Territories
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
I see the middle kingdom between heaven and earth
Like the chinese call the country of their birth
We all figure that our homes are set above
Other people than the ones we know and love
In every place with a name
They play the same territorial game
Hiding behind the lines
Sending up warning signs
The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse
Dont feed the people
But we feed the machines
Cant really feel
What international means
In different circles
We keep holding our ground
In different circles
We keep spinning round and round
We see so many tribes -- overrun and undermined
While their invaders dream of lands theyve left behind
Better people -- better food -- and better beer
Why move around the world when eden was so near?
The bosses get talking so tough
And if that wasnt evil enough
We get the drunken and passionate pride
Of the citizens along for the ride
They shoot without shame
In the name of a piece of dirt
For a change of accent
Or the colour of your shirt
Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colourful rag is unfurled
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Anthem
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart
Know your place in life is where you want to be
Dont let them tell you that you owe it all to me
Keep on looking forward, no use in looking round
Hold your head above the ground and they wont bring you
Down
Anthem of the heart and anthem of the mind
A funeral dirge for eyes gone blind
We marvel after those who sought
New wonders in the world, wonders in the world,
Wonders in the world they wrought
Live for yourself -- theres no one else
More worth living for
Begging hands and bleeding hearts will
Only cry out for more
Well, I know theyve always told you
Selfishness was wrong
Yet it was for me, not you, i
Came to write this song
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Beginning of destruction
pride it’s all your fault
Pride it’s all your fault we in this mess
Pride it’s all your fault we are suffering
Pride it’s all your fault people are shedding blood
Pride it’s all your fault families are destroyed
Pride it’s all your fault people are so greedy and selfish
Pride it’s all your fault people have no love
Pride it’s all your fault are so jealous of each other
Pride it’s all your fault people are so lost
Pride it’s all your fault dying from this horrible diseases
Pride it’s all your fault we have so many orphans
Pride it’s all your fault people are betraying each other
Pride it’s all your fault are dying of hunger
Pride it’s all your fault fathers are sleeping with their children
Pride it’s all your fault people are so heartless
Pride it’s all your fault there is no peace, unity and harmony in this world
Pride it’s all your fault we have all this sorrow
Pride it’s all your fault God has rejected us
Pride it’s all your fault people are so evil
And they have decided to be in love with evil rather than good
You have ruined this world
You are to blame for all this misery
If lucifer did not have pride in his heart we wouldn’t be in this mess
Pride it all your fault! ! !
Vangile Mtyali
poem by Vangile Mtyali
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Where The I Divides
When all my homes dont feel like homes,
And the doors dont open the way they should,
When all my senses are telling me
That the situations changed again.
Its not the miles that I must drive
Or the endless questions in my mind.
Its all the birds that I can see
And the soaring circles that they fly.
And half the world is moving on without me.
The sun goes down but Im still standing here,
Where the I divides.
Where the I divides.
Youll find me where the I divides.
When there is no way to go ahead
Without leaving something else behind,
Where there are signs that point me on
To a shining path or a simple mind.
When all my machines have all run down
And I dont know what Im fighting for,
There is some change inside of me and
I know I cant stay here anymore.
cuz half the world is moving on around me,
And Im still standing hesitating here.
song performed by by Information Society
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dog Years
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
In a dogs life
A year is really more like seven
And all too soon a canine
Will be chasing cars in doggie heaven
It seems to me
As we make our own few circles round the sun
We get it backwards
And our seven years go by like one
Dog years --- its the season of the itch
Dog years --- with every scratch it reappears
In the dog days
People look to sirius
Dogs cry for the moon
But these connections are mysterious
It seems to me
While its true that every dog will have his day
When all the bones are buried
There is barely time to go outside and play
Dog years --- its the season of the itch
Dog years --- with every scratch it reappears
Dog years --- for every sad son of a bitch
Dog years --- with his tail between his ears
Id rather be a tortoise from galapagos
Or a span of geological time
Than be living in these dog years
In a dogs brain
A constant buzz of low-level static
One sniff at the hydrant
And the answer is automatic
It seems to me
As well make our own few circles round the block
Weve lost our senses
For the higher-level static of talk
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Face Up
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
You turn my head
I spin my wheels
Running on empty --
You know how that feels
Im on a roll now --
Or is it a slide?
