Bored And Extremely Dangerous Lyrics – Bad Religion

With nothing better to do
No one to come home to
I woefully conclude
To take it out on you
I'm bored to the extreme
This world of foolish dreams
Disillusion
I am not who I seem to be
Yeah sure I might do harm
and bear my right to arm
Retribution
If only someone would listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me

A room an empty shelf
A book on mental health
I look for inner wealth
A punish in myself
I'm bored to the extreme
This world of foolish dreams
Disillusion
I am not who I seem to be
Yeah sure I might do harm
And bare my right to arm
Retribution
If only someone would listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me

"The New America" (2000)

You've Got A Chance Lyrics – Bad Religion

a rhapsody!
contestants in disguise
a nation of desire
but who will win the prize?
the people stand united,
reluctantly aligned
copying and lying
are the favorite past-time
you've got a chance
to confront the world today
desperate romance
is the curse of castaways
what good is skill
if you don't make it to the dance?
despite circumstance
you've got a chance
common life, depicted on afternoon tv,
is spiked to give the
miserable a vogue identity
hate your neighbors,
cheat your friends,
they don't discriminate
popularity and fame don't care
if you're a reprobate
I'm tired of all this
shakespearean misinformation
I want to win the game
you've got the right intentions
but who's got time to think?
you've got a noon appointment,
you've got to hit the links
you're talking in the stratosphere,
you're curled up on the floor
with such a wealth of information,
why are you so poor?
you've got a chance
to be relevant today
desperate romance
is the curse of castaways
what good is skill
if you don't make it to the dance?
(don't you believe what the
wise men have to say)
despite circumstance
you've got a chance

u

It's A Long Way To The Promise Land Lyrics – Bad Religion

it's a long way to the promise land
so you'd better well know your way
where's a ship on the ocean
and an albatross who is trying to lead you astray
leaders, politicians, and power whores
are in line to receive your choice
and you bet your ass, if you give it to them,
they will gladly take your voice
and it's a long way to the promise land
wo-oh oh oh oh
it's a long way to the promise land,
if we work we might find it here
there's no substitute for enlightenment,
there's no reason for bridled fear
when you join the people who've joined the club
you gotta clench and play your hand
cuz if you fall in line you're gonna fall in time
and you'll never make a stand
it's a long way to the promise land
wo-oh oh oh oh
what are you going to do?
when they call for you?
bend and capitulate?
or keep your head on straight?
easy answers bought without experience,
is gonna lead you to certain doom
because the truth is just what you make of it,
it begins and ends with you!
and it's a long way to the promise land
wo-oh oh oh oh

A World Without Melody Lyrics – Bad Religion

I don't want to live
in a world without melody
sometimes the rhythmic din
of society is too much for me
but purpose is prioritized these days,
the goal is win the prize
there's a sleeping resonance we hold,
through which we're unified
so let it out! don't just get lost in the crowd
no one can deter you from your own path
there's no trip too remote
from which you can't come back
and I've got this hunch about you and me
none of us are ready
for a world without melody
melody is the key,
it's the surest way
to unlock your individuality
melody is the key,
it will set you free!
don't disrelish harmony,
community will make you whole
work and understanding are the chords
way deep within your soul
they only need to be struck once,
and the vibrations swell and spread
but if we mute them they decay,
our sensibilities are dead
so let it out! don't just be one of the crowd
hesitance and diffidence will do you in
and your soul doesn't care
for social medicine
and I've got this hunch
about you and me
none of us are ready
for a world without melody
melody is the key,
it's the surest way
to unlock your individuality
melody is the key,
it will set you free!
and I know,
together we could change the world
just you and me
but I won't live without melody

New America Lyrics – Bad Religion

do you know the cost of future misery?
have you lost your sense of sustainability?
we are just a step away
from realizing what we strive to be
but we've got to break out
from this insulated blind and lame senility
wake up the new america
wo-oh!
transcend the mass hysteria
wo-oh!
change is the thing you're wary of
wo-oh!
we need a new america
wo-oh!
laurels, human triumph,
bestowments from the past
victories don't mean a thing
if they don't last
we are just marching toward extinction
with blinders on our eyes
jeopardizing everything
we've learned and come to realize
you call that wise?
open your eyes america
wo-oh!
see through the lies they tell to us
wo-oh!
confront the fears that worry us
wo-oh!
we need a new america
wo-oh!
we don't have to be afraid to re-invent
we've got to start to build,
progress, and implement
for when we take our fill,
and never pay the price
we only build ourselves a fleeting,
false paradise
you can live in staunch denial
and mark me as your enemy
but I'm just a voice among the throng
who want a brighter destiny
they say with me
we are the new america
wo-oh!
this is the new america?
wo-oh

1000 Memories Lyrics – Bad Religion

you were the one,
you were my everything
never apart,
no one in-between
then one day,
when you went your own way
you felt justified,
and I was mortified
but today...
you are just a picture
and a thousand memories
is all I take with me
cuz your smile
is just too much to see
you're just a thousand memories
fantasies, broken dreams
reveries, sordid histories
following my heart,
laden with reaction,
without calibration or design
committed to a trial,
a life of understanding
can't somebody show a sign to you?
for me, to see if you only knew
that you were the one...
cuz a picture is worth
one thousand memories

A Streetkid Named Desire Lyrics – Bad Religion

well, it was punk-fifteen in the morning
and it was time
to stand my ground
and as the gawks and stares bombarded me
you know, I didn't even
hear a sound
no one gave a damn
if I was there or away
if I died and went to hell,
they'd throw a party on my grave
and they'd all say,
"this kid is just a fool, he'll never be cool,
they might as well just ship him off
to some other school"
plain destitute
just a little too guilty, just a little too soon
that day was just like any other day
no work, and no pay
I knew that paradise was some other place
and I'd get there another day
I will find it before I expire
cuz I've got the desire
well, it was punk-fifteen in the evening
and it was time to set the town on fire
I saw my boots and my hair,
as reflected in the mirror,
reveal a streetkid named desire
I didn't give a damn
because I was just dying to be
and as the hollywood street scene
left its mark on me
I changed from a boy into a man
I said "never again!"
I stuck out my chin when I should have ran
shit in the fan
I was driven so hard
by the sound of my heart
when the walls surround
in deeper shades of blue
and there's no voice of reason inside you
and you search for meaning
on an empty shelf
then you're always dreaming
of somewhere else
today is just like any other day
no fear, no restraint
I know that paradise is some other place
and I will get there another day
you can come with me,
no conditions or fares
somehow, somewhere,
I will find it before I expire,
cuz I've got the desire

Whisper In Time Lyrics – Bad Religion

all those stories that my dad told me,
they are just a whisper in time
all those things that never came to be,
they are just a whisper in time

a whisper in time, a whisper in time
things that I can't shake from my mind
a whisper in time, a whisper in time
moments that just flicker and die

all those places I wanted to go,
they are just a whisper in time
all those friends who now I do not know,
they are just a whisper in time

a whisper in time, a whisper in time
moments I can't shake from my mind
a whisper in time, a whisper in time
memories that flicker and die

maps and roads that brought me here today,
they are just a whisper in time
circumstances that were explained away,
they are just a whisper in time

a whisper in time, a whisper in time
things that I can't shake from my mind
a whisper in time, a whisper in time
moments that just flicker and die

because we are messengers of memory,
just whispers in time.

Believe It Lyrics – Bad Religion

it could happen to you,
a defect from the
wasted outskirts of los angeles
with a crumpled-up pass for the RTD
and no authority or trajectory
on the brink of insanity
you'd better believe it
because it's written all over your face
just a neighborhood reject,
out of step and out of place
you'd better believe it
would you ever have thought
persistence could prevail
against the almost
unbearable weight of the system?
with nothing better to do,
and no one else who you can look up to
you'd better believe it
because it's written all over your face
a political defect,
out of step and out of place
you'd better believe it
and the future is bright
when ideas run astray
so turn out the light,
a punk can't have a say
sometimes desire is all that's there
who said life was fair?

