Smiling through Bad News

Opening track on my new album with The Littoral Drift. New 14 track album due for release this Friday June 16th, 2023. 

Guitar vocals and bass: Darren Sullivan
Drums: Josh Dylan Peters https://soundcloud.com/jdylanp

Lyrics:
Won’t you leave the light on
Never could spy on
Drawn on a lake like with 
A charcoal crayon

Old men rely on 
Days of bygone
Memories traced
to the war in Saigon

Never gonna raise him
Better you forgave him
Shaving with a razor 
From the Barber’s favor

Maybe you could save him
If you forgave him
Betting on red but it’s looking pretty grim

Callin on Eliza
You know she relies on
Petty little gossip
From the corner store

A shoulder to cry on
Simping for the line on
Better get it straight if you’re wanting more. 
Wanting More 

Knowing Eliza
does despise him
Holding her hand when the sun has set

He listens real good
But she thinks he’s a fool
Believing that this is all he’ll get

She’s staying in the friend zone
She’s lovin Lorenzo
Never gonna have that special glow
She’s staying in the friend zone
She’s lovin Lorenzo
Never gonna have that special glow


Won’t you leave the light on
Never could spy on
Drawn on a lake like with 
A charcoal crayon

Old men rely on 
Days of bygone
Memories traced
to the war in Saigon

Never gonna raise him
Better you forgave him
Shaving with a razor 
From the Barber’s favor

Maybe you could save him
If you forgave him
Betting on red but it’s looking pretty grim

Callin on Eliza
You know she relies on
Petty little gossip
From the corner store

A shoulder to cry on
Simping for the line on
Better get it straight if you’re wanting more. 
Wanting More 
 
Callin on Eliza
You know she relies on
Petty little gossip
From the corner store

A shoulder to cry on
Simping for the line on
Better get it straight if you’re wanting more. 
 

Knowing Eliza
does despise him
Holding her hand when the sun has set

He listens real good
But she thinks he’s a fool
Believing that this is all he’ll get

She’s staying in the friend zone
She’s lovin Lorenzo
She’s staying in the friend zone
She’s lovin Lorenzo

Verdure

ELiza

Eliza (EXCLUSIVE SOUNDCLOUD EARLY RELEASE!!!!!)

This song is about my grandfather's recitation of a traditional joke when he would pass a cemetery, he would say, "People are dying to get in there," and how this joke has transcended three generations of my family, with my own kids now reciting the joke. They have added, "....and the wait is killing them." Either way, the song is about how we live on after we die through the loved ones we leave behind. 
The lyrics on the recording are different than these lyrics posted. After I recorded this song, I returned to these lyrics and made changes so I could recite it as poetry. I added more imagery. I so appreciate the musicians and artists who support my work and only hope we can all continue to stay inspired and grow through our art. 



No Discord
Darren Sullivan: Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Tamborine
Josh Dylan Peters: Drums 

Lyrics:
They were thrown to the thieves
Into the sleeves with stolen cheese
Breaking into the floor lookin for more
With a gun at the door

And the kids read all day and read all night for the knowledge to grow
Asking the questions like a sinister punch in the nose.
Slaying jokes while driving past cemeteries –“Hey, Dad, people are dying to get in there!”
Looking for sleds -winter was coming - better a blanket on bed

Living on the lake in the breeze
Got the balance that you need
Challenged by that week on the ledge
You made a pledge from behind the shed.

I was one of those guys that never complained 
When the couch got stained
But I felt the blame
So I learned to get tame 
On a verdurous plane

But the kids read all day and read all night for the knowledge to grow
They ask questions like a sinister punch in the nose.
Slaying jokes while driving past cemeteries, “Hey, Dad, people are dying to get in there!”
Looking for sleds winter was coming better a blanket on bed

When we arrived we were met with their swords
We made peace through our music with no discord

We said that we don’t care
We don’t care when the snare hits the bear

Oh my god you threw it out!
Poison left to share
 Oh my god you gave up stout?
Better stop your stare
Best alive with blooded ties
Given up the cynical cares

And the kids read all day and read all night for the knowledge to grow
Asking the questions like a sinister punch in the nose.
Slaying jokes while driving past overgrown, familiar cemeteries “Hey Dad, people are dying to get in there!”
Looking for sleds -winter was coming- better a blanket on bed

No Discord

How long have I 
been out for…..
Down the creekside manor
Stared at its door
Moss overgrown
bats and peepers soar…
I woke up in the back yard
All I saw was the joker card
Missed the dance and the super bowls
Cruelty kindness or the growing toll
The wait got weighted down
Barely heard the sound
shoveled on the mound
The wait weighted down
The wait got weighted down
How long have I 
been out for…..
Down the Creekside manor
Stared at its door
Moss overgrown
bats and peepers soar…

The Wait Got Weighted Down

Raindrops falling in my cup
Coffee morning just woke up
Reasons mattered before time stopped
No one travelled and no one shopped
No you never got in line
Never stopped on a dime
You always wanted just to sing
Circled around and tied the ring. 

