Let's Face It (along with "Wrong Thing, Right Then")

Joe Sirois: Drums
Dennis Brockenborough: Trombone
Nate Albert: Guitar
Tim Burton: Saxophone
Ben Carr: Bosstone
Dicky Barrett: Vocals
Kevin Lenear: Saxophone
Joe Gittleman: Bass

NOISE BRIGADE
RASCAL KING
ROYAL OIL
THE IMPRESSION THAT I GET
LET'S FACE IT
THAT BUG BIT ME
ANOTHER DRINKIN' SONG
NUMBERED DAYS
BREAK SO EASILY
NEVERMIND ME
DESENSITIZED
1-2-8

NOISE BRIGADE
Without any training,
It's pouring,
It's raining.
Training or a trade,
Hey, you bet I'm afraid.
Unequipped with a skill,
But I'm thrilled with the thrill.
Underskilled, unprepared
Hey, who wouldn't be scared?
Bring on the obstacles,
And burn me a bridge.
I'm not sure, should I call
This my range or a ridge?
There ain't none too high,
If I'm up for the climb.
I'll go zero to sixty,
And stop on a dime.
A dime for a dozen,
If that's what you're after.
A moment of silence,
A lifetime of laughter.
On the brighter side,
And on a happier note.
The noise, well it's just love,
That gets caught in my throat.
The end of the line's,
Not the end of a rope just a salesman,
Selling a bucket of hope.
When the bucket gets kicked,
And my chips are all cashed,
My intentions, conventions,
Are finally smashed.

RASCAL KING
Well he was fueled by a lack,
Drew inspiration from a need.
So many problems to crack,
And mouths to feed.
Crooked was the path,
And brazen was the walk.
A cocky swagger, up the ladder,
And could he ever talk.
The last hurrah?
Nah! I'd do it again.
The Rascal King behind the bars,
Or the one in front of them.
The love of God,
And constant contradictions.
With just a smile, wink or nod,
What's stranger fact or fiction?
And never ceasing to amaze,
On a regular basis.
First hand into his pocket,
Or first fist into the faces.
The last hurrah?
Nah! I'd do it again.
The Rascal King behind the bars,
Or the one in front of them.
A legendary character,
When?
Only then.
Where?
Only there.
A hero or a hooligan?
Well, that part's never clear,
Pride or shame, it's all the same.
Who's innocent or who's to blame?
Politics or just a game?
Well in the end they knew his name.
The last hurrah? Nah! I'd do it again.
The Rascal King behind the bars,
Or the one in front of them.

ROYAL OIL
Royal Oil, come on bubble and boil.
Stabs like a dagger, make you stagger,
On the hot tin foil.
Mind your mind or it will surely spoil,
then you sleep down in the soil.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.
When you smoke or poke the poison,
You lose the chance to be tomorrow.
Look out on the horizon,
And see the sadness, the pain and the sorrow.
I can't say enough about the stuff,
Or what it has in store.
When you smoke or poke the poison,
You won't be anymore.
Royal Oil, come on bubble and boil.
Stabs like a dagger, make you stagger,
On the hot in foil.
Mind your mind or it will surely spoil.
Then you sleep down in the soil.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.
Royal Oil has cut many down to size.
Spikes gonna strike the weak and strong alike.
And then forever, and ever close those eyes.
Make up your mind to keep your mind up.
And to your life be loyal.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.
Royal Oil, big trouble brewing.
Long, lonely road, long road to ruin.
Wrong path to take, great big mistake,
And then you sleep down in the soil.
Nothing comes from nothing, come on Royal Oil.

THE IMPRESSION THAT I GET
Have you ever been close to tragedy,
Or been close to folks who have.
Have you ever felt a pain so powerful,
So heavy you collapse.
I've never had to knock on wood,
But I know someone who has.
Which makes me wonder if I could.
It makes me wonder if,
I've never had to knock on wood.
And I'm glad I haven't yet,
Because I'm sure it isn't good,
that's the impression that I get.
Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high,
You need a strength most don't possess.
Or has it ever come down to do or die,
You've got to rise above the rest.
I've never had to knock on wood,
But I know someone who has,
Which makes me wonder if I could.
It makes me wonder if,
I've never had to knock on wood,
And I'm glad I haven't yet,
Because I'm sure it isn't good.
That's the impression that I get.
I'm not a coward,
I've just never been tested.
I'd like to think that if I was,
I would pass.
Look at the tested and think there but for the grace go,
I might be a cowards,
I'm afraid of what I might find out.
I've never had to knock on wood,
But I know someone who has,
Which makes me wonder if I could.
It makes me wonder if,
I've never had to knock on wood,
And I'm glad I haven't yet.
Because I'm sure it isn't good,
That's the impression that I get.

