I emailed the guitarist of Oblivionation a while ago, asking for a scan of the lyric sheet to their recent album Language of Violence. He didn't have one on hand so he typed out the lyrics to all ten songs for me and then gave me permission to post them here. That, girls and boys, is how you do it.
As I've already pointed out in previous posts about this Massachusetts juggernaut, Oblivionation have some of the sharpest lyrics of any hardcore band currently going. Intelligent, well informed, penetrating and mean as fuck - these are lyrics that lack ambiguity and get straight to the matter at hand. Case in point, album opener "Language of Violence" is a scathing epitaph for a species that is currently waging no less than forty three wars and armed conflicts upon itself.
You know that feeling that really banging hardcore gives you? When the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, your eyes widen, your pulse increases? It shouldn't just be the music that does that, it should be the words too. Oblivionation get that. Others should take note.
All lyrics by Quinn Dillon (and mucho thanks)
Language Of Violence
When logic fails
Violence prevails
The language of violence we all understand
We decry war
And still we wage more
The language of violence is our native tongue
As we evolve
One problem unsolved
The language of violence is the language of man
Violence won't end
Still we pretend
That somehow man
Is not an animal
Violence won't end
and still we pretend
That somehow man
Is capable of being anything more
Nothing can kill instinct
We react we don't think
Nothing can kill instinct
You're part of our evolution
To make peace
Killing is our solution
Bought and Sold
What does it mean to be free?
It's nothing I feel
When I look around
It's nothing I see
We want to believe
The choices we make
Can't be influenced
By a flat screen tv
The collective unconscious remains
Unaware of the fact
That the illusion of choice
Is burned in our brains
Becoming your brand
It then speaks for you
The politics of purchase we don't understand
We can't distinguish our needs
From what we want
What we want is more
We want what we see
Can't break yourself free
Because we depend upon ads
As the mother of necessity
You're not a person
You're a target
What does it mean to be free?
It's nothing I feel
And I'll never know
Because I'll never be
You think you're immune
But you do what you're told
The compulsion to buy
Starts with being sold
You're Not Pro-Union, Just Pro-You
You're not pro-union
You're just pro-you
Privileged and ignorant
Loud mouth hypocrites
Who don't like to think
Talk like you're bleeding red, white and blue
But your motives are pink
Just right wing "commies"
With no fucking clue
Working class zeros
For free market heroes
You romance the past
But Reagan threw the air traffic controllers
Flat out on their ass
You're not pro-union
You're just pro-you
You right wing "commies"
Just don't have a clue
Socialists you blame
But can't see that you're one too
Take from the greedy
And give to the needy
If the needy means you
Then piss on the poor
For demanding more
Like that's not what you do
The goose scorns the gander
While watching Fox News
What you call a contract
They call a handout
One you haven't earned
Your part of a problem
That you can't stand
But you still haven't learned
For you not enough and for others too much
The loudest voices sound most out of touch
So smarten up
And till that day comes
Fuck you
Crawl Or Be Crushed
They prefer we stay where we are
Under the boot of a system that's gone to far
Belly to ground
Face in the dirt
Our voices stifled by mouthfuls of Earth
Crawl or be crushed
Give up or get out
There's no other choice
How long do we wait for the last straw to break?
How far are we pushed?
How much do we take?
The spirit of rebellion cannot be touched
Our will to survive means crawl or be crushed
Crawl or be crushed
No more
Stand up
Rattle your cage
Or lie in a grave
Push back
Or die a slave
Your voice is a rally call
Our voice
Unites us all
Crawl or be crushed
Our time is now
Gainfully Annoyed
Just keep your head down
Blend in, don't cause any waves
If you don't learn anything
At least learn your place
Don't ask
Don't speak
Don't think
And you'll do just fine
But know it all fucks just like you
Tend to get out of line
Nod your head up and down
It's our show and you're just some clown
We're not gonna ask
You're not gonna tell
So just shut your mouth
Don't care
So don't you
Tell us
What we should try to do
We don't care
So don't share
Your thoughts
Only matter to you
You should thank god
We gave you a job
You're nothing more
Than some replaceable slob
So shut your mouth
Just shut your fucking mouth
Nod your head up and down
It's our show and you're just some clown
With a college degree
Who still hasn't learned
How to shut his big mouth
Fear Breeds Action
Ignore all your problems
It's no use to solve them
Head in the sand
I can't understand
You're just kicking the can down the road
And we both know
You leave it up to others
To reap what you sow
Shirking the truth
Dodging the phone
You're drowning in fear all alone
Stepping over a dead horse
That you refuse to own
Cause what you won't see
You won't believe
Cause if you won't see
You don't have to believe
How far do you think you can get?
Revising the past
Removing the parts you regret
Denying what you know is true
Pretend all you want but the day comes
When life will catch up to you
Salting The Earth
Choking on dust
Gasping for breath
Piles of cinder and ash
Sift through remains
And find nothing left
Give what I get
What I give is...
Get what I give
What I get is...
Nothing
Live life as I'm show
Or life as I choose
An option that's hung like a noose
What I don't surrender
I still seem to lose
Get what I give
What I get is...
Give what I get
What I give is...
I don't give you shit
With nothing to lose
But something to take
I grab all I can
Steal what I can't break
Stripped and clear cut
Stumps rot in the dirt
What's left has no worth
Point of death
No chance of rebirth
The fruit off the vine
Is now what's salting the Earth
No Singalong
Not here for you
It's not your song
Not part of your scene
It's no singalong
We're just square pegs
Who grew some legs
Not part of your scene
But still love Gang Green
We know that kids
Don't care about a song
About life after punk
It's no singalong
We're just square pegs
Who grew some legs
Not playing to peers
But still listen to Poison Idea
Now we're homeowners
With yards and lawnmowers
We "bought in"
Whatever that means
Angry but older
Someone should have told us
The importance of 401ks
Divorces and children
Ass aches and taxes
Are what retired punks go through
You may be laughing
Thinking we're trapped
But the fact is
One day it might be you
Laugh it up, it's the truth
Some might escape it
Most never do
Youth won't last forever
It's sad but true
You'll get old, sad but true
Poor You
We're not playing violins
But you think you've earned them
No one has it easy
You're no different
So don't make it my problem
Life isn't fair
Doesn't mean it's any less fair to you
You nothing special
And it's no one's fault
You can't face up to the fact
You're only problem is you
Everyone faces up to it
The world doesn't spin just for us
Piss and moan about where you're at
If want to point a finger
Then just blame yourself
You like to play the part
But you're no victim
How Far Is "Gone"?
Frantic and scattered
Can't slow down
Brain starts to panic
Can't slow...
Can't concentrate
My mind starts to race
Like I'm on the hunt
But I'm being chased
Deafening noise on a static tv
What's so clear to you
Beats the shit out of me
Won't slow...
Broken connections
The circuit won't work
A faulty design
Defective since birth
Aimlessly float
A ship with no sail
I don't fail to plan
But plans seem to fail
All the advice I've heard
As hard as I try
I still haven't learned
To escape the fire without being burned
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