It always will grow
Is there a way I don’t know?
The garden’s got seed
A wind full of breeze…

Won’t see the light of day
Could barely repeat refrain
Counting all the money you spend
On nothing more than a big fat hen

Desensitized by karma dreams 
A prickly place to hide the seams
Reaching out to another brain
Trading riffs that last through days…

It always will grow
Is there a way I don’t know?
The garden’s got seed
A wind full of breeze…

A Prayer for the Dying

I’m waitin on a new style I’m waitin on a new day
Walkin a long the mile checkin out the play

I’m never goin out at night
Only out in the day
Never gonna ride assumption
That I’m gonna be ok
So I’d rather just have you know
It’s another shut in day
The flowers never grow
When you focus on decay
You never amount to much
When a shadow scares your touch
So smile at the crossroads
You talk shit way too much 

Everyone is a little bit frightened
Everyone is scared
Maybe you could help them out
But a shut in you don’t care.

Make your friends dine about
Try to dance and scream and shout 

I was waitin on that cow bell
I was waitin on the rain
Someone said they remembered me
And boy was I a pain
Before the lavish luxuries
And pleasantries defined
I got pistol whipped by 
Robbers
Just beggin for the time

Mother ran the tightest ship
Blessings in her way
I always had the politest things
Ready off to say

She never let him out at day
Never out at night
Lovecraft’s sick in bed again
Better turn off the bedroom light
Lovecraft’s sick in bed again
Better turn off the bedroom light
Lovecraft’s sick in bed again
Better turn off the bedroom light

We saw him in the window
We told him to come down
Waving at his friends
His mother always frowned
His mother always said
Lovecraft’s sick again
His mother always said
Lovecraft’s sick again
His mother always said
Lovecraft’s sick again

Lovecraft's Sick Again (Acoustic Version)

This song reminds me of the haunted house at Disneyland where the candelabras float up and down the hallways. Here is a video made for the song. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUJgj6MZGy4


We can’t help but run away
When cornered against our will
Flagrant fouls of innocence
Always try to ride the fence
Waiting out the calls
While you are left in haunted halls

 They battered us down
They winched us away

Hold you down for 
Counted out forever more 

 You can count on me for
that will be the time when we will 
show the world what we’ve found  
 that will be the time when we will 
show the world what we’ve found

Haunted Halls

The song is about perseverance through repetitive tasks by escaping deep into the mind's imagination. Back to the grind, I guess. Here is a video accompaniment with some old school animation. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TJg8QihRsM

Lyrics
When you were searchin like an Urchin you were movin
On the sea floor
 With the tides you collide while dodging all the mine
Fields close to shore
Missing all the green hoping genes give the means from the fiends
For many more
Times like these you hope for the shoulder 
Of many of us
Pushin up the boulder for days and in ways but it sways
As it must     
But crashing back down to the ground
Like  Sisyphus

Never had the change on the range by the quarter that was drawn
 in early dawn

And you sit curled in your room with  clouded doom
Metamorphosis

Grinding the Stone

Lyrics
Sons and daughters braved the rain
Sorry story told again. 
Of the winners and losers that crossed the lines
And the connoisseurs with their fine wines
Tempted by - the shoals of ice
Tempered by the exotic spice
That flavors the wind and lifts the sails
That rides through waves as the North Wind wails
Ain’t no body know
Where the money goes
Ain’t no body know
oppressive power grows

Ain’t no funny games
Drunk on sunny days
Ain’t no funny games
Drunk on sunny days

Looking up for mercy from the stone…
All alone
Walking the plank and keelhauled …
on your own
 
Ain’t misbehaving- better walk in line
Snitches get stitches before their time
Picking those pockets only get so far
Matches light the fire that sets it off. 

He was a cow in calf better have a laugh
They were hoping that he’d become their money bags
Sharing empty shelves cob web caught the fly
Maybe he’ll think twice before taking my advice. 

Shattered lives
Shadowed lies
Better tell the truth
Before you look the fool
No one knows
Where it grows
In an Online kissing booth
A Smile without a tooth. 