I Love My Computer Lyrics – Bad Religion

I love my computer
you make me feel alright
every waking hour
and every lonely night
I love my computer
for all you give to me
predictable errors and no identity
and it's never been quite so easy
I've never been quite so happy
all I need to do is click on you
and we'll be joined
in the most soul-less way
and we'll never
ever ruin each other's day
cuz when I'm through I just click
and you just go away
I love my computer
you're always in the mood
I get turned on
when I turn on you
I love my computer
you never ask for more
you can be a princess
or you can be my whore
and it's never been quite so easy
I've never been quite so happy
the world outside is so big
but it's safe in my domain
because to you
I'm just a number
and a clever screen name
all I need to do is click on you
and we'll be together for eternity
and no one is ever gonna take my love
from me because I've got security,
her password and a key

The Hopeless Housewife Lyrics – Bad Religion

oh me oh my
get out of your 1950's fantasy,
your face shines with misery
transparently
spew out that sobering
half-assed victim rhetoric
make 'em all squirm
while they chew on it
it's a secret handshake
and a passing wink of the eye
as the witches bridge club weekly
meets to pen the tail on the sly
but they never ask
"why oh why don't we raise our voices to the sky?"
instead you're mute
and fawn just waiting to die
like some kind of hopeless housewife
but you can change while you're alive
and let 'em all know
at least you tried to kill the demons inside
oh me oh my
damn your transcendental paralysis,
we can work together
and make sense of this
don't be so sure
you can chuck it all away
you've got to proceed
no matter how bad you want to stay
it's a natural cause
and a comfort zone
there in your head
and the world turns away
as you tap the snooze button in bed
but nobody can hear a word you said
your history was never read
instead you're mute
and fawn just waiting to die
like some kind of hopeless housewife
but you can change while you're alive
and let 'em all know
at least you tried to kill the demons inside

There Will Be A Way Lyrics – Bad Religion

shut your eyes,
see the future's distant shore
march ahead
more enlightened than before
and there's sure to be bumps
and distractions
but I know we'll get through
there will be me, there will be you
there will be a way
unresolved repercussions from your life
fortified with the vitriol of strife
and you can be gridlocked by predictions,
but you're wise grab the prize
then revise, realize
there will be a way
hey... ho
and I don't know where we are going
but we're here on this ride
and we'll stand side by side
all along the way
follow me to the future's distant shore
vagary needn't haunt us anymore
and now it's time to set the agenda,
learn the past, make it last
share the wealth, hold your fire,
conserve life, make it right
kill the hate, negotiate
there will be a way
there will be a way
there will be a way

Let It Burn Lyrics – Bad Religion

let your mind wander,
look beyond the shadows
focus on the skyline,
read the silhouettes
your deepest desires
are a picture of tomorrow
all your darkest fears
are just a vestige of regret
and it's wo-oh oh oh
it seems like such a long way to go
as obstacles get bigger,
prevailing winds blow stronger
and the fire continues to grow
don't let shallow water limit your perception
heed the new horizon,
muster to it fast
the moments of your yesterdays
are in the wake behind you
you can't assess the future
if you're living in the past
keep it stoked!
if you are committed
to a life of understanding
then there's no agenda
for vengeance in your life
sharpen all your senses,
face the opposition
you can overcome
with fortitude and mental might
the fire continues to grow,
in your soul
so be bold, let it grow
don't let it die
let it burn!

Don't Sell Me Short Lyrics – Bad Religion

we don't need any more mountains
because the trail builders
failed to give us passage there
so we can't reach the sky
we don't need any more failure
there is human tragedy
that's written everywhere
and we are all too young to die
like a mystery that's here to stay
some people never go away
cuz they've got something to say
don't sell me short!
you've been wrong too long
don't brush me off
just because I don't belong
like it or not I'm all you've got,
dispose when I'm shot
just don't sell me short,
I might not be who you thought
we don't need any more fables
because the writers have passed
and left us lessonless
and we must find our own way
we don't need any more privilege
there is vivid desperation
that is powerless
that no surplus can repay
like the fix of rapture in a trance
oh, fates are sealed by circumstance
so you've got to take a chance
don't sell me short!
you've been wrong too long
don't brush me off
just because I don't belong
pass me on by, ignore my cry,
forget me when I die
just don't sell me short,
not while I'm still alive
everybody's talking about heaven on earth,
I'm still trying to figure out
just what I'm worth
I'm full of emotion
and stuff you can't contain
and you just want to
flush me down the drain
but you can't make me go away

"No Substance" (1998)

Hear It Lyrics – Bad Religion

Like a morning crow and his unwelcome song
Or a worn-out broken record that keeps skipping along
Mountains of instructions you keep piling on me
Resound like a cacophonous symphony
But I don't wanna hear it anymore
Priests and politicians pretend they're your friend
And police speak to you like you're a child again
Blanket statements cover you like a rug
And thet tell me maybe I'm acting a little too smug
But I don't wanna hear it anymore
Every day we hear the secrets of life
Reduced to cheap jokes, poetry, and friendly advice
They'd rather see us all pusillanimous
Absorbent in their chorus of correctness
But I don't wanna hear it anymore

Shades Of Truth Lyrics – Bad Religion

Here inside this quiet room there's direction
Outside in the sultry noon-time reflection
A million scurry they are looking for advice
None willing to lend charity just exercise their
Shades of Truth, and partisan convention
Shades of Truth between dispirate lines
Shades of Truth interpret my intentions
You don't know I'm alright
Who authored the blueprints and made us captains?
Someone proclaimed creation, people listened
While children by the millions are thrown into this zoo
The so-called gift of clarity!
Oh what was God up to?
Shades of Truth, and lenient conventions
Shades of Truth, between dispirate lines
Shades of Truth interpret my intentions
You don't know I'm alright
So many walking paralell and pull their blinders tight
So few offer apology and accept others rights
And nothing absolutely can be cherished in the end
Can't we all accept that it will all happen again?
Just partisan convention
Shades of Truth between dispirate lines
Shades of Truth interpret my intentions
You don't know I'm alright

All Fantastic Images Lyrics – Bad Religion

England seemed like such a beautiful place from afar
Until one day I went and saw how miserabely how things really are
All Fantastic Images they only are apparent
Propagated just by hope and desire to share it
Beauty was the allure that brought me close to you
Loneliness was the bond that made me stick like glue
All Fantastic Images they only are apparent
Promoted by desperate hope that things are somewhere better
I don't have a thing against fantasy
But to chase it down just don't make sense to me
If you're only hope is simply peace and love
You end up discarding most of what you're made of
All Fantastic Images they only are apparent
Promoted by desperate hope
And the need to share it

The Biggest Killer In American History Lyrics – Bad Religion

You have got your stranglers and prowlers in soft shoes. Furniture makers,
carpenters too
Bombers and commandos, all with some lost cause
Disgruntled workers, immersed in "veritás"
But stealthily, in the land of the free, he's lurking there
Most are unaware of
The biggest killer in American history
And god shed his grace on thee
Business institutions universites
Both are quite the circus where the killer wants his way
I think of Edward Teller and his moribund reprise
Then I look to Nevada and I can't believe my eyes
It's time for hime to die!
Most cannot remeber minutia learned in school
It's not there on the blackboard, it's what they don't tell you
We have got a problem, it starts and ends right here
It can be defeated but you've got to face your fear
We'll join and unite and steady our sight
Then we'll put it right `cuz it's time to fight
The biggest killer in American history
And god shed his grace on thee

No Substance Lyrics – Bad Religion

History doesn't make something right
Consensus is not a fact-based exercise
You're tied and bound to this selfindulgent enterprise...
We call America
A brush with a star, a token of love
A name in the sand, enough is enough
A diet of air, a face on the net
A fish your palm, your television set
Once you convince yourself
The universe falls into place
You've got your ideas
And your posse of friends
You all make up rules
And the fun never ends
But still there's a problem that leaves you gasping for air
You look for some meaning, blank smiles are all that's there
And still water stales a soft summer breeze
You cling to your hopes while your drop to your knees
There's no substance
Once you convince yourself
The universe falls into place
You've got your ideas
And your posse of friends
You all make up rules
And the fun never ends
But still there's a problem that leaves you gasping for air
You look for some meaning, blank smiles are all that's there
And still water stales a soft summer breeze
You cling to your hopes while your drop to your knees
There's no substance

Raise Your Voice Lyrics – Bad Religion

fa fa fafa fa fa fafa Raise Your Voice!
Don't be played like someone else's board game
Don't be classed out like some desolate redoubt
Don't be misled you've got alot on your head
And nobody's gonna pay attention when you are dead
So: fa fa fafa fa fa fafa Raise Your Voice!
It's the primary rule, you gotta wanna be fooled
It's our daunted restraint that keeps us silent in shame
It's our nature to be adversarial and free
Our evolution didn't hinge on passivity
fa fa fafa fa fa fafa Raise Your Voice!