Cant be too careful
With that dangerous pride
If I could only reach that dial inside
And turn it up
Face up -- or you can only back down
Face up -- hit the target, or you better hit the ground
Face up -- theres still time to turn the game around
Face up -- turn it up -- or turn that wild card down
Turn it up
Dont complain
Dont explain
I dont think my new resolve
Can stand the strain
Im in a groove now --
Or is it a rut?
I need some feedback
But all the lines are cut
I get so angry, but I keep my mouth shut
And turn it up
You get all squeezed up inside
Like the days were carved in stone
You get all wired up inside
And its bad to be alone
You can go out, you can take a ride
And when you get out on your own
You get all smoothed out inside
And its good to be alone
Turn it up
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Force Ten
Words by neil peart and pye dubois,
Music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Tough times demand tough talk
Demand tough hearts demand tough songs
Demand --
We can rise and fall like empires
Flow in and out like the tide
Be vain and smart, humble and dumb
We can hit and miss like pride
We can circle around like hurricanes
Dance and dream like lovers
Attack the day like birds of prey
Or scavengers under cover
Look in --
To the eye of the storm
Look out --
For the force without form
Look around --
At the sight and the sound
Look in look out look around --
We can move with savage grace
To the rhythms of the night
Cool and remote like dancing girls
In the heat of the beat and the lights
We can wear the rose of romance
An air of joie de vivre
Too-tender hearts upon our sleeves
Or skin as thick as thieves
Rising falling at force ten
We twist the world and ride the wind
Look in --
Look the storm in the eye
Look out --
To the sea and the sky
Look around --
At the sight and the sound
Look in look out look around --
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Half The World
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Half the world hates
What half the world does every day
Half the world waits
While half gets on with it anyway
Half the world lives
Half the world makes
Half the world gives
While the other half takes
Half the world is
Half the world was
Half the world thinks
While the other half does
Half the world talks
With half a mind on what they say
Half the world walks
With half a mind to run away
Half the world lies
Half the world learns
Half the world flies
As half the world turns
Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries
To be the other half
Half of us divided like a torn-up photograph half of us are
Trying to reach the other half
Half the world cares
While half the world is wasting the day
Half the world shares
While half the world is stealing away
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Higher Place
So I think I got it all in place now
No distractions under control
Yet theres something missing inside me
Im chasing shadows of myself
And the clocks are ticking
Oh my world is spinning
Spinning round and round
And round and round again
And I try
I try to reason why
Dont you know I cant go on this way
Baby please dont walk away there is this place
Where I toss away my pride
So you can see that Im the one
To take you to a higher place this time
I am on the outside looking in
To a place where I will be
Let me give you what you need from me
I surrender my soul to you
And my heart is pounding
And a fires burning
And my head is spinning, round and round again
And I try
I try to reason why
Dont you know I cant go on this way
Baby please dont walk away there is this place
Where I toss away my pride
So you can see that Im the one
To take you to a higher place this time
Oh, I crash... and burn inside my mind
It happens time and time again, I cant explain the way you make me feel
Oh,
I know... I dont have much to give
But what I have I give to you with all the madness left inside of me
With the madness left inside of me... oh
And I try
I try to reason why
Dont you know I cant go on this way
Baby please dont walk away there is this place
Where I toss away my pride
So you can see that Im the one
To take you to a higher place this time
song performed by by Journey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It Is One
They shot a man into the sky
The moon and stars became his bed
He saw the sun rise seven times
And when he came back down he said
It is one, it is one
One world spinning round the sun
Wherever it is you call home
Whatever country you come from
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
They shot a man if africa
At a time of rivalry and war
He had some dreams of a good life
But dreams arent what they killed him for
Now people stand themselves next to the righteous
And they believe the things they say are true
They speak in terms of what divides us
To justify the violence they do
But it is one, it is one
One world spinning round the sun
Wherever it is you call home
Whatever country you come from
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
One -- the deep blue ocean
One -- the endless sky
One -- the purple mountains
One -- you and i
Its not a world of our own choosing
We dond decide where we are born
This life is a battleground between right and wrong
One way or other we are torn
And people stand themselves next to the righteous
And they believe the things they say are true
And speak in terms of what divides us
To justify the violence they do
But it is one, it is one
One world spinning round the sun
Wherever it is you call home
Whatever country you come from
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
One -- the deep blue ocean
One -- the endless sky
One -- the purple mountains
One -- you and i