Hitting up the walls ….
in the bathroom
Markings on the wall claimed….
They had you

With the  ground underneath
We take that generational trip

Of materialistic wealth and shallow thoughts about 
Their drip. 

And the flow never grows
 as we wonder why we’ve lost
 our grip.

Our love for the red wood forest 
it brings us to the chorus

Ain’t no body know
Where the money goes

If this is what we lose,
 it puts us to the screws

Ain’t no body know
oppressive power grows

Ain’t misbehaving- better walk in line
Snitches get stitches before their time
Picking those pockets only get so far
Matches light the fire that sets it off.

Dreams of the Byzantines

No Funny Games

Lyrics
Remember when you were a dying soldier
Pretending in the city playground
Maybe it was World War II
Maybe Apocalypse Now

There was never a shortage 
of anti-war films
Plenty enough to go round
War was bad unless your side was winning
Reading in the news
  when we win or lose. 
Jammin out the tunes on a Saturday
Making me crazy gonna dance all day
Delusions of grandeur well it’s hard to say
Would rather have drifted than have to stay

Away from you and your ugly dog 
Maybe it's true our love is god
Maybe a step in the right direction
Maybe on a merry go round

Maybe you dreamt it
Couldn’t be real 
Maybe just a memory found
Maybe just a memory found
Maybe just a memory found

I remember you swam the ocean
But never saw any sharks
Sharks were said to roam the pool halls
And loan you money when in debt
Took the loan and got bit hard
When you couldn’t pay it back
Got pulled under and saw the blood
Screamed about a shark attack

You were too young to remember Jaws
But it really freaked us out
We couldn’t decide was real or not
Like getting punched in the mouth. 

Maybe you dreamt it
Couldn’t be real 
Maybe just a memory found

Maybe you dreamt it
Couldn’t be real 
Maybe just a memory found

Maybe you dreamt it
Couldn’t be real 
Maybe just a memory found

Maybe you dreamt it
Couldn’t be real 
Maybe just a memory found
Maybe just a memory found

Memory Found

In another time another place
We measure our progress through our disgrace
And danced in the halls knew who we were
Escaped the race and gave it away

Now we are set and running late
Hard to believe we lived so free
Bent in the way -the branch swings
Caught in the grace of the Byzantines

Mosaic of color helps escape
The beauty of art starts taking shape
Inspiring those from under its wing
this modern world is fleeting 
remembering days of creating
Byzantine dreams run through my head
Sometimes  I live there instead
 Beautiful locks of abstract gold
Perfect icons and frescos 

Living off the dreams of the Byzantines

[BEAT BY FOREIGN][VOCALS BY TYFANG][VOCAL PROD. IGNAFYT] (Outer Source Art)

PLANETARIAN EVACUATION // 4AM

At School

(part one of two songs)

part II: https://soundcloud.com/temple-of-the-haunted-man/gazing-at-lost-pictures

Pictures And Memories

https://soundcloud.com/temple-of-the-haunted-man/sets/keep-the-streets-empty-for-me
speech by Charlie Chaplin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Dictator)

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor.
That's not my business.
I don't want to rule or conquer anyone.
I should like to help everyone if possible.
Jew - Gentile - Black Man, White.
We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.
We want to live by each other's happiness.
Not by each other's misery.
We don't want to hate and despise one another.
And this world has room for everyone, and the good Earth is rich can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
Greed has posioned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.
Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want.
Our knowledge has made us cynincal.
Our cleverness, hard and unkind.
We think too much, and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity.
More that cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities life will be violent, and all will be lost.
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together.
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all.
Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair.
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress.
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people.
And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. ...
Soldiers!
don't give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel!
Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder.
Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines!
You are not cattle!
You are men!
You have the love of humanity in your hearts!
You don't hate!
Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!
Soldiers!
Don't fight for slavery!
Fight for liberty!
In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: "the Kingdom of God is within man" - not one man nor a group of men, but in all men!
In you!
You, the people have the power - the power to create machines.
The power to create happiness!
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.
Then - in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite.
Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security.
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power.
But they lie!
They do not fulfil that promise.
They never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!
Now let us fight to fulfil that promise!
Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance.
Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.
Soldiers!
in the name of democracy, let us all unite

Nowhere And Everywhere (speech by Charlie Chaplin)

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My new album "Dreams of the Byzantines" is streaming June 13th, 2025. Please check out my new website darrencsullivan.com for videos and albums to purchase.

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