1. |
Unmasked
02:42
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Unmasked
something clearly over
these wars about a mask
are you people crazy here
just felt i had to ask
your opinion isn’t fact
cause who cares what we like
once there was that golden rule
before we dropped the mic
seems too big to counter
our sad decline and fall
common good collapses
then up against the wall
capital spawns culture
that’s shallow like its dad
we deserve our selfishness
more logic makes me mad
ignorance is righteous
just so we watch and buy
you’re a loser liberal
aw don’t break down and cry
chorus
perhaps i will infect you
so glad i have the right
block me from my nail salon
and now you’ve got a fight
seems too big to counter
our sad decline and fall
common good collapses
then up against the wall
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2. |
The Ice
03:54
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The Ice
he spoke his convictions
a righteous kind of play
privilege let him cruise above
the hubbub and the fray
his wife brought him sherry
he sipped it in the den
he had spoken for their rights
a fighter since back when
that's the tale he spun inside
self portraits seldom true
preaching from atop the ice
until we fall right through
he couldn’t quite believe it
how they could savage him
now the good guys get attacked
on some misguided whim
then his cronies warned him
he’s liable for arrest
he felt way indignant
a curse to be so blessed
chorus
now the mob gets nearer
how did things go so wrong
he will meet them at the gate
instruct them to move on
that's the tale he spun inside
self portraits seldom true
preaching from atop the ice
until we fall right through
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3. |
Going Down To Wuhan
03:23
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Going Down To Wuhan
i’m going down to wuhan
to see my baby there
i hear that she coughs and coughs
but i don’t really care
i’m going down to wuhan
can’t wait another day
once i hold her in my arms
these blues will fly away
call me mad romantic
but love is all we’ve got
this world’s just too crazy boss
we’re suffering a lot
i’m going down to wuhan
though people tell me wait
have to take my chances now
and leave it up to fate
i’m going down to wuhan
my heart will risk it all
i can’t stand this disconnect
so painful when i call
chorus
i’m going down to wuhan
i’ll see you when i do
this is sure the toughest test
but my love’s deep and true
call me mad romantic
but love is all we’ve got
this world’s just too crazy boss
we’re suffering a lot
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4. |
Red Door
03:26
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Red Door
what’s behind the red door
all overgrown in weeds
there seems no way through it
who knows where it might lead
what’s behind the red door
a tangled world of dreams
maybe distant thunder claps
wild roller coaster screams
i blinked in confusion
the portal fell away
could i enter through the thorns
redeem another day
i stood near the red door
a frame set in a wall
somewhere from the other side
i heard my spirit call
i stood at the red door
my heart beat not the same
then the tide inside me surged
and washed away my name
chorus
what’s behind the red door
when finally you push through
brilliant stars combining
a universe brand new
i blinked in confusion
the portal fell away
could i enter through the thorns
redeem another day
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5. |
Travelers
03:15
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Travelers
i’m not really ready
it’s never up to you
i just hope my time’s not yet
still got some things to do
everything is changing
but then it’s always so
pilgrims in the mystery
where perils come and go
even as we’re separate
we’re also deeply one
a motley crew of travelers
circling round the sun
such a world of madness
of beauty and of care
soon enough we disappear
all vanish into air
we are ever dying
it’s just a question when
let us open up our hearts
and open them again
chorus
bless you on your journey
i pray you will be well
pestilence rings clearly
that meditation bell
even as we’re separate
we’re also deeply one
a motley crew of travelers
circling round the sun
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6. |
Overcome
04:12
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Overcome
hard to tell the difference
so did you win or lose
throwing sharpened elbows
and kicking dagger shoes
all that will to power
so eager to compete
just another stud baboon
who struts across the street
war our favorite pastime
we shoot til we get numb
then we kneel and pray to god
so much to overcome
downward to the bottom
the race goes to the swift
better cordon off your heart
and saw your soul adrift
do you treat your neighbor
the same as you treat you
better watch your back boy
or he might run you through
chorus
the world survives on kindness
and struts on oil and steel
we obey the lords of more
lose track of what seems real
war our favorite pastime
we shoot til we get numb
then we kneel and pray to god
so much to overcome
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7. |
Empress Of The Dow
02:28
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Empress Of The Dow
the law was stacked against her
but she could trump the law
no one stopped her iron will
just pretty girl they saw
she sat with her lawyers
a bummer to get caught
but she’d fixed the proper judge
just like her daddy taught
you must flaunt your fortune
it doesn’t matter how
that’s the only way to win
my empress of the dow
there is no clear purpose
so bank accounts must do
novices parade their wealth
to wow the big time crew