Sowing The Seeds Of Utopia Lyrics – Bad Religion

We all know politicians only go
Just half-way there
Just half-way there
The innocence of youth needs protection not abuse
But no one seems to care
Yet no one seems to care
And you sit there adn watch the world go around
From your pseudo-benevolent vantage point
While we who've been left to pick up after you
Try our best to make some sense for those who
Come next
Now what have you done to foster the truth
Besides just hide hide the lies?
Besides just hide hide the lies?
A selfish campaign never justifies the gain
But the means are verified
Yeah the means are verified
And you sit there and insist you are right
From your popular psychological podium
While those who rely and depend on you
They wilt because you don't accept we need
Each other
Whule sowing the seeds of Utopia,
You invoked a convenient amnesia
You forgot how to care, you forgot how to provide,
You forgot how to work toward a meaningful life

The Hippy Killers Lyrics – Bad Religion

Our Apocalypse 1981
Teenage vagrants lookin´ for some fun
A renewed promise of prosperity
A vulgar platform for the world to see
We were
The hippy killers
Busted refuse from broken homes
Pocked flesh and malacious bones
Creatures sustained by desire, heart, and soul
Nothing to leave and nowhere to go
We were
The hippy killers
Good days during horrible times
Overused bodies, neglected minds
Should to shoulder we formed as one
The next miserable generation
We were
The hippy killers

The State Of The End Of The Millenium Adress Lyrics – Bad Religion

Neighbours, nobody loves you like we do.
Neighbors, your government has triumphed in finally making you a public fit
for the 21st century.
Never before has a governing body shown so much concern for the economic
well-being of its subjects.
Today we have insulated you from countless factions who threathens your
financial viability; such as the poor; the idealistic foreigners still
clinging to their childish notions of social welfare; why, you're even kept
uninformed of useless propagandist journalism that reports alleged
violations of human rights (We all know they wouldn't have been punished if
they hadn't been doing something wrong!!). And who better to dispens such
blantently evident factoids but a self-appointed authority like myself?
Acid Rain is a thing of the past... Too many possible causes, too little
signifigance for our modern thinking public, besides industrial
manufacturing is at an all time low anyway, who needs those narrow minded
laborers anyway. Too many mouths to feed, and to many burden on the pay
roll! Who needs 'em? Here in the land of the free-time. Someother ass
back-ward country will give us what we need by exploiting its uneducated
children.
The Internet has expanded our ability to pacify average americans better
than ever by offering fantastical adventures to every corner of the
imagination. Your home office is the window to your world, and the heart of
your social life. Such reclusive behaviour helps clear the roads and public
works from overburden like the lower middle-class and others who depend
shamelessly on their government. Today you are freer than ever to do what
you want, provided you can pay for it!
Remeber, the first word in USA is US
We have arrived neighbours, we are the priviliged elite!

The Voracious March Of Godliness Lyrics – Bad Religion

Since the start of the 17th century
There's been the scent of unseasoned wood burning in the air
And the conquest of nature meant nothing at all
While we betray exception we take all that is there
Motives are transcluent in the reflection of shame
The actions ghostly remnants of our ancestral ways

And unwittingly, you just take your place in this parade
The voracious march of godliness makes us all the same anyway
Since the dawn of our human family
There's been concentrated sepsis blowing in the breeze
And we turned on each other with ferocity
Desperation, forced, without reprieve
But the missions were misguided and the trammeled led astray
The air resounds with thunder as the victors seized the day
And the haunting voice of history lives ignored but not betrayed
The voracious march of godliness will get us close to heaven one day

Mediocre Minds Lyrics – Bad Religion

Look around the country, an abundance you'll find of
Mediocre minds
Sift trough the fodder as the sane justice declines because of
Mediocre minds
Shrouded under cover, the most flamboyant guise hides a
Mediocre mind
You got yours but you can never bend mine with your
Mediocre minds
When the cry foul you had better watch out becaus you never know which
aptitude they'r griping about
Don't act too smart for their stenoscopic ways
You'll be discarded away
Reason's not to be what the privileged define with their
Mediocre minds
So many sighted people act so helplessly
Blind from their
Mediocre minds
If you want attention then you will be asked to bend but the surest
insurrection is enlightenment
Then you can live outside inharmoniously
An enemy
They wanna keep me locked away
`Cuz I'm an overactive brain
Leaders, presidents and the nightly news guys cater to
Mediocre minds
Reason's not to be what the privileged define with their
Mediocre minds
You got yours but you can never bend mine with your
Mediocre minds
The only natural thing that I despise are
Mediocre minds

Victims Of The Revolution Lyrics – Bad Religion

What will prove to be our big mistake?
Short-sighted arrogance all for what sake?
Our families to ashes, our ambitions to dust
Our progeny in silence thinking "what about us?"
But don't forget
The dance of neglect
The march for empowering prosperity
The pain from loss and want for mere lucidity
Just maternal residue, and I was there too
And maybe so were you
When something is won it comes with sacrifice
It's there beneath the joy, the glory, and pride
And rarely it's acknowledged but in positive light
Consciously omitting the losers plight
But don't forget
The dance of neglect
The craving for community that never was met
The longing for status and the overture of regret
With no one to deter, pathetically unsure
Forgetting who they were

Strange Denial Lyrics – Bad Religion

A mutinous enemy carved a nascent country
Sweat, blood, and valor
Forms the grit of our history
Beqeathed to everyone:
Chance and free expression
Substance was restrained
And the spirit was broken
I feel a strange denial
Rythmic as a change
Constance as time
Lonely
Insistent whispers
Somber as a wave bye bye
Searching for solution, without constitution
Blackcoats by our sides
Promising salvation
Advocating dogma as tickets to hereafter
Mortals in their prime
With their desperate hands in the air
Daunting
Complex and burning
Rythmic as change
Constant as time
Conflicts
Craving approval
Weighted as a murder trial
Oh I feel a strange denial
Correct is Consensus
Everything else, nonsense
Forward is the hope
Forget recompense
Peace and tranquility is only for the wealthy
Dearth for the massses
And inequality
I feel a strange denial
Rythmic as change
Constant as time
Lonely
Insistent whispers
Dissipating in the night
Like a lone forgotten light
And no one is helping me
It's a strange denial

At The Mercy Of Imbeciles Lyrics – Bad Religion

What you do is what you are
And wishing upon distant stars
Won't improve the hole you're in
Won't absolve your deepest sin
But action is no gift from some covert and lofty god
It's dependant and weighty all the same
And it is oh so easy just to keep to yourself
But then you're at the mercy of imbeciles
Now I didn't make up the rules
But clearly we are led by fools
It is wise to know their ways
So you know how not to behave
But sometimes we find ourselves in desperate need
And we look to those with privilege and power
It's then we learn compassion sits inert on their shelves
We're at the mercy of imbeciles
NO Actions is no gift from some masked spirit in the sky
It's reducible to flesh, mind, and bone
And it is oh so easy just to keep to yourself
But then you're at the mercy of imbeciles
Imbeciles
Imbeciles
IMBECILES

The Same Person Lyrics – Bad Religion

You want prosperity
For yourself, but not for me
Somehow you just can't see
We're in this collectively
You think that freedom is
A drastic severance
From your past relations
Just a quest for new bargains
We're not the same person
We're not the same person (Don't even wanna know)
Wooohhh
Don't need no good advice
Nor shoddy merchandise
I'm the suspect device
Beaten down, unable to strike
We're not the same person
We're not the same person (Don't even wanna know)
Wooohhh
And the sun comes over us again
We lament, we pine, and we rescind
And we ask for understanding
But arent't we the stingy ones indeed
When it's needed from us in the end?
We watch the days go by
Compete and then we die
So few ever ask why
But so many just abuse the design
We're not the same person
We're not the same person (Don't even wanna know)
Wooohhh

In So Many Ways Lyrics – Bad Religion

I can see the shadows on the wall
Drifting as the leaves start to fall
Unfazed by rugosity, the objects yield to gravity
And depict the destiny of us all
No one really knows why we die
No one gets a break so we try
Ignoring mortality, we worship mediocrity
And wait to see what happens up on high
In so many ways we live to follow the sun
In so many ways we exalt and fail as one
In so many ways we want so bad to be done
In so many ways we show our pain in unison
Something in you is busy counting the days
Catapulting you trough the haze
Blind to virtuosity, ignorant of your sanctity,
Revealing you, in so many ways
In so many ways we live to follow the sun
In so many ways we exalt and fail as one
In so many ways we want so bad to be done
In so many ways we show our pain in unison

"The Gray Race" (1996)

The Gray Race Lyrics – Bad Religion

the framework of the world
is black and white
the infrastructure builders
flex their might

turning true emotion
into digital expression
one by one we all fall down

the gray race shrivels
trapped inside the world it creates
it's black and white

the perputual destructive
motion machine
began to chart a course
never before seen

turning raw compassion
into fields of plus and minus
one by one we all give in

the gray race shrivels
trapped inside the world it creates
it's black and white

I'd swear there were times when I was someone else
a person with determination and knowledge of the self
but you flattened me to rubble and now I can see that I'm
just faded negative of the image I used to be

and that's our dilemma

Them And Us Lyrics – Bad Religion

despite that he saw blatant similarity
he struggled to find a distinctive moiety
all he found was vulgar superficiality
but he focused it to sharpness
and shared it with the others
it signified his anger and misery

them and us
lobbying determined through a mire of disbelievers
them and us
dire perpetuation and incongruous insistence
that there really is a difference
between them and us

hate is a simple manifestation
of the deep-seated self-directed frustration
all it does is promote fear and constrenation
it's the inability
to justify the enemy
and it fills us all with trepidation

them and us
bending the significance to match a whimsied fable
them and us
tumult for the ignorant and purpose for the violence
a confused loose alliance forming
them and us

I heard him say
we can take them all
(but he didn't know who they were,
and he didn't know who we were.
and there wasn't any reason or
motive, or value, to his story,
just allegory, imitation glory,
and a desperate feeble search for a friend)