LET’S FACE IT
It's so hard to face,
That in this day and age,
Somebody's race,
Could trigger somebody's rage.
And somebody's preference,
Can drive some total stranger,
to make somebody, somehow,
feel the wrath of their anger.
Why were we put here?
What for? We're unsure.
We sure weren't put here to hate.
Be racist, be sexist,
Be bigots, be sure,
We won't stand for your hate.
Why so cut and dry?
A simple concept missed,
Give tolerance a try,
This confusion still exists ignorant mongers.
No area's gray,
Couldn't be any wronger in this age and day.
Why were we put here?
What for? We're unsure.
We sure weren't put here to hate.
Be racist, be sexist,
Be bigots, be sure,
We won't stand for your hate.
Now how far have we come?
How come there still are some?
Who won't let some,
March to the beat of a different drum.
To face it, it's so hard,
you must be on your guard.
It's not okay,
And you're not free to be a different way.
Let's try to erase it, it's time that we face it,
If we don't, then who will? Shame on us.
Let's try to erase it, it's time that we face it,
Let's face it, the time is upon us.

THAT BUG BIT ME
That bug bit me,
I'll admit,
Stunned - it took a while to hit.
But when it hit me,
I was bit,
Shit, I came clean with it.
No match, who am I,
No match, who am I, so why try to deny it.
Just a regular guy, who won't even try it.
The bug's been around,
Since time began,
It's bitten bigger,
Badder bastards than the one I am.
It can cripple,
And it can paralyze.
When I felt it's tooth,
I told the truth to my surprise,
I saw the bug and I gotta say,
Ahh I tried to get away.
I tried to run,
I tried to fight,
But the bug was there to bite.
No match, who am I?
Must respect the insect, it injects, and infects.
If I may interject, I love the effects.
The bug's been around since time began,
It's bitten bigger,
Badder bastards than the one I am.
It can cripple,
And it can paralyze.
When I felt its tooth,
I told the truth to my surprise.

ANOTHER DRINKIN' SONG
Gonna dive into a dive
I've dove into before.
Gonna haunt a haunt I've haunted
Like a million times or more.
A familiar joint
Where getting drunk's the only point.
To frequent this place,
With any frequency at all.
Countin' on a remedy
I've counted on before.
Goin' with a cure that's never failed me.
What you call the disease,
I call the remedy.
What you're callin' the cause,
I call the cure.
Gonna sing a song, a song to you
A song I've sung before.
Belt out a ballad that I've belted out
A million times or more.
The words I'm gonna scream,
And getting drunk's the central theme.
To the lyrics, if you can,
Make the lyrics out at all.
Countin' on a remedy
I've counted on before.
Goin' with a cure that's never failed me.
What you call the disease,
I call the remedy.
What you're callin' the cause,
I call the cure.
Just a devotion to a potion,
Please no applause.
A dedication to a medication,
A crutch a cure a cause.
What I've counted on to pick me up,
Has knocked me to my knees.
Before I hit the floor once more,
I'll call it the disease.

NUMBERED DAYS
Familiar with his kind,
He'll beat someone down for fun.
He's got an axe to grind,
And he'll target anyone.
Brass knuckled in his pocket,
Steel-toed shoes,
Live of the party,
When you factor in booze.
Familiar with his kind,
He'll target anyone.
He's got a group of friends,
And they're all like-minded guys.
The fun never ends,
And he didn't live through it.
He's got a group of friends,
They'll target anyone.
Violence, when will they learn?
Time's running out,
And the tables will turn.
The days have been numbered,
And your number's coming up.
Senseless, when will they learn?
Time's running out,
And the tables will turn.
The days have been numbered,
And your number's coming up.
The charge what? Homicide?
Alone he took the fall.
His friends all testified,
They weren't there at all.
He cried like a baby,
When his sentence was passed.
For himself and not the victim,
But this victim was his last.
Still familiar with his kind,
Too many of them left behind.
Up to all that he once was,
No other reason, just because.
Too many incidents,
None are isolated,
each coincidence,
Is closely related.
Familiar with his kind,
He'll target anyone.