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Circumstances
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
A boy alone, and so far from home
Endless rooftops from my window
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons
Sometimes, in confusion
I felt so lost and disillusioned
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality
All the same
We take our chances
Laughed at by time
Tricked by circumstances
Plus a change
Plus cest la mme chose
The more that things change
The more they stay the same
Now Ive gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me
Just one more whos searching for
A world that ought to be
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bravado
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
If we burn our wings
Flying too close to the sun
If the moment of glory
Is over before its begun
If the dream is won --
Though everything is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost
When the dust has cleared
And victory denied
A summit too lofty
River a little too wide
If we keep our pride --
Though paradise is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost
And if the music stops
Theres only the sound of the rain
All the hope and glory
All the sacrifice in vain
[and] if love remains
Though everything is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Circles
Friends come and friends go
As I go round and round in circles
Love someone change your mind
Decide he was a swine
As you go round and round in circles
He who knows does not speak
He who speaks does not know
And I go round in circles
Dislike someone and will not bend
Later they may become your best friend
As life it goes around in circles
He who knows does not speak
He who speaks does not know
And I go round in circles
Soul takes on a body with each birth we make our date
With life and death along the road the soul reincarnates
The show goes round and round in circles
When loss and gain and up and down
Becomes the same, then we stop going in circles
Round and round in circles
song performed by by George Harrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Virtuality
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea
Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship fantasy
Im a castaway, stranded in a desolate land
I can see the footprints in the virtual sand
Net boy, net girl
Send your signal round the world
Let your fingers walk and talk
And set you free
Net boy, net girl
Send your impulse round the world
Put your message in a modem
And throw it in the cyber sea
Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space
Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race
I can save the universe in a grain of sand
I can hold the future in my virtual hand
Lets dance tonight
To a virtual song
Press this key
And you can play along
Lets fly tonight
On our virtual wings
Press this key
To see amazing things
Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains
Or the glimpse of a womans smile through a window in the rain
I can smell her perfume, I can taste her lips
I can feel the voltage from her fingertips
Net boy, net girl
Send your heartbeat round the world
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Circles
Ever since you left me
I've been trying to hide the pain
Painting on a smile with lipstick
Putting on a big charade
So difficult to keep pretending
It's getting harder everyday
It's plain to see I'm cold and heartsick
Since you turned and walked away
I just keep going round and round
And round in circles
Keep on tumbling down
[chorus]
Oh boy my world has changed
And I don't think I can make it without out
Nothing's the same
You got me running around in circles over you
(running around in circles over you)
Saturday I saw you
Holding hands with someone new
Somehow I kept my composure
Just like everything was cool
But inside I kept repeating
Don't you let them see you cry
So I casually turned my head
As the tears rolled down my eyes
I just keep going round and round
And round in circles
Keep on tumbling down
[chorus]
Oh boy my world has changed
And I don't think I can make it without you
Nothing's the same
You got me running around in circles over you
Everything is you
How can I pull through
My heart is consumed I'm so confused
Still caught up in you...love can be so cruel
Baby don't know how to turn you loose
[chorus]
Oh boy my world has changed
And I don't think I can make it without you
No, nothing's the same
You got me running around
And running around
And running around
Nothing's the same
Baby baby cause you
Got me running around
In circles over you
(running around in circles over you)
song performed by by Mariah Carey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Driven
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Driven up and down in circles
Skidding down a road of black ice
Staring in and out storm windows
Driven to a fools paradise
But its my turn to drive
Driven to the margin of error
Driven to the edge of control
Driven to the margin of terror
Driven to the edge of a deep, dark hole
Driven day and night in circles
Spinning like a whirlwind of leaves
Stealing in and out back alleys
Driven to another den of thieves
But its my turn to drive
Driven in --- driven to the edge
Driven out --- on the thin end of the wedge
Driven off --- by things Ive never seen
Driven on --- by the road to somewhere Ive never been
Its my turn to drive
The road unwinds towards me
What was there is gone
The road unwinds before me
And I go riding on
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Feed Them!
Plenty of fertile land,
In every host and guest,
Plenty of much needed grains,
In every other country,
We have enough food to feed,
But People are hungry.