A Walk Lyrics – Bad Religion

I'm going for a walk
not the after dinner kind
I'm gonna use my hands
and I'm gonna use my mind

and who the hell are you to tell me what to do?
you can't even tie your own haggard shoes
your closet is a mess, and your backyard's falling down
and I have no grand ideas or intentions of sticking around

I'm gonna build a world
independant and exempt
all alone I'll be an empire
with no mortgage and no rent

and I don't need to live in your stinking zoo
you can't even feed the animals donated to you
your storage sheds are ramshackled, flies decorate the walls
and you expect me to die here in this shit-filled tiny stall?

and I know you're watching! everything I do
call me threat to your children call me socially unglued
call me master of insanity, unable to relate
call me lazy, bane, and filthy
call me monstrous reprobate

I'm going for a walk and there's nothing you can do
'cuz I don't have to live like you
so I'm going for a walk

Parallel Lyrics – Bad Religion

sleeping on a time bomb, staring into space
there's an ocean of unpleasantries we are not prepared to face

sitting on the fence post to watch the storm roll in
and terrified of the damage it will bring when it begins
it will begin

splintered dreams of unity (our lives are parallel)
so far from reality (our lives are parallel)
independent trajectories (our lives are parallel)
separate terms of equality (our lives are parallel)

our lives are parallel

is there no redemption? no common good?
is there nothing we can do for ourselves? or only what we should?

comes the hard admission of what we don't provide
goes the insistence on the ways and means that so divide

they so divide

side by side suffering loneliness (our lives are parallel)
phony collective progress (our lives are parallel)
accepting that it's all such a mess (our lives are parallel)
gesturing without hope of redress (our lives are parallel)

our lives are parallel

forging little plays of deception and pain
as we watch our foundation crumble away
staggering like birds against a hurricane
and trying all the while to stay out of each other's way

broken dreams of unity (our lives are parallel)
independant trajectories (our lives are parallel)
screaming out for understanding (our lives are parallel)
turning inward and suffering (our lives are parallel)

Punk Rock Song Lyrics – Bad Religion

have you been to the desert?
have you walked with the dead?
there's a hundred thousand children being killed for their bread

and the figures don't lie they speak of human disease
but we do what we want and we think what we please

have you lived the experience?
have you witnessed the plague?
people making babies sometimes just to escape
in this land of competition the compassion is gone
yet we ignore the needy and we keep pushing on
we keep pushing on

this is just a punk rock song
written for the people who can see something's wrong
like ants in a colony we do our share
but there's so many other fuckin' insects out there
and this is just a punk rock song
(like workers in a factory we do our share
but there's so many other fuckin' robots out there)

have you visited the quagmire?
have you swam in the shit?
the party conventions and the real politik
the faces always different, the rhetoric the same
but we swallow it, and we see nothing change
nothing has changed...

10 million dollars on a losing campaign
20 million starving and writhing in pain
big strong people unwilling to give
small in vision and perspective
one in five kids below the poverty line
one population runnin' out of time

Empty Causes Lyrics – Bad Religion

everwhere you looked there was confusion, violence, drama and drugs
so many righteous revolutionaries spouting utopian love
everyone shrouded in purple haze
then one day they woke up from their dream state
they found themselves no more at peace than before
older, meek, and conformed

empty causes
a bluster for the soul, a fix for their mind
empty causes
cling to everything you find

well, the shots rang out like popcorn
and the Chief was hit and rushed out of sight
the mohawk-chain, leather brigade rejoiced maliciously on that night
someone cried out "fuck the government"
his mates couldn't define what he meant
so no one gave him the time of day
and the scene died away

empty causes
a war for the body, an army in the mind
empty causes
losing steam as time goes by

could it be that everybody selfishly desires their own personal retinue
and that causes are just manifestations
of too much time and far to little to do

empty causes
direction for the soul, conviction for the mind
empty causes
cling to everything you find
empty causes
you've got yours and I've got mine

Nobody Listens Lyrics – Bad Religion

Hey mister, don't point at me!
You shout rhetoric nonsense like a Pavlovian model responding to his questions!

Hey teacher, arrogance is bliss!
You spend your time turning water into life as if you were God's foreman!

Is it any wonder things seem so awry?
We swim in sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
So nobody listens!

Hey Recluse, Dont shout at me!
You proclaim yourself expert by extensions of the methods detailed in your magazines!

Hey downer, Don't prey on me!
We've all got bum raps that torment us day to day that we hoist on our own shoulders!

Is it any wonder people pass you by?
Your plea for understanding is heard as desperate lies!
So nobody listens!

I can't help you
I can't help you
I can't help you
I can't help you now

Is it any wonder things are so inane?
So many quests for compassion are just for someone's personal gain

So nobody listens!
Nobody listens to you!!

Pity The Dead Lyrics – Bad Religion

there's a boy in crimson rags with a grimace and a spoon, and a little sullen
girl face-up staring at the moon
and there's no one around to hear their lonesome cries
then they pass away alone into the night

why do we pity the dead?
are you churned by emotion from voices in your head?
(are you scared of the logic that swirls within your head)
look at all the living and you'll ask yourself why
oh why do we
pity the dead?
pity the dead!

well, you've seen the disease, suffering and decay,
and you whisper to yourself blissfully "it's okay"
and you still refuse the possibility
that the dead are better off than we

tell me what you see, tell me what you know
is there anyone who lives a painless life?
if there is show me so
the destitute and famished, demonic and the
banished, dejected and the ostracized, the
brainwashed and the paralyzed, the conquered
and objectified, the few who see the other side
tell me what you see! It's a mortal wretched cacophony

in the end you may find there's no guiding subtle light,
no ancestors or friends, no judge of wrong or right
just eternal silence and dormancy
and a final everlasting peace

Spirit Shine Lyrics – Bad Religion

Shed a tear for the criminal, give him something to believe
Light a fire for the miserable, give the darkness some meaning
Closed wounds harbor pestilence, when you lick them from within
Charity has a redolence chastity cannot rescind

Spirit shine, it's a sign
Of a troubled mind (tortured mind)
Spirit shine all the time
Can render you blind

You can take it all to heart or throw it all away
You can call it just a lark or live your life that way
You can give until you're dry and sucked of all your gleam
You can fake another cry and compromise your dream

Cling tight to the parable - let it dominate your life
Create a God who's infallible - give your leader some respite
Clouds wounds harbor pestilence - when you lick them from within
Rosy smiles lose their radience - when you take it on the chin

The Streets Of America Lyrics – Bad Religion

desolate and without purpose
radiating from so many septic sources
forming the fabric of a wayward people
disappearing as the vestiges of our past

scratched like tartan into virgin soil
a substrate for progress and disarray
a spreading network of broken dreams
searching for a thoroughfare to take us away

just a little tale from the streets of America (say a little prayer)
sparkled promises paved with pathos and hysteria
trenchant, weary native sons
step back
and see the damage done
meander to the horizon (shoot straight to the horizon)
the streets of America

black, tarred concrete
pine for me
lying domant
for you and country
hardened surface
cracked within
catch the sweat
from off the chin

of men and women
senior and child
who look to you
and your sterile miles
and in their stares
is bald dismay
for what you promised
led them astray

hard-cracked, daunting, lifeless veins
false hope corridors to greener pastures is all that remains

Ten In 2010 Lyrics – Bad Religion

parched, cracked mouths, empty swollen guts
sun-baked pavement encroaches on us
haves and have-nots together at last
brutally engaged in mortal combat
10 in 2010

what kind of God orchestrates such a thing?
10 in 2010
ten billion people all suffering
10 in 2010
truth is not an issue just hungry mouths to feed
10 in 2010
forget what you want, scrounge the things you need

happy and content it can't happen to you
10 in 2010
fifteen years we'll think of a solution
10 in 2010
it won't just appear in one day
10 in 2010
for ten in twenty-ten we're well on our way

like piercing ear darts, I heard the news today
10 in 2010
10 billion people...coming your way

Victory Lyrics – Bad Religion

The velveteen and oaken fixture soothed the lonely child
The parents watched the escort take him while they stood outside
The priest was kind and gentle as he positioned his head
The pain was like brimstone, but the kid hardly bled

Victory
Instinct over intellect
Victory
It erupts from deep inside
History
History is laughing at us
Plotting its discovery
Victory, victory
Blame it on the victory

Among the parade crowd there stands a decorated man
Remembering how he helped to save this sacred land
His helpless enemy was wounded, both hands raised with hope
He killed him without second thought, with brute force and a rope

So many times, so many lives
Test the other side
Waiting to see what the maker has in mind

The unsuspecting commoners hum diligent each day
They wallow in their father's sins, as time passes away
The crimes are without motive but they ignore all restraint
The evil sits inside them torpid timing its escape