she had bought some paintings
but no one seemed to care
now she meant to own the sea
and maybe soon the air
chorus
she had nixed the baby
too cumbersome a deal
as the titans greeted her
the rush felt so unreal
you must flaunt your fortune
it doesn’t matter how
that’s the only way to win
my empress of the dow
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8. |
Canaries
03:44
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Canaries
some threats are invisible
chernobyl and now this
i must love you from afar
and send a phantom kiss
grief expresses through the lungs
a world now drowned in tears
we were just too frantic then
to notice all those years
feel the spirits battle
between the dark and light
silent dangers chase us down
we must get balance right
we ignored the fallout
or heard and turned away
racing hard toward the edge
brought closer every day
but we mostly saw just us
each huffing to get by
there’s no species counsel here
for guidance from on high
chorus
you can’t bank compassion
not like the bottom line
now the dying cannot breath
canaries in the mine
feel the spirits battle
between the dark and light
silent dangers chase us down
we must get balance right
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9. |
Maybe
02:58
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Maybe
maybe you were sitting
in the kitchen by the clock
waiting on the kettle
the line gone round the block
maybe you were listening
to that battered radio
only there’s no traffic now
but still you feel the glow
you miss aunt virginia
the one voice always kind
you pull out her autoharp
to hear what’s on your mind
maybe you were faithful
to the drum beat in your head
thumbing through procedurals
the pile of those you read
maybe you remember
your baseball through the glass
you caught that one pretty good
velocity and mass
chorus
maybe there’s tomorrow
some bright rays shining through
you lie under blankets now
more fictional than true
you miss aunt virginia
the one voice always kind
you pull out her autoharp
to hear what’s on your mind
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10. |
Touch
02:36
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Touch
he ate at the table
the masked ones brought his food
he tried hard to sit up straight
with regal attitude
sure he’d heard the stories
he’d even glimpsed a hug
though of course he had been born
in year three of the bug
touch a crucial factor
he knew it from its lack
life sure looked so good before
and now no going back
he’d heard other children
but always played alone
if this plague would ever end
his teachers hadn’t known
so he watched the sitcoms
and old games on tv
he had his own point of view
what it means being free
chorus
he had a recurring dream
he almost couldn’t wait
after his game winning blast
they mob him at the plate
touch a crucial factor
he knew it from its lack
life sure looked so good before
and now no going back
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11. |
Bursting
03:13
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Bursting
underneath the numbers
and colors clever words
pictures of a burning house
how many dreams deferred
capital held sacred
bright cross against the sky
all the rest expendable
indentured then you die
something here is bursting
the fault lines show so clear
need to stop the power now
big darkness drawing near
tanks continue rolling
the sacrifices mount
they no longer taste or smell
but all know how to count
deep below the surface
a bunker made of gold
orders sent to suffocate
exert their thug control
chorus
we live in a class war
that long has hinged on race
futile to resist they shout
now back into your place
out here in the suburbs
those looters on tv
thank god for our sprawling house
and troops to keep us free
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12. |
Boy King
02:54
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Boy King
boy king on the dude ranch
he shot them with his sling
i’m the future monarch here
you can’t do anything
boy king at the prom dance
he grabbed her down below
they all really want it pal
no reason to go slow
sneering moral monster
the man we must deserve
empty world of him alone
that hungry ghost we serve
boy king on the golf course
his partners look away
kicks his ball toward the hole
great shot the others say
boy king at the office
my genius is pr
no one can compare to me
such greatness will go far
chorus
boy king in the white house
the government that’s me
you had better kiss my ass
act grateful to be free
sneering moral monster
the man we must deserve
empty world of him alone
that hungry ghost we serve
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13. |
Bubbles
03:49
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Bubbles
hemmed in and surrounded
surrender sets us free
soon enough the walls must breach
and put a stop to me
sometimes there is envy
at other times regret
i could almost hurt myself
so much i didn’t get
miracle of being
the savage blessing birth
bubbles of awareness here
encircling the earth
i examine pictures
their families and big homes
all those herd connections
look sweeter than these poems
but grass is always greener
this road enriches too
camped along the river bank
detailing what flows through
chorus
hemmed in and surrounded
perhaps it’s always so
bowing to the azure sky
dream dancing as we go
miracle of being
the savage blessing birth
bubbles of awareness here
encircling the earth
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14. |
Sister Mercy
04:55
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Sister Mercy
i live in fear and trembling
in the mansion of the lord
my way is a gentle smile