One billion in total,
Seven tenth of them in Asia,
People have no money,
People have no man created money,
They sleep in hungry,
People have no mint created coins,
To buy the food to evade pain,
To fill their acidic stomach,
Every six person on earth,
One person is skeletal,
With haunted look,
One hundredth of them,
In the developed world,
shame on the hypocrites,
who hold back and destroy the food.
Gods of human, Feed them.
Gods of heaven, Feed them.
Gods of hell, Feed them.
Singular God of the desert,
Please feed them.
with the food to the poor
and the knowledge to the ignorant,
who are recalcitrant in nature,
selling the Gods to human.
poem by Veeraiyah Subbulakshmi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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2112
I. overture
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart
And the meek shall inherit the earth.
Ii. the temples of syrinx
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
... the massive grey walls of the temples rise from the
Heart of every federation city. I have always been awed
By them, to think that every single facet of every life is
Regulated and directed from within! our books, our music,
Our work and play are all looked after by the benevolent
Wisdom of the priests...
Weve taken care of everything
The words you hear the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
Its one for all and all for one
We work together common sons
Never need to wonder how or why
We are the priests of the temples of syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests of the temples of syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls
Look around this world we made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the brotherhood of man
Oh what a nice contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the red star proudly high in hand
We are the priests of the temples of syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls.
We are the priests of the temples of syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls.
Iii. discovery
Words by neil peart, music by alex lifeson
... behind my beloved waterfall, in the little room that was
Hidden beneath the cave, I found it. I brushed away the
Dust of the years, and picked it up, holding it reverently in
My hands. I had no idea what it might be, but it was
Beautiful ...
... I learned to lay my fingers across the wires, and to turn
The keys to make them sound differently. as I struck the
Wires with my other hand, I produced my first harmonious
Sounds, and soon my own music! how different it could
Be from the music of the temples! I cant wait to tell the
Priests about it! ...
What can this strange device be?
When I touch it, it gives forth a sound
Its got wires that vibrate and give music
What can this thing be that I found?
See how it sings like a sad heart
And joyously screams out its pain
Sounds that build high like a mountain
Or notes that fall gently like rain
I cant wait to share this new wonder
The people will all see its light
Let them all make their own music
The priests praise my name on this night
Iv. presentation
Words by neil peart, music by alex lifeson
... in the sudden silence as I finished playing, I looked up
To a circle of grim, expressionless faces. father brown
Rose to his feet, and his somnolent voice echoed
Throughout the silent temple hall. ...
... instead of the grateful joy that I expected, they were
Words of quiet rejection! instead of praise, sullen
Dismissal. I watched in shock and horror as father brown
Ground my precious instrument to splinters beneath his
Feet...
I know its most unusual
To come before you so
But Ive found an ancient miracle
I thought that you should know
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
Theres something here as strong as life
I know that it will reach you
Yes, we know its nothing new
Its just a waste of time
We have no need for ancient ways
The world is doing fine
Another toy will help destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesnt fit the plan
I cant believe youre saying
These things just cant be true
Our world could use this beauty
Just think what we might do
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
Theres something here as strong as life
I know that it will reach you
Dont annoy us further
We have our work to do
Just think about the average
What use have they for you?
Another toy will help destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesnt fit the plan
V. oracle: the dream
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
... I guess it was a dream, but even now it all seems so
Vivid to me. clearly yet I see the beckoning hand of the
Oracle as he stood at the summit of the staircase ...
... I see still the incredible beauty of the sculptured cities
And the pure spirit of man revealed in the lives and works
Of this world. I was overwhelmed by both wonder and
Understanding as I saw a completely different way to life,
A way that had been crushed by the federation long ago. i
Saw now how meaningless life had become with the loss
Of all these things ...
I wandered home though silent streets
And fell into a fitful sleep
Escape to realms beyond the night
Dream cant you show me the light?
I stand atop a spiral stair
An oracle confronts me there
He leads me on light years away
Through astral nights, galactic days
I see the works of gifted hands
That grace this strange and wondrous land
I see the hand of man arise
With hungry mind and open eyes
They left the planets long ago
The elder race still learn and grow
Their power grows with purpose strong
To claim the home where they belong
Home, to tear the temples down...
Home, to change..