Drunk Sincerity Lyrics – Bad Religion

the smell of virgin pages wafted through the swinging doors
and the croaking speech he'd heard from countries counselors before
they said "we all care for you, we know how you suffer
but I know you can succed, I used to have it so much rougher"

there's hope in the words and emotion in the eyes
it's so easy to be misled by the savvy gentle guise
and like fools we trust the delivery
but it's all just drunk sincerity

in maternal family assembly poised regarding the blue tube
the numbers crept up higher and the hawks stayed out of view
then the generals said "we dont want our boys dead
your sons and your husbands will be coming back heroes soon"

with steam, heat, and rhythm in the back seat of the car
and adolescent perspective projecting life's forecast to the stars
you heard love from the lips and you were rapt by the hips
and the promise was eternal but you couldn't see that far

Come Join Us Lyrics – Bad Religion

so you say you gotta know why the world goes 'round
and you can't find the truth in the things you've found
and you're scared shitless 'cuz evil abounds
come and join us

well I heard you were looking for a place to fit in
full of adherent people with the same objective
a family to cling to and call brethren
come and join us

all we want to do is change your mind
all you need to do is close your eyes

so come and join us
come and join us
come and join us

don't you see the trouble that most people are in
and that they just want you for their own advantage
but I swear to you we're different from all of them
come and join us
I can tell you are lookin' for a way to live
where truth is determined by consensus
full of codified arbitrary directives
come and join us
all we want to have is your small mind
turn it into one of our own kind
you can go through life adrift and alone
desperate, desolate, on your own
but we're lookin' for a few more stalwart clones
so come and join us
come and join us
come and join us

we've got spite and dedication as a vehement brew
the world hates us, well we hate them too
but you're exempted of course if you
come and join us
independent, self-contented, revolutionary
intellectual, brave, strong and scholarly
if you're not one of them, you're us already so
come and join us

Cease Lyrics – Bad Religion

Blacktop pavement cover me
Like a chemical reaction or a steam roller
Spreading randomly

There's a distant buzz and a low frequency
It tickles my ear, rumbles under my feet
And it shakes the leaves off of every tree (violently)
What pretension! Everlasting peace
Everything must cease

Institution on the Hill
Like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor
To ignite a people's will

There's a shadowed stain on the west facade
It has spread like decay to enshroud the fraud
And the descendants find it, oh, so odd
(oh, so odd)
What pretension! Everlasting peace
Everything must cease

Grave memorial hewn white stone
Like the comforting caress of a mother
Or a friend you've always known

It evokes such pain and significance
What was once, is reduced to remembrance
And the generations pass without recompense
What pretension! Everlasting peace
Everything must cease

"Stranger Than Fiction" (1994)

Incomplete Lyrics – Bad Religion

mother, father, look at your little monster,
I'm a hero, I'm a zero,
I'm the butt of the worst joke in history,
I'm a lock without a key,
a city with no door, a prayer without faith,
a show without a score,
I'm a bad word, a wink, a nod, a shiver,
an untold story, sex without purity,
a creeping gray memory,
I am incomplete....incomplete....incomplete....incomplete

doctor, cure me; what is the cause of my condition,
this madness shoots me,
like bullets smashing glass in a silent movie,
I'm a trap without a spring,
a temple with no god,
a jack without an ace,
the tip of your tongue,
I'm a promise, an unmailed letter,
an unbuilt motor, deck without a joker,
a creeping gray memory
I am incomplete....incomplete....incomplete....incomplete

tell Saint Peter not to bet on me,
I got a naked obsession,
a good intention gone bad,
I am incomplete....incomplete....incomplete....incomplete

Leave Mine To Me Lyrics – Bad Religion

there are desperate times upon us,
there are codes of white and black,
political resentment and people start to crack,
there's hate and opposition,
there's fumbling dialog,
yet you sit there and judge me
and you think it makes a difference

if you think I'm all alone you are foolishly wrong,
there's an entire army who blindly follow along,
and you happen to be one of them believe it or not,
even though you try not to be we are of the same plague

the other ways we're taught to fear,
don't even scratch the surface of the problem here,
I'm not blind, and I'm not scared,
so many crucial factors exist out there,
and we're but one, and they're bout two,
and how we come to terms will help us pull through

things cannot change too fast,
it took us this much time,
to reach our current platform and walk this fragile line,
if I thought I'd make a difference I'd kill myself today,
but so many are like me lost in the fray

you create your own reality,
and leave mine to me

Stranger Than Fiction Lyrics – Bad Religion

a febrile shocking violent smack
the children are hoping for a heart attack,
tonight the windows are watching,
the streets all conspire,
and the lamppost can't stop crying,
if I could fly high above the world,
would I see a bunch of living dots spell the world stupidity?,
or would I see hungry lover homicides,
loving brother suicides,
and olly olly oxenfrees,
who pickaside and hide

the world is scratching at my door,
my morning papers got the scores,
the human interest stories, and the obituary

cockroach naps and rattling traps,
how many devils can you fit upon a match head?,
caringosity killed the Kerouac cat,
sometimes truth is stranger than fiction

in my alley around the corner,
there's a wino with feathered shoulders,
and a spirit giving head for crack and he'll never want it back,
there's a little kid and his family eating crackers like thanksgiving
and a pack of wild desperados scornful of living

the worlds is scratching at my door....

cradle for a cat, Wolfe looks back,
how many angels can you fit upon a match?
I want to know why Hemingway cracked,
sometimes truth is stranger than fiction

life is the crummiest book I ever read,
there isn't a hook, just a lot of cheap shots,
pictures to shock and characters an amateur would never dream up

Tiny Voices Lyrics – Bad Religion

the brown and orange sky holds its breath
as the sun retreats to the distant horizon,
and our hearts palpitate anxiously as we soon will lay supine,
and wait for sleep to overcome us

and from somewhere in our black,
subconscious minds when we're asleep,
comes a haunting swelling mass of voices,
resonating, its screams of forgotten victims and the cries of innocence,
and the desperate plea for recognition and recompense

tiny voices, echoes of our heritage,
our long and sallow faces turn the other way,
tiny voices, harbored deep within
as we outwardly deny that they have something to say,
and if we don't confront them they will never go away

the billions of tiny pinhole embers fade into a morning sky
filled with poignant morose wonder,
waking a bear a cosmetic peace that verifies the turmoil
which we carry deep inside

The Handshake Lyrics – Bad Religion

every time you shake someone's hand and it feels like your best friend,
could it be that it's only superficiality?,
without regard to well-being, without an inkling of compromise,
handshakes are nothing but a subtle "fuck you",
contracts determine the best friendships

this is the way of the modern world, everyone's vying for patronage,
this is the way of the modern world, and something has gotta give

every time you shake someone's hand,
and you share neither color or creed,
you gotta overcome the obstacles of history,
there is restrained passion, mistrust, and bigotry

and these have created the new foundations of society,
there's no harmony just class and race

this is the way of the modern world,
everyone's fighting for dominance,
this is the way of the modern world,
and something has gotta give

now I believe in unity, and I am willing to compromise,
but I'm not gonna lie or sell my soul

every time you shake someone's hand,
it determines where you stand,
and if you won't uphold your side then it's better to
fend for yourself, and shun the handshake,
someone's gotta give

Better Off Dead Lyrics – Bad Religion

I'm sorry about the sun,
how could I know that you'd burn?,
and I'm sorry about the moon,
how could I know that you'd disapproved,
I'll never make the same mistake,
the next time I create the universe
I'll make sure we communicate at length
but until then . . . better off dead,
a smile on the lips and a hole in the head,
better off dead, yeah better than this,
better off dead, yeah better than this,
take it away cuz there's nothing to miss
I'm sorry about the world,
how could I know you'd take it so bad?,
and I'll never make the same mistake,
the next time I create the universe
I'll make sure you participate
But until then . . .
Better off dead, yeah better off dead,
why don't you try pushing daisies instead
and I'll never make the same mistake,
the next time I create the universe
I'll make sure we communicate, just in case.

Infected Lyrics – Bad Religion

Now here I go,
Hope I don't break down,
I won't take anything, I don't need anything,
Don't want to exist, I can't persist,
Please stop before I do it again,
Just talk about nothing, let's talk about nothing,
Let's talk about no one, please talk about no one, someone, anyone

You and me have a disease,
You affect me, you infect me,
I'm afflicted, you're addicted,
You and me, you and me

I'm on the edge,
Get against the wall,
I'm so distracted,
I love to strike you,
Here's my confession,
You learned your lesson,
Stop me before I do it again

You're clear - as a heavy lead curtain want to drill you - like an ocean,
We can work it out, I've been running out, now I'm running out

Don't be mad about it baby,
You and me, you and me,
I want to tie you, crucify you,
Kneel before you, revile your body,
You and me, we're made in heaven,
I want to take you, I want to break you,
Supplicate you, with thorny roses,
I want to bathe you in holy water I want to kill you,
Upon the alter, you and me, you and me

Television Lyrics – Bad Religion

television, television, television, television

oh yeah! I want to bask in your golden light,
submerge in electric waves,
I need my connection to the world outside

the world outside is buzzing like an angry wasp in summer,
the candidates are running, and soon the son of God is coming,
crackle mental convolutions tune in to the revolution,
whereby everyone's included so we'll never have to be alone

every atom of my body, blood and sinew, bone and fibre,
I can't distil you from my blood,
you're a hungry germ inside of me,
you're my lover, you're my heroine,
my conscience and my voice,
and I know that I have learned to let you in I
will lever have to be alone

