Sometimes loopholes benefit me
I played them fast and loose
But more times they caught me
Left fresh scars under the noose

I broke through the deadbolt
A romantic mystery
Now it’s hard to think of yourself
As someone’s history

Hey Bartender, another shot
Cuz I’d rather be a ghost
Then her afterthought

I’ve become the outsider
In a world I helped create
Fading into her scenery 
A casualty of fate

I ’m always playing catch up 
In a game with no score
But I’d peel my skin to the bone
For one night like before

Hey Bartender, another shot
Cuz I’d rather be a ghost
Then her afterthought

I’m living my afterlife
Went to heaven with you
But the devil pulled me under
When you went where you had to

People always say they’re right
Where they’re supposed to be
How the fuck do they know
I’m always been lost at sea

Hey Bartender, another shot
Cuz tonight I’m her ghost
Instead of her afterthought

Slow…
Hearts beating in 4-time
With every perfect note
She’s the words to every love song
That I ever wrote


Fade Accompli

Golden Faces
Golden Hearts
Doled out for change
And sold for parts

The screaming streets
Hold no clues
Cuz the innocent
Still have to pay their dues

But I feel safe and warm
From the impending storm
In the arms of Manila
In the arms of Manila

Smiles and dreams
The muffled screams
Bamboo doesn’t break 
From life’s extremes

All of our problems
Third world to first
Makes me realize
I’m the one that’s cursed

But I feel safe and warm
From the impending storm
And I have no fear
Cuz I’m held tight right here
In the arms of Manila
In the arms of Manila

The enemy of children
Is hope’s violent thief
The warm air surrounds us
And the waters cool relief

But so many missing
Dollars lacking sense
An unbreakable will
Their last line of defense

Smiles and dreams
The muffled screams
Bamboo doesn’t break 
From life’s extremes
In the arms of Manila
In the arms of Manila


Arms Of Manila

Silver Rider

Where’d we go
What’ve we become?
We judge each other harshly and with ourselves we just play dumb
We’ll turn our backs
On some in need
And fire up the cable for the shows that kill and bleed

And we’re all fucked up
And there’s no way out
Were living in fear
Were living in doubt 
Cuz we’re all fucked up
With no place to turn
Cuz we don’t talk to people
We don’t live and we don’t learn

Why are we high?
Turn to our friends
But they’re counting likes on their phone and Instagram sends
Can we just hear?
Their tears and pain
Just listen without judgment til the phone rings again

And we’re all fucked up
And there’s no way out
Were living in fear
Were living in doubt 
Cuz we’re all fucked up
With no place to turn
Cuz we don’t talk to people
We don’t live and we don’t learn

What did we do
To earn this prize
Of being better than the world in our stars and stripes disguise
How will it end?
Who grabs the ring?
It’s the one that gets that no one owes you a goddam thing

And we’re all fucked up
And there’s no way out
Were living in fear
Were living in doubt 
Cuz we’re all fucked up
With no place to turn
Cuz we don’t talk to people
We don’t live and we don’t learn


We're All Fucked Up

Crash And Burn

11000 days too soon
Thought youth would make us immune
Never too invested
And soon detested
Going through the motions
Into endless oceans
Little dramas, phantom pains
Dark thoughts and black stains
Lived the dark side of the moon
11000 days too soon

11000 days too late
Stole a second chance from fate
Met my hearts other side
Fell hard but had to hide
Lived a life I’d never known
Wound up even more alone
Felt right to take the chance
Finally tasted true romance
Flushed out the dark and the hate
11000 days too late

11000 days maybe if I prayed
Scars are deep but slowly fade 
I fell from grace and scraped my knees
And live through those apologies
Rinsed away the sad and frantic
Into the shores of the Atlantic
My heart my muse my love  my friend
Stays inside till the very end
Three feet deep with three to go
11000 days I’ll never know


11,000 Days

Soon enough one way mirrors won’t look back
The world and my mind will both turn to black

I take a selfie but no one’s in the frame
And there’s no one around for me to blame

But I can’t outrun the dark
It’s an impossible chase
And the one thing that scares me the most
Is not being able to see your pretty face

So much to do, to live, so much to see
So I hurry before the dark gets a hold of me

I feel unarmed from this war within
Things will never be the same again

But I can’t outrun the dark
It’s an impossible chase
And the thing that I’m going to miss the most
Is being able to see your pretty face


Outrun The Dark

Shopping carts, bags of clothes in cross walks
But no stores inhabit these vacant city blocks

Easy villains on a street corner with a sign
Every car passes, thinks malignant or benign

Somewhere in the middle lies the truth
Somewhere in the middle of truth is lies
This feral cast live and move around us
I’m close enough to see the empty in their eyes
             
    Huddled under a blanket in a cold parking lot
The road to where he’s at started with the mug shot
 
For some it’s a cancer that had no funded cure
For others it’s a company that layoff cannot endure

Somewhere in the middle lies the truth
Somewhere in the middle of truth is lies
Monsters exist and live and move around us
My life is part of theirs, a self inflicted disguise

Broken windows, blackened eyes and a kicked in door
The cops, the landlord, and the ex all prisoners of war

Sirens bleed the night air on their front line
And you cross the street to avoid the malignant or benign. 

Somewhere in the middle lies the truth
Somewhere in the middle of truth is lies
This feral cast live and move around us
I’m close enough to see the empty in their eyes



Plain Claude Beamon