Vi. soliloquy
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
... I have not left this cave for days now, it has become
My last refuge in my total despair. I have only the music of
The waterfall to comfort me now. I can no longer live
Under the control of the federation, but there is no other
Place to go. my last hope is that with my death I may pass
Into the world of my dream, and know peace at last.
The sleep is still in my eyes
The dream is still in my head
I heave a sigh and sadly smile
And lie a while in bed
I wish that it might come to pass
Not fade like all my dreams
Just think of what my life might be
In a world like I have seen
I dont think I can carry on
Carry on this cold and empty life
Oh...noo!
My spirits are low in the depths of despair
My lifeblood spills over..
Vii. grand finale
Music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart
Attention all planets of the solar federation
Attention all planets of the solar federation
Attention all planets of the solar federation
We have assumed control.
We have assumed control.
We have assumed control.
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Heresy
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
All around that dull gray world
From moscow to berlin
People storm the barricades
Walls go tumbling in
The counter-revolution
People smiling through their tears
Who can give them back their lives
And all those wasted years?
All those precious wasted years --
Who will pay?
All around that dull gray world
Of ideology
People storm the marketplace
And buy up fantasy
The counter-revolution
At the counter of a store
People buy the things they want
And borrow for a little more
All those wasted years
All those precious wasted years
Who will pay?
Do we have to be forgiving at last?
What else can we do?
Do we have to say goodbye to the past?
Yes I guess we do
All around this great big world
All the crap we had to take
Bombs and basement fallout shelters
All our lives at stake
The bloody revolution
All the warheads in its wake
All the fear and suffering
All a big mistake
All those wasted years
All those precious wasted years
Who will pay?
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Small Talk
Dont talk back to me, dont talk back to me
Dont talk back to me, dont talk
Going round in circles, hearing too many points of view
Just words to tire me out, small talk I could do without
I would be amazed if you returned to see things my way
Now that youve been disrespectful to my sense of pride
Isnt it a shame that you were lying when you said to me (small talk)
I was the only one, you and I were meant to be
I expect youll never really feel the way that I do
All of this is with regret, Im sure you will agree
Say something to me, anything at all
I want you to mean what you say
Ive seen all I want to see, and you mean the world to me
Ive lived for each moment to be with you, with you, with you
Small talk, small talk, small talk, small talk
You say I dont talk enough, that applies to both of us
Dont try to sound me out, something I could do without
So much goes on inside your head, I often wonder
Have you heard enough to know, theres nothing left to say
Say something to me, anything at all
I want you to mean what you say
Ive seen all I want to see, and you mean the world to me
Ive lived for each moment to be with you, with you, with you
Small talk
Small talk
Ooh small talk
Thats all I ever hear
Small talk
Ill be alright
It may take sometime
But Ill be alright (dont talk back to me)
Ill be alright (dont talk back to me) (dont want to be alone, nothing worth to carry on)
Ill be alright (dont talk back to me) (try hard to understand, you wont seem to lend a hand)
Ill be alright (dont talk back to me) (without youll fail to see, you never spare a thought for me)
Ill be alright (dont talk back to me) (so many things you said, going round in circles)
Ill be alright (dont talk back to me) (Ill rise above it all, enough to see another day)
Ill be alright
Ill be alright
Dont talk back to me...
song performed by by Genesis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Neurotica
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
You just dont get it
What it is...well, youre not really sure
You move like youre walking on this ice
Talking like youre still insecure
Time is a spiral -- space is a curve
I know you get dizzy, but try not to lose your nerve
Life is a diamond you turn into dust
Waiting for rescue, and I know you just
Dont get it
You just dont get it
Neurotica -- exotica
Its just erotica -- hypnotica
Its just psychotica -- chaotica
Its just exotica -- neurotica
You just dont get it
Baby, dont you ask yourself why?
If you dont like the answer -- forget it
You know I hate to see you cry
Fortune is random -- fate shoots from the hip
I know you get crazy, but try not to lose your grip
Life is a diamond you turn into dust
Looking for trust, and I know that you just
Dont get it
You just dont get it
Snap!
Hide in your shell, let the world go to hell
Its like russian roulette to you
Snap!
Sweat running cold, you cant face growing old
Its a personal threat to you
Snap!
The world is a cage for your impotent rage
But dont let it get to you
Snap!
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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