I'd take after my mother but she's from a different generation,
I prefer my big brother he's so gentle and understanding,
and I learn what I can from him by the television light,
so that when I'm all alone I know everything's gonna be alright

Individual Lyrics – Bad Religion

individuals run for cover,
for the multitudes of thoughtless clones have reached a critical mass,
individuals hide in fear, under cover,
sheltered by the wafer thin veil of intelligence

individuals, nowhere to be seen

urbana is oozing like a bloated carcass,
with maggots cooking in the desert heat,
oozing, with progeny writhing and desperate
for input from someone more determined

congregating in invisible circles,
half apart and half apart,
all too aware of the insignificance,
pushing on with soul and heart

individuals don't pray for forgiveness,
when pinned up against the wall under siege of persecution,
individuals command exception,
and accept dichotomy,
maybe you can't choose anymore

procreation without gain or purpose,
languid wills and torped minds,
catapulted ever faster by the arrow of time

Hooray For Me... Lyrics – Bad Religion

I can see my teenage father standing straight on a desolate corner,
in the shadow of tentacled towers by the red light of America,
I imagine how his mother felt when she heard that her husband was dying,
and that underground heroes of the tarmac shooting smack were blowing up worlds

and Damned out loud,
he, can you tell me how does it feel?

yeah, tell me, can you imagine, for a second,
doing anything that you don't have to?
well that's what I'm accustomed to so hooray for me

when I slept with stony faces on the riverbank,
my angeldevil reveller shook me desperately in dying,
I don't exactly want to apologize for anything, and now
we're all mad and tangled in secret rooms with roman candles,
on an endless graveyard train

yeah, tell me, can you imagine, for a second, doing
anything just 'cuz you want to?
well, that's just what I do so hooray for me

yeah, I was dreaming through the "howzlife", yawning,
car black, when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever..",
and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme,
for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence

oh, yeah, I'm not respectable, and never sensible,
I've been incredible so damned irascible
and I like the things I do so hooray for me

Slumber Lyrics – Bad Religion

So, you're feeling unimportant,
'Cuz you've got nothing to say.
And your live is just a ramble
No one understand you anyway

Well, I got a piece of news son,
That might make you change your mind
Your life is historically meaningfull
And spans a significant time

Slumber will come soon
And you are helping to put it to sleep
Side by side we do our share
Faithfully assuring that
Slumber will come soon.

Well, now do you feel a little better
Lift up your head and walk away
Knowing we're all in this togeter
For such a short time anyway

There is just no time to parade around
Sulking, i would rather laugh than cry
The rich, the poor, the strong, the weak
We share this place together
And we pitch into help it die

I'm not too good at giving morals
And I don't fear the consequence
If life makes you scred and bitter
At least it's not for very long

Slumber will come soon.

Marked Lyrics – Bad Religion

if I'm a monster,
I am a willing one,
this roller coaster ride is an enticing one,
on the tip of a continuum flowing wavelike
through disorder carry me like a vessel to water

everything you see leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you feel leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you touch leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you make leaves a mark on your soul

if I can touch it,
I can destroy it,
if it's imaginable to some degree,
I can become it,
like a hungry turning vortex that just flickers to existence,
consuming bits and pieces until I'm finally extinguished

everyone you see leaves a mark on your soul,
everyone you bare leaves a mark on your soul,
everyone you touch leaves a mark on your soul,
everyone you love leaves a mark on your soul

everything you take leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you give leaves a mark on your soul,
and all the fear and loneliness that's impossible to control,
and every tear you cry leaves a mark on your soul

Inner Logic Lyrics – Bad Religion

automatons with business suits clinging black boxes,
sequestering the blueprints of daily life
contented, free of care, they rejoice in morning ritual
as they file like drone ant colonies to their office in the sky

I don't ask questions, don't promote demonstrations,
don't look for new consensus, don't stray from constitution
if I pierce the complexity I won't find salvation
just the bald and over truth
of the evil and deception

there is an inner logic,
and we're taught to stay far from it
it is simple and elegant,
but it's cruel and antithetic
and there's no effort to reveal it

graduated mentors stroll in marbled brick porticos
in sagacious dialog they despise their average ways
displaying pomp and discipline, they mold their institution
where they practice exclusion on the masses every day

decorated warriors drill harmless kids on pavement
simulating tyranny under red alert
protecting the opulent and staging moral standard
they expect redemption of character and self-growth

(no equality, no opportunity,
no tolerance for the progressive alternative...)

What It Is Lyrics – Bad Religion

there's a purpose, there's a goal,
there's a virtuos, and immoral,
there's a reason for all of this,
and I don't know what it is

I am one, and plural too,
I accept them but they exclude,
I could make sense of all of this,
but I don't know what it is

the seeds of inspiration never germinated in my mind,
the beacon of awakening is somewhere that I can't find, so
I don't know what it is

there's a beginning, and there's an end,
there's a climax, some would contend,
there's a way to signify this,
but I don't know what it is

21st Century (Digital Boy) Lyrics – Bad Religion

I can't believe it, the way you look sometimes
Like a trampled flag on a city street, oh yeah
And I don't want it, the things you're offering me
Symbolized bar code, quick ID, oh yeah

[Chorus:]
See I'm a 21st century digital boy
I don't know how to read but I've got a lot of toys
My daddy's a lazy middle class intellectual
My mommy's on Valium, so ineffectual
Ain't life a mystery?

I can't explain it, the things you're saying to me
It's going yayayayayayaya, oh yeah

[Chorus]

Tried to tell you about no control
But now I really don't know
And then you told me how bad you had to suffer
Is that really all you have to offer?

[Chorus]

[outro]
Cat's foot, iron claw
Neurosurgeon, scream for more
Innocence raped with napalm fire
Everything I want, I really need.

[fade out]
21st century schizoid boy
21st century video boy
21st century digital boy...

"Recipe For Hate" (1993)

Recipe For Hate Lyrics – Bad Religion

can't you feel it can't you see it
the promise of prosperity
it's overwhelming you and me
it afflicts us like a disease
ubiquitous compelling too
we cling to you like crazy glue
and inject such a potent seed
it's best for all humanity
the spread of culture
the sword of progress
the vector of suffrage
a warm and septic breeze
the pomp and elation
the duty and vocation
the blood of the hybrid
it's just a recipe
re-living our ancestry
the frightful lack of harmony
our fore-fothers who led the way
their victims are still here today
now it's time to erase the story
of our bogus fate
our history as it's portrayed
it's just a recipe for hate

Kerosene Lyrics – Bad Religion

everywhere I look I see exclusive huddled uninviting
shelter is a privilege of the same and competent

kerosene keeps me warm
I'm alone to watch it burn
kerosene

exposure is a pitiful and pointless way of dying
before it gets me I'll build a funeral pyre

kerosene keeps me warm
I'm alone to watch it burn
kerosene

i'm a man and my dignity won't wave
Tonight buildings rage!

kerosene keeps me warm
feels so good to watch it burn
kerosene

kerosene keeps me warm
I'm alone to watch it burn
kerosene

kerosene keeps me warm
feels so good to watch it burn
kerosene
[to fade]

American Jesus Lyrics – Bad Religion

i don't need to be a global citizen
because i'm blessed by nationality
i'm member of a growing populace
we enforce our popularity
there are things that
seem to pull us under
and there are things
that drag us down
but there's a power
and a vital presence
thats lurking all around
we've got the american Jesus
see him on the interstate
we've got the american Jesus
he helped build the
president's estate
i feel sorry
for the earth's population
'cuz so few
live in the U.S.A.
at least the foreigners
can copy our morality
they can visit but they cannot stay
only precious few
can garner the prosperity
it makes us walk
with renewed confidence
we've got a place to go when we die
and the architect resides right here
we've got the american Jesus
overwhelming millions every day
(exercising his authority)
he's the farmers barren fields
the force the army wields
the expession in the faces
of the starving children
the power of the man
he's the fuel that drives the clan
he's the motive and conscience
of the murderer
he's the preacher on t.v.
the false sincerity
the form letter that's written
by the big computers
he's the nuclear bombs
and the kids with no moms
and i'm fearful that
he's inside me

Portait Of Authority Lyrics – Bad Religion

nothing more nothing less
an icon on the wall decoration and duress
that which many strive to be
its the merble statue standing over me
and nobody has the will to tear it down
it determines wrong and right
but to me its just a stereotype
and it makes us lose our sight
the portait of authority
you tell me
that's what im supposed to be
(it embodies what he cannot be)
another time another man
and oppressive intrusion
and a plague across his land
and it haunts him every day
it tells him he has no chance
his hopes just fade away
and he can't muster the support
and to him it's just a stereotype
of his life-long fight

