days gone past
Days gone past
Mr. Rock 'n Roll
(Sean McCollough)
Hey Mr. Rock ‘n Roll, who can you be?
You stand up there blowin’ us away with your poetry
Hey Mr. Rock ‘n Roll, does it feel right?
Is it the darkness that makes you burn so bright?
Sometimes I feel you crying help me please, and I say
You taught me more than you’ll ever know
Sometimes I feel I’m crawling on my knees, and I say
You taught me more than you’ll ever know
Hey Mr. Dynamite, with all your sexy moves
Are you freewheelin’ or just stuck in those grooves
Hey Mr. Out of Sight, entourage in tow
Is this the real deal or just one hell of a show?
Chorus
Instrumental Verse
Hey Mr. Rock ‘n Roll, shackled to the storm
I wanna free you, I wanna be you….
Chorus
Of Course
(Steph Gunnoe)
We don’t know
Born without the word hello
Die with no good way to say good-bye
In retrospect
I been stranded by my intellect
An island with no concept
Of good-bye
And, of course, it feels bad
Giving back the things
And, of course, it feels bad
Giving back the things
We never had
I’ve come along
I took a look and wrote a song
But I don’t know the way to say good-bye
We sense the pain
Bereft, we left there like a train
Running to a place with no good-byes
And, of course…..
You don’t know
Never heard the word hello
But Mama, how you cry to hear good-bye
And, of course, I can’t lie
It’s always been, it’s always been good
And, of course, I can’t lie
It’s always been, it’s always been good-bye
Poor For My Art
(Sean McCollough)
Tongue tied and tired
Poor for my art
Please be careful
With my heart
Self medicated
Drowning in fools
It ain’t nothin’
But the rules
Tangled and twisted
These narrative lines
There’s no directions
In these designs
No wide-angle lenses
To capture my soul
If you’ll still have me
I’ll take the role
When I Roam
(Steph Gunnoe)
When I call home
I don’t say where I’m calling from
Cause when I’m gone
They charge me more
They charge me more
When I roam (4X)
I’m just sitting in on different classes
Stealing, stealing all their reading lists
Yes, yes I kept your syllabus
And I will get to it, get to it real soon
Well I’m no fool
I know there isn’t any left
Of those old schools
If all else fails, if all else fails
Ride the rails (4X)
We don’t come back
From going all Jack Kerouac
But if I can,
I will stop by, I will drop by
I’m your man (4X)
Bathed in Blue
(Sean McCollough)
Naked in the spotlight, bathed in blue
I’ve been waiting, I’ve been waiting all my life for you
To take this broken arrow, shoot it straight and true
But I’m still waiting, and I’m bathed in blue
Balance tips, press my lips to the microphone
And I struggle to release this feckless baritone
And it crumbles into echoes when I start to sing
Cause I’ve been waiting on the wrong damn thing
Pretty eyes… sympathize
Heavy lids, don’t wake the kids
Steady hand, I wanna be your man
And take you to the promised land
Standing with my heart out on this crowded stage
I see my lone reflection on this empty page
Sweat beads heavy on my brow like evening dew
And I’m wasted, and I’m bathed in blue
Pretty eyes… sympathize
Heavy lids, don’t wake the kids
Steady hand, I wanna be your man
And take you to the promised land
Innocent Again
(Steph Gunnoe)
I’m innocent again
Such the minor sin
Born to grow, born to grow, born to grow
Let me go, let me go
Let me go, let me go
Cause there ain’t no cure for growin’
Cause there ain’t no cure for growin’
I’m stunning in a way
I can’t even say
It’s bound to show, bound to show, bound to show
Let me go, let me go…
I’m back to being pure
One thing is for sure
I’m a baby, such a baby, I’m a baby
Let me go, let me go…
Sweet Sinners
(Sean McCollough)
Sweet sinners in the middle of life, in the middle of death
Sweet sinners in the middle of life, in the middle of death
Still tryin’ to catch our breath
Ain’t worked it all out just yet, yet, yet, yeah, yeah, yeah…
Sweet sinners are tryin’ to get it right
Sweet sinners are tryin’ to get it right, right, right
Unlettered or erudite
Let loose or hold on tight, tight, tight…..tight
A ooo… yeah…
Sweet sinners are lookin’ for some love
Sweet sinners are just lookin’ for a little love, love, love
Just hoping to feel that rush
Or even a tender touch, touch touch…..touch
A ooo… yeah…
Sweet sinners longing for release, release
Sweet sinners are begging for release
We’re all dying to feel at ease
We’re all trying to make our peace, peace
A ooo… yeah…
Too Much Space
(Sean McCollough)
Everything’s got to be bigger
Everything’s got to be bigger
Everything’s got to be bigger than big
Everything’s got to be louder
Everything’s got to be louder
Everything’s got to be louder than loud
You’re taking up too much space
Taking up too much space
Taking up too much space for both you and me
You got the whole world on your shoulders
The whole world on your shoulders
The whole world, the whole world on your shoulders
And it’s heavier than heavy It’s heavier than heavy
It’s bigger and louder than life
You’re taking up too much space…
And your heart is always broken
Your heart is always broken
And every word is spoken
But the ones that matter most
You’re taking up too much space…
Life of the Mind
(Steph Gunnoe)
Riding around on the surface
Riding around I get the feeling
This is a world that never dreams for us
Up in the world I get the feeling
Life of the mind gonna be a good thing
Life of the mind’s gonna be our thing
Life of the mind gonna be a good thing
Life of the the mind’s gonna be a thing
We knew right away we’d wanna go deep
Up in the world you get the feeling
Too many things that we cannot keep
Up in the world we get the feeling
Life of the mind gonna be a good thing…
Typewriter days gonna be so rich
Making a world with our fingertips
Making a world is a great escape
Making a world out of books and tapes
Life of the mind gonna be a good thing…