Nocturnal
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Released in 2018, Nocturnal is chapter one in what’s turned out to be a trilogy of groupings.
These lyrics were originally supposed to cover a few things. I’d actually intended to divide the pieces into thirds with two more separating each one. I think the idea was to cover different kinds of love: Romantic, religious and something else. Instead, topics started getting more varied and bled together so the idea was abandoned.
Reading everything again, it comes across like the main theme is religion or a loss of faith. It’s especially weird because that wasn’t my intent at all. Although faith was definitely one of many things I wanted to explore, the larger idea was to take a removed view of different subjects. Having written History before everything else, it served to set the tone for what followed. It also ended up inspiring my main theme, which was the growing trend of actively avoiding history and repeating past mistakes.
As lyrics started getting finished, it became obvious they were darker than past efforts. That’s really where the title Nocturnal came from. Being that they were less personal and approached subjects from a broad perspective, I thought it would be interesting if the follow-up took the opposite approach: Personal lyrics that tackled my own history. I didn’t want the opposite to just be translating into happier or lighter because that’s boring, so the idea was to personalize the subjects and confront them a lot more from my own experiences.
that’s how Diurnal was born, even if it didn’t end up being the follow-up to this grouping.
(More on that in my thoughts about Between The Night And Day though.)
Using Pop by U2 as a template for mood and structure, I’m hugely proud of Nocturnal. It’s just something that’s incredibly consistent and holds together extremely well. My favourites include Baring Witness, Fighting The Possession, Followers, Middle Of The Night, Moonbeams In Your Eyes, Sleeping In and History. As you can tell, I’m really high on these lyrics and think the stuff not in that list is great too.
Check out some stuff that didn’t make the cut and visit the Fireteddy National Library for even more.
Lyrics Content
01. Baring Witness
03. Followers
05. Watch Your Step
06. Not Your Fault (Assassins)
07. No Escape
10. Sleeping In
11. History
Baring Witness
It leaks into the gutters
Pollutes the midnight skies
Through artificial methods
Crossed out a new disguise
Beneath the burning neon
Florescent lights that hum
We’ve seen this kingdom falling
Without our kingdom come
So I’ll keep looking for something new
Somewhere in the trash lying just out of view
I’ll keep looking for something new
For something new again
Cascading from the heavens
A vision so sublime
It cut right through the chaos
Then straight into your mind
If faith is for the weekend
We’ll lend our souls to heal
Gone out to find a purpose
With no one at the wheel
So I’ll keep looking for something new
Somewhere in the trash lying just out of view
I’ll keep looking for something new
For something new again
Somewhere in the distance
We can see the promised land
Everybody bearing witness
Never knowing when to stand
I’m waiting for salvation
Wrapped around this masterplan
I can’t seem to comprehend it
But it’s slipping through my hands
It’s slipping through my hands
It’s slipping through my hands
Fighting The Possession
Now we’re running from the bomb
But something’s going wrong again
Attacking every dreamer’s cause
Tell me when this nightmare ends
Trying hard to find a place
Makes no sense, no race to win
Keep your meanings well contained
Someone’s always listening in
No one’s coming back, coming back now
Living separated from this past we can’t afford
Freedom from the facts in the background
Fighting the possession when it still can’t be ignored
Losing ground to stay awake
Choosing what we’ve failed to see
Shutting down won’t lead to change
But now this future’s changing me
So let me out of here, won’t you let me out of here?
Let me out of here, you’ve gotta let me out of here
No one’s coming back, coming back now
Living separated from this past we can’t afford
Freedom from the facts in the background
Fighting the possession when it still can’t be ignored
Each star that we see burning out in the sky
All come into focus long after they’ve died
In lessons we learn from our births to the grave
We’re taught what to worship, not how to behave
If silence is golden then quiet your head
Don’t ignore these mistakes, take heed from the dead
It isn’t as simple as one might believe
In order to listen, you can’t always speak
No one’s coming back, coming back now
Living separated from this past we can’t afford
Freedom from the facts in the background
Fighting the possession when it still can’t be ignored
Fighting the possession when it still can’t be ignored
Fighting the possession but it still can’t be ignored
Followers
Allow me now to ruminate
Through things that I can’t concentrate on
Hanging in the back to show
I can’t dispute the fact that you’re gone
With people always telling us
They’re looking to propel every dream
Fuck those sycophantic followers
I’ll wallow in my own history
Let’s hide in the spotlight
Break out when it’s midnight
Blend in with our best lines
All drunk on the good wine
Find love with these new pills
Get off on some cheap thrills
Our souls still polluted
With no good solutions
So when will I see?
That these falsehoods aren’t for me
Dropping to my knees again
Waiting for the world to end
When will they know?