Man With A Mission Lyrics – Bad Religion

rescue me when I get too deep,
talk to me there's nothing to tell,
Everyone, is a hydocrite,
look to me,
I'll save your soul
Now somebody out there must be
reading my mail
Cuz' everybody knows
I'm a man with a mission,
coming to your town today,
I can damm you to fiery perdition,
Cuz' I'm a man with a mission
Follow me, when you give up,
Work for me, it'll serve you well
Everyone is a hydocrite, come to me,
I'll save your soul
Now somebody out there must be
tapping my phone,
Cuz everybody knows
I'm a man with a mission,
I'm gonna fly you away,
high above the noise and competition,
yeah I'm a man with a mission,
Passing through your town today
I condemn you
to fiery perdition,
yeah I'm a man with a mission

All Good Soldiers Lyrics – Bad Religion

All good soldiers crack like boulders
The sun climbs up to a razor,
Violins, new boots, and numbers on a chain
All good soldiers

All good soldiers fall in line
When they march and shout
All good soldiers are a spectacle
Marching and singing
Will go anywhere the president says
Because the president believes in God
Like all good soldiers should

All good soldiers wait like warheads
When the fighting starts who will be
Accountable, a cannibal, a cannonball
All good soldiers, all good soldiers

All good soldiers fall in line
When they march and shout
All good soldiers are respectible
Marching and singing
Will go anywhere the president says
Because the president believes in God
Like all good soldiers should

It's 6 AM I can see my breath
And the clay dirt is laughing at a weakling boy
Today is the day
That I'll write my friends
It's something I've been trying to remember
I had a dream of a wall
That was twenty-one stories tall
All...

All good soldiers fall in line
When they march and shout
All good soldiers are a spectacle
Marching and singing
Will go anywhere the president says
Because the president believes in God
Like all good soldiers should

Watch It Die Lyrics – Bad Religion

I was born on planet earth
the rotating ball where man comes first
it's been around for a long, long time
but now it's time to watch it die

I saw a man on my big blue screen
he ruled the world economy
he said the rich would never concede
but some day soon he'll be put to sleep

I've seen the life of the forest green
and adaptations of the deep blue seas
and who knows who is the fittest
they will all soon be put to rest

On a plunging flight and we're sitting
in the pilots seat in the midst of life
people on a dark horizon praying
somebody will save their lives

I was born on planet earth
at a drastic time full of plastic mirth
and everyday I've seen increasing signs
and you would too if you'd opened your eyes
you had a chance you did not try
so now it's time to watch it die

Struck A Nerve Lyrics – Bad Religion

There's an old man on a city bus
Holding a candy cane
And it isn't even christmas
He see's a note in the obituary
That his last friend has died
There's an infant clinging
To his overweight mother in the cold
As they go to shop for cigarettes
And she spends her last dollar
On a bottle of vodka for tonight
And I guess it struck a nerve
Like I had to squint my eyes
You can never get out
Of the line of sight
Like a barren winter day
Or a patch of unburned green
Like a tragic real dream
I guess it struck a nerve
Every day I wander
In negative disposition
As I'm bombarded by superlatives
Realizing very well that I am not alone
Introverted
I look to tomorrow for salvation
But I'm thinking altruistically
And a wave of overwhelming doubt
Turns me to stone
And I guess it struck a nerve
Sent a murmur to my heart
We just haven't got time
To crack the maze
Like a magic speeding clock
Or a cancer in our cells
A collision in the dark
I guess it struck a nerve
I try to close my eyes
But I cannot ignore the stimuli
If theres a purpose for us all
It remains a secret to me
Don't ask me to justify my life

My Poor Friend Me Lyrics – Bad Religion

I know a man
Who doesn't have many friends
I know a place he lives
Where trouble never ends
I know its hard for him
To read 'tween the lines
And his days are getting so much shorter
He simply turns away
And dons a bitter frown
His world is crumbling
His ship is weighted down
He doesn't care
As long as he can wear the crown
I know this man all too well
Its my poor friend me
A portrayal of the great dichotomy
(a reminder of a tragic history)
Its my poor friend me
And I'm running out of steam
I know there are people
Who are cynical and vain
They point their finger
'cuz they can't accept the blame
They live their lives
Under a blanket of shame and their progeny
Crawl from underneath it
Lately I've come
To see the solution
And it begins with me
But I'm so fallibly human
I've picked the lock
But will not turn the key

Of people running scared
We live, breathe and die
Off to a world, our time is slipping on by
We have solutions, but don't even try
And I feel I know just who to blame

Lookin' In Lyrics – Bad Religion

suddenly, it came to me
a potent dosage of reality
i saw myself in the broad daylight
and it made me think
about life
im not the kinda guy
who nods his head
with closed eyes
i scoff at labels
i defy censuses
and despise group mentality
all along i through
that this was only human
but i know now that
i'm in the minority
i'm lookin' in
now i think in relation to
my fellow man
and what strives to do we fail to see
theres no compromise
our evolution
is our demise
one day you may find
that you are also one of me
a micrososm
of the human race
observing those around us
desiring to belong
behing the guise of salvation
we suffer along the way
we're lookin' in

Don't Pray On Me Lyrics – Bad Religion

A grizzly scene on my electron beam
Told a story about human rights
So all of King's horses and all of King's men
Had a riot for two days and nights
Well, the city exploded but the gates wouldn't open
So the company asked him to quit
Now everybody's equal
Just don't measure it

Well, Hanson did it to Hester
And Mark David did it to John
And maybe Jack did it to Marilyn
But he did it to South Vietnam
For beauty and glory
For money, love, and country
Now everybody's doing it
Don't do that to me

A bitter debate and a feminine fate
Lie in tandem like two precious babes
While the former gets warmer, it's the latter that matters
Except on the nation's airwaves
And custodians of public opinion stayed back
After vainly discussing her rights
Lay hands off her body
It's not your fucking life

Now I don't know what stopped Jesus Christ
From turning every hungry stone into bread
And I don't remember hearing how Moses reacted
When the innocent first born sons lay dead
Well, I guess God was a lot more demonstrative
Back when he flamboyantly parted the sea
Now everybody's praying
Don't pray on me

Modern Day Catastrophists Lyrics – Bad Religion

take those potatoes out of your ear
listen to the warnings
verify all your fears
there's a world outside
that's ready to blow
and we're all to blame
when it finally explodes
you gotta listen up
gotta listen to what
they're telling you
gotta listen up and think
about what they're saying to you
they're the modern day catastrophists
they've got practical solutions
(know all the right equations)
they're the self-appointed
righteous pragmatists
and they know 50 ways
to save the world
what makes you think
you can cure our disease?
maybe its just our biology
maybe its time to make room
for another species
this is the 21st Century

Skyscraper Lyrics – Bad Religion

Come let us make bricks and burn them hard,
We'll build a city with a tower for the world
and climb so we can reach anything we may propose,
anything at all

Build me up, tear me down
like a skyscraper
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls
So they can't climb at all

I know why you tore it down that day
You thought, that if you got caught we'd all go away,
Like a spoiled little baby who can't come out to play,
You had your revenge

Build me up, tear me down
like a skyscraper
Build me up, then tear down
these joining walls
So they can't climb at all

Well madness reigned and paradise drowned
When Babel's walls came crashing down
Now the echoes roar for a story writ ["for a story told" is the live version]
that was hardly understood
and never any good

Build me up, tear me down
like a skyscraper
Build me up, then tear down
these joining walls
So they can't climb at all

Build me up [x2]

"Generator" (1992)

Generator Lyrics – Bad Religion

Like a rock,
like a planet,
Like a fucking atom bomb,
I'll remain unperturbed by the joy and the madness
that i encounter everywhere I turn
I've seen it all along
In book and magazines
like a twitch before dying
like a pornographic sea
there's a flower behind the window
there's an ugly laughing man
like a hummingbird in silence
like the blood on the door
it's the generator
oh yeah, oh yeah, like the blood on my door
wash me clean and I will run
until i reach the shore
I've known it all along
like the bone under my skin
like actors in a photograph
like paper in the wind
there's a hammer by the window
there's a knife on the floor
like turbines in darkness
like the blood on my door
it's the generator

Too Much To Ask Lyrics – Bad Religion

A refreshing plunge
a drink of platable water
a deep inspiration on a warm summer day
a safe stroll in the middle of the road community
a neighbor who in times of need will not turn away
I ain't no politiciam
I am a citizen
And I wonder if I'm living too far out of bounds
community protection
rehibilitation
police that serve without legitimate right to maim
global aareness
ecological guilt
cultural and environmental awakening
I ain't no optimist
I try to be a realist
and I think that we are living too far out of bounds
is it too much to ask?
Could it be the world is shrinking?
I can see the walls closing in
no one can take much for granted anymore
remote control
three cars for every family
corruption at the expense of the simple majority
a violent crash
a plunder of the third world
any wretched ploy that bolsters our economy
I ain't no blind supporter
I'm a conscious citizen
and I know that we are living too far out of bounds
is it too much to ask?
can we keep the earth from sinking?
I can see the walls closing in
No one can take much for granted anymore
(you better not take it for granted anymore)
I'm not taking nothing for granted anymore