while others wield the sword
i pray for redemption
and peace to find us all
stranded here in terror
in the rubble of the fall
bowing down in silence
we all live in sin
and i might wail forever
if i would once begin
though i use this language
my faith’s beyond one sect
there is love and kindness
and duty to protect
each day i examine
the ripples of my soul
peering through illusions
the parts becoming whole
chorus
every day i listen
while they pour out what’s so
all the pain and pleasure
this shifting passion show
they call me sister mercy
a name i don’t deserve
but i will hold them close to me
a simple vow to serve
chorus
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15. |
Bozo
03:19
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Bozo
i was just another biped
bleating to an empty room
proud of my profound opinions
blabbing drivel since the womb
i was just another human
squawking at a silent moon
certain i knew all the answers
from humility immune
history’s gonna find your hideout
though you dream that you’re exempt
sweep away your petty comforts
crush to dust what you attempt
i was just another sucker
precious freedoms paramount
how i loved the big box pleasures
tried to make each moment count
i was just another bozo
drunk and giddy on the bus
puking down the center aisle
no notion there’s an us
chorus
i was just another breather
praying this would never end
malice massed within the border
so much broken glass to mend
i was just another bragger
waving placards in the sun
all the others shouting slogans
each on top of everyone
chorus
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16. |
Tiny Love
03:52
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Tiny Love
i am lying in the darkness
there’s so little i can do
i remember how you held me
skin to skin right next to you
i am walking on the pathway
once again out here alone
i get sad and sometimes lonely
aching solo to the bone
still we’re lucky in our blessings
see the mountains soar above
so we nod and praise creation
offer up some tiny love
i am reading now with horror
how can this be really true
screw the people save the profits
greed indifferent muscles through
i forget when i get busy
focus helps me to avoid
otherwise each minor symptom
stuns me into paranoid
chorus
i look back before sequester
now that life seems dead and gone
what will greet us when it’s over
waiting quiet on the dawn
still we’re lucky in our blessings
see the mountains soar above
so we nod and praise creation
offer up some tiny love
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17. |
Unknown Soldier
04:01
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Unknown Soldier
unknown soldier blow your horn
and do what you must do
now you fix your bayonet
may someday peace find you
forced audition for the role
they i said should be bolder
then they wrote up hasty notes
and stuffed me in a folder
it’s the curse of human kind
or one right near the core
young men drunk on fantasy
define themselves by war
chorus
see them on their iron horses
frozen in heroic pose
they’re the ones we venerate
brave combat with our foes
yes of course we needed them
still sometimes they got fooled
lives laid down for profits
the millstone of the ruled
chorus
there are other warriors
who make much sense to me
struggling with the beast of soul
to be or not to be
could we ever move beyond
this constant call to fight
girding for the bloodshed
each knowing that he’s right
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18. |
Martians
02:22
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Martians
i watched when the martians landed
prime time on tv
beeping loud they faced the cameras
spoke to you and me
the fat man tried to interrupt them
mad they stole his show
then one zapped him with a finger
down he fell slo mo
we are forced to save you
from those idiots yourselves
your one planet’s failing
we came to make it well
maybe they thought easy peasy
but they’d never seen a cat
i could see their spirits drop
as herding us fell flat
and soon the fat man rallied
from his bunker near the pole
he was going to lead resistance
martians gone his goal
chorus
we waved when they left us
at least they’d cared and tried
now the fat man’s voice rang out
and i felt terrified
we are forced to save you
from those idiots yourselves
your one planet’s failing
we came to make it well
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19. |
My Family Is the Country
03:50
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My Family Is The Country
my family is the country
a verbal civil war
there’s no constitution left
raw hatred at the core
both sides get more vicious
the center cannot hold
boring in with ill intent
to guard the rule of gold
hunkered at the diner
my mask on in the booth
they’ve been going door to door
locking up the truth
my family is the country
each fighting for his own
no one cares about the rest
such proud testosterone
i feel such a yearning
as concord falls away
once we felt a union here
way back in yesterday
chorus
my family is the country
this chasm hard to bear
blaming and sadistic
just weakness now to care
hunkered at the diner
my mask on in the booth
they’ve been going door to door
locking up the truth
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Kito Peters Santa Fe, New Mexico
Kito Peters has released (like doves!) quite a few CDs, has garnered his share of esoteric radio airplay, and has won a baker's dozen of New Mexico Music Awards, including twice for Best CD of the Year and four times for Best Pop CD. He is a big fan of Harry Bosch, Al Kaline, and Laura Nyro. ... more
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