BREAK SO EASILY
You would break so easily,
So fragile that it frightens me.
A harsh sudden reality,
A painful possibility.
To see it's like the strangest dream,
to be it needs to still be seen.
As loud as any noise you've heard,
As quiet as a whispered word.
Try to answer questions forced,
Forced inside of me.
You were forced across the line,
You're not providing me.
You would break so easily,
I watched you break so easily.
What's it like to be right up against,
Not stay on this side of the fence.
A line so fine it can't be traced,
A life so suddenly erased.
Two came through just like a train,
A flash and nothing's been the same.
Try to answer questions forced,
Forced inside of me.
You took the answers when you broke,
So easily you're gone.
Once the same until,
You broke so easily,
Tell me now.

NEVERMIND ME
He didn't hit me for a home,
Or hit me up 'cause he was cold.
He was addicted to drugs,
And I could see that in his eyes.
What about me?
Well I was only rolled,
He didn't rob me for food.
It wasn't hunger, but a jonze,
He needed a fix,
Someone will fix my broken bones.
And I'll feel better in the morning.
The pain will fade as time goes by,
What was taken,
I won't miss, or I'll replace.
Nevermind me, well I'm all right.
He seemed to hate what he was doing,
He sure knew how to get it done.
Possessed by an addiction,
I don't have to comprehend.
What about me?
Well he whipped me with a gun,
He didn't rob me for food.
It wasn't hunger, but a jonze,
He needed a fix,
Someone will fix my broken bones.
And I'll feel better in the morning,
The pain will fade as time goes by.
What was taken,
I won't miss, or I'll replace.
Nevermind me, well I'm all right.

DESENSITIZED
Woke up early,
On the tenth anniversary,
GOOD MORNING.
Fit in clips of it,
Between food prep shorts.
Weather reports,
Check the day's commute,
And a look at sports.
I remember how the wind,
Was knocked from me,
Before it became footage,
A footnote in history.
Recently I think I heard it could have been avoided,
It shouldn't have occurred,
A fundamental obligation,
To my parents and my kids LIFE.
Gave me a glimpse of it ,
Don't know who shot him,
They never caught him,
Let's get to the bottom,
And blow off the lid.
I'm trying to keep a balance,
Like the plates on top of sticks,
Chip away 'til it goes down,
When it goes down apply the kicks.
Recently I think I heard,
It could have been avoided,
It shouldn't have occurred,
Sadly we're desensitized.
To all the scandals and the cover ups,
The conspiracies and lies.

1-2-8
They played something,
They made something.
Brand new a baby blue machine.
Brass tacks, duct tape,
For the great escape,
Packed in there like sardines.
Back and forth,
East, south, west, north,
Shred the atlas burn the map.
Often lost and paths criss-crossed,
Wake me up I need a nap.
They did something,
Which meant something,
And that got them some attention.
Eyes wide,
A roller coaster ride,
Great pride in this invention.
I think they're selling Snake oil,
At the dog and pony show.
In the garden gee,
Would you pardon me?
And by the way how does it grow?
The explanation's unexplainable,
Holding onto something.
Once dreamt unattainable,
The course was never charted,
So don't look into the books.
The secret's not the recipe,
It's got to be the cooks.
They made something,
They played something,
Blood, sweat, and elbow grease.
If you can't stand the heat in the kitchen,
Get out it will increase.
Last train to where?
Hey get out of here.
Nothing's measured and nothing's weighed,
A dash of honesty in the recipe.
That's the first mistake you've made.
1, 2 what's in the stew.
3, 4 no one's really sure.
5, 6 what's in the mix.
7, 8 this stuff tastes.

WRONG THING RIGHT THEN
So here's what happened this time,
I'm sure that it's the last time,
I'm over going over it, it's over once again.
What am I gonna do with me,
I blew the opportunity,
by saying something asinine,
I've gotta watch this mouth of mine.

I sure said the wrong thing right then, try to forgive.
I'll never say that again, as long as I live.

As I remember the events,
I'm tryin' hard to make some sense
My mouth is my arch-nemesis,
you think that I'd be used to this.
What the master said, `bout sticks and stones,
I blew it now, and I'm all alone,
Let me take it back, I was only joking,
my mouth is shut but my heart is broken.

I sure said the wrong thing right then, try to forgive.
I'll never say that again, as long as I live.

I sure said the wrong thing
(right then I said the wrong thing)
(right then I said the wrong thing)
(right then I said the wrong thing)
(right then I said the wrong thing)

I was way ahead, and I should have quit,
instead I put my foot in it,
My mouth I hold responsible,
what I need now's a miracle.
So that's what happened this time,
no question it's the last time,
If I get out of this one with my skin,
I'll mind the mouth that got me in.

I sure said the wrong thing
(right then I said the wrong thing)
I sure said the wrong thing, right then, try to forgive.
I'll never say that again, as long as I live.