No Direction Lyrics – Bad Religion

A sullen figure walks along a dusty road
his life was holy and he couldn't bear the load
he left his people and a simple life behind
he raised his torso and he looked into the sky
shouting his questions
looking for directions
"what do I do now?"

now a confused school girl stares at the TV tray
the stresses of maturing compound every day
she glances up to see her favorite video
and gets ideas from Madonna's nasty clothes
in need of affection
she craves a direction
her heroes offer her

everyone is looking for something
and they assume somebody else knows what it is
no one can live with the decisions of their own
it seems so they look to someone else
to tell 'em what to be
tell 'em what to wear
tell 'em what to say
tell 'em how to act and think and compel others compulsively
until the world is all like them

a righteous student came and asked me to reflect
he judged my lifestyle was politically incorrect
I don't believe in self important folks who preach
no Bad Religion song can make your life complete
prepare for rejection you'll get no direction from me
you'll get no direction from me
you'll get no direction from me

Tomorrow Lyrics – Bad Religion

Every day we profit so
leaning toward the great unknown
asking how it pertains to tomorrow
aim for places we've not been
trample paths that go between
yesterdays foundations and tomorrow
it's the way they say it's got to be
we spear ahead and forge our destiny
who do they represent?
who do you belive?
make a sound decision for others to heed
try to set a faster pace
try to build a master race
one that will make a contribution to tomorrow
it's the way they say it's got to be
we put aside our fears and make history
the clothes are in the dryer and the writing is on the wall
we're trying everything we can to stop this fall
everyday we profit so
leaning toward the great unknown

Two Babies In The Dark Lyrics – Bad Religion

There'a light on in the hallway
so I can't understand
why you hide underneath the covers
there's a baby in your womb
so don't be scared tonight
because Raggedy ann is in the closet picking posies
two babies in the dark
like diamonds in the sand
while pap's far away making children's stories
the little one's inside
so afraid to be alone
she's trying to brave until the daddy comes home
so if you chance to see her
please tell her it's alright
'cause everyone fights the tendency to snap
sometimes it's not a matter
of being brave and strong
'cause noises in the house are terrifying
I'll put you to sleep at night
like a foreign movie
I'll sing you lullabies
and I'll teach you about everything
and I'll only ask you one thing
please save me

Heaven Is Falling Lyrics – Bad Religion

As I walk beneath the valley
I shall fear no evil
for thanks to King George and his rainbow cabinet
today murder is legal
God I know that it's wrong
to kill my brother for what he hasn't done
and as the planes blacken the sky
it sounds like heaven is falling
it sounds like heaven is falling
you promises me a new day a'dawning
I've seen a thousand points of light
like so many points of hatred, shame and horror
God I want to be a man
but I don't want to die with a rifle in my hand
and as the planes blacken the sky
it sounds like heaven is falling
it sounds like heaven is falling
you promised me a new day a'dawning
well nothing here looks new to me
but a score of mothers' sons
caught 'tween the devil and the deep blue sea

Atomic Garden Lyrics – Bad Religion

Everybody wants to dance in a playpen
But nobody wants to play in my garden
I see the hippies on an angry line
Guess they don't get my meaning
I'm enchanted by the birds in my blossoms
I'm enamored by young lovers on the weekend
I like the Fourth of July
When bombs start flashing
And I wish I had a shiny red top
A bugle with a big brass bell would cheer me up
Or maybe something bigger that could really go pop!
So I could make the gardening stop
Come out to play
Come out to play
And we'll pretend it's Christmas Day
In my atomic garden
All my scientists are working on a deadline
So my psychologist is working day and night time
They say they know what's best for me
But they don't know what they're doing
And I'm glad I'm not Gorbachev
'cause I'd wiggle all night
Like jelly in a pot
At leats he's got a garden with a fertile plot
And a party that will never stop
Come out to play
Come out to play
And we'll pretend it's Christmas Day
In my atomic...
I hope there's nothing wrong out there
I'm watching from my room inside my room
Come out to play
Come out to play
Come out to play
And we'll pretend its christmas day in my atomic garden

The Answer Lyrics – Bad Religion

Long ago in a dusty village
full of hunger, pain and strife
a man came forth with a vision of truth
and the way to a better life
he was convinced he had the answer
and he compelled people to follow along
but the hunger never vanished
and the man was banished
and the village dried up and died
at a time when wise men peered
through glass tubes toward the sky
the heavens changed in predictable ways
and one man was able to find
that he had thought he found the answer
and he was quick to write his revelation
but as they were scutinized
in his colleagues eyes
he soon became a mockery
don't tell me about the answer
'cause then another one will come along soon
I don't believe you have the answer
I've got ideas too
but if you've got enough naivete
and you've got conviction
then the answer is perfect for you
an urban sprawl sits choking on its discharge
overwhelmed by industry
searching for a modern day savior from another place
inclined toward charity
everyone's begging for an answer
without regard to validity
the searching never ends
it goes on and on for eternity

Fertile Crescent Lyrics – Bad Religion

Come and see the brilliant light
don't let your emotions mask your sight
it's the manifestation of a deeper fight
that affects me and you
my optimism was running high
a new world order was on my mind
but I couldn't belive it when I heard them say
they're blowing it away
and the fertile crescent is burning today
and baby my emotions are too
the cradle of humanity has led us all astray
and we're all in this tigether don't you know
'cause our species has nowhere else to go
aggression rears its ugly head
retaliation brings further dread
the two are linked by unseen threads
that wind back through time
I don't agree with the outdated trend
nationalism is an evil friend
but hatred is instilled by invisible lines
drawn in our minds
and the fertile crescent is haunting us today
and baby our instincts are too
the ghost of humanity is warning us this way
and I think we all should need it don't you know
'cause we've got nowhere else to go

Chimaera Lyrics – Bad Religion

You took a time bomb
and a case of crackers
and you made a maelstrom of organic debris
then you took a work bench
and a rusty anvil
and you polished them for everyone to see
you have created an unhealthy monster
but you're nowhere but nowhere to be found
so I guess I'll just cope with my provisions
from now until the day theu lay me down
you took a babboon
and made him perfect
you took a lion
and stripped him of his pride
then you took a million more varieties
a scalpel and a sartory
and you stitched up a horrible surprise
you have created an unsocial monster
and you're searched for all over the globe
and most belive that things would sure be better
if you'd come down here and tell us what you know
who is to blame for this?
someone tell me please
His handiwork is flawed
and it's there for all to see
mutataions, abberations and blatant anomalies
they multiply and give rise to this...monstrosrity
you took the most abundant smallest bits of matter
and you instilled them with affinity
and then you stratified accumulations
weeded out bad variations
and blended up your unique recipe
you have created a powerful monster
with direction and purpose all its own
and if you were here
would things be any different?
or are you just a mosaic of thoughts alone?

Only Entertainment Lyrics – Bad Religion

Transfixated on the big blue screen
its your window to the outside
a melancholy dream
a medium upon which you build reality
this episodic currency
that everybody needs
somebodies delivery lulls you to sleep
the man behind the weather map
the editor in chief
they control two worlds
power and disease
and you cannot supress you curiosity
but see it's only entertainment
superficial urgency
posterboard mentality
only entertainemnt
tightly constrained
the buzz that remains
is the story of how we run our lives
many our the people poor and suffering
from the lack of coverage
from the transmission beam
and if it ever gets there
you'll be offended too
'cause you cannot distinguish
chicanery from truth
see it's only entertainment
a superficial episode
as life continues to unfold
only entertainment
controlled and copied
they've planted the seed
that sprouts into your picture of the world
can't someone protect me (turn away, turn away)
from this electron beam?
hey you, Mr. FCC
have you no advice for me?

"Against The Grain" (1990)

Modern Man Lyrics – Bad Religion

i've got nothing to say,
i've got nothing to do,
all om my neruons are
functioning smoothly
yet still i'm a cyborg just like you,
i am one big myoma that thinks,
my planet supports only me,
i've got this one big problem: will i live forever?
i've got just a short time you see,
modern man, evelotionary betrayer,
modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
modern man, pathetic example of earth's organic heritage,
when i look back and think,
when i ponder and ask "why?",
i see my ancestors spend with careless abandon,
assuming eternal supply, modern man...,
just a sample of carbon-based wastage,
just a fucking tragic epic of you and i

Turn On The Light Lyrics – Bad Religion

i had a friend who kept a candle in his pocket,
he used to touch it when the wind was blowing high,
i guess it mad him feel like he could
buck the system and when it flickered out we laid him down to die,
turn on the light, turn on a million blinding brilliant white
incendiary lights, a beacon in the night, i'll burn relentlessly until
my juice runs dry, i'll construckt a rock of tempered beams and
trusses and equip it with a million tiny suns, i'll install upon the
roof on my compartment and place tinfoil on my floor and on my walls
then i'll turn on the light... and i'll burn lika a roman fucking
candle, like a chasm in the night, for a miniscule duration, ecstatic
immolation, incorrigible delight

Followers