Which beliefs we’ve all outgrown
Moving on with no pretence
Waiting for the world to end
Now I’m talking to the great beyond
Up past midnight ’til the morning dawns
Still got nothing but I can’t go wrong
I can’t go wrong again
Now I’m looking to the great unknown
Can’t find meaning from this answerphone
Stuck with nothing but I won’t let go
I won’t let go, oh no
I won’t let go, oh no
I won’t let go, oh no
Middle Of The Night
Rain was pouring down
From the sky it hit the ground
Made to hide these fallen teardrops
As I focused on the sound
While this silence filled the air
I was praying you’d be there
Another stone cast in the ocean
It’s another cross to bare
What we can’t share
When unprepared
Lost in emotion
I wasn’t scared
Well I gave my soul to keep
Looking up for some relief
With the starry night still sheltered
From this overwhelming grief
It was bound to be condemned
Choices made aren’t accidents
Every wave across the ocean
With this loss of innocence
It came to me in the middle of the night
Before the break of day could carry what weighed on my mind
It came to me in the middle of the night
When I refused to sleep or try to close my tired eyes
It came in a vision
I’ve gotta make a decision
To throw out what’s been given
Find a life that’s worth living
It’s gonna pass us by too soon
I won’t remain an open wound
I’ve gotta make it to the surface
I can’t live beneath the ruins
I have to travel through the streets
I’m always struggling to my knees
I need to find myself a purpose
We can’t become our tragedies
We can’t become our tragedies
We can’t become our tragedies
We can’t become our tragedies
It came to me in the middle of the night
When I refused to sleep or try to close my tired eyes
But now I still can’t close my eyes
Watch Your Step
They say be careful what you wish for
Be careful what you wish for, it’s true
When there’s always someone out there
Watching every thing that you do
With no divine intervention
Only slight apprehensions to tread
You’ll never make it to the surface
By swallowing this shit that you’re fed
It’s time to watch your step now
There’s no one else who’s looking in the mirror
You need to know that you’re the only one who ever gets us out of here
You’d better watch your step now
It seems we’re always passing through in fear
There isn’t much that I can tell you but we’ve gotta make it out of here
We’ve gotta make it out of here
They say be careful what you hope for
Be careful what you hope for, it’s fake
Now there’s always someone out there
Waiting for a mind to reshape
Without a cause for redemption
No one stops to assess what’s ahead
You’ll never cover up the bleeding
By repeating what they’ve already said
It’s time to watch your step now
There’s no one else who’s looking in the mirror
You need to know that you’re the only one who ever gets us out of here
You’d better watch your step now
It seems we’re always passing through in fear
There isn’t much that I can tell you but we’ve gotta make it out of here
We’ve gotta make it out of here
We’ve gotta make it out of here
We’ve gotta make it out now
Not Your Fault (Assassins)
Coloured by this stream of lights
With nothing to reject
As shadows breed an ugliness
It hides our disconnect
Now tell me what to make of this
While sheltered from the truth
An instinct for your antidotes
Sought out with such abuse
Line-up every misfit, ain’t it’s time we hit the streets
Excuses at the ready for each obstacle we meet
Gambling in the meantime with no currencies in class
As everything gets played out, now our future comes too fast
Walking on these eggshells
Every day we walk on broken glass
Vampires raised by circumstance
To stumble in plain sight
With visions we can’t comprehend
They come alive at night
Pinned to lovely photographs
Made calm and well preserved
Unfiltered with each static thought
From every fraying nerve
Line-up every misfit, ain’t it’s time we hit the streets
Excuses at the ready for each obstacle we meet
Gambling in the meantime with no currencies in class
As everything gets played out, now our future comes too fast
Walking on these eggshells
Every day we walk on broken glass
Drifting from each consequence
These monuments will fall
Failing to present ourselves
With no one else to call
Can you even see it?
Can you see a thing at all?
It’s not your fault…
It’s not your fault
Line-up every misfit, ain’t it’s time we hit the streets
Excuses at the ready for each obstacle we meet
Gambling in the meantime with no currencies in class
As everything gets played out, now our future comes too fast
Walking on these eggshells
Every day we walk on broken glass
Walking on these eggshells
Every day we’re haunted by the past
No Escape
How does it feel? Does it feel, do you know?
Future in your hands, but you can’t control it, so
You’ll have to let this go
See it coming down, coming down in the ruins
Living on the run, now this motion’ always carries you
You don’t know what to do
Looking for the answers, somewhere in these empty skies
Sorting through these questions, does it keep you up at night?
Watch your future rise, it’ll rise in the wake
Running from the past, from the past there is no escape
You’ll see the toll it takes
Lost with every meaning, no one stops to look behind
Driven by the future, everybody needs a sign
There’s no escape from what we’ve done
No escape for anyone
Bound together, still alive
Now we’ve made it out to find
There’s no escape from who we are
No escape beneath the stars
Running fast to learn in time
There’s no escape for anyone
Fault lines drawn across the years
Beyond the ones who brought us here
It’s stranger now, I must contend
This panic and a sense of looming dread
So now I’ll tread the endless deep
And find a way back on my feet
I’ll wash ashore, so quote me nevermore,
No nevermore again
There’s no escape from what we’ve done
No escape for anyone
Bound together, still alive
Now we’ve made it out to find
There’s no escape from who we are
No escape beneath the stars
Running fast to learn in time
There’s no escape for anyone tonight
No escape for anyone tonight
No escape for anyone tonight
We’re Only Dreaming
Looking for another bet to hedge
It’s time to come inside, time to come inside
Pretty soon we’ll have to meet our end
With nowhere left to hide, nowhere left to hide
One by one, we all fall down
As every raindrop hits the ground
Bound by pressure, drawn straight out
Swept up in these waves of doubt
No one wants to wait for anything
Looking for an answer in the darkness as it sings
Serenading softly in my head
We’re only dreaming, we’re only dreaming
Traffic slowly breaks apart in time
I’ve gotta catch my breath, gotta catch my breath
Scared of what we’ll have to leave behind
Why can’t I just pretend? Why Can’t I just pretend?
One by one, we all run home
With memories meant to go untold
Bound by silence, wind and rain
It’s something that we can’t explain
No one wants to wait for anything
Looking for an answer in the darkness as it sings
Serenading softly in my head
We’re only dreaming, we’re only dreaming
Moonlight, moonlight comfort me
From any terrors left unseen
Shadows crawling on the floor
Obscuring every open door
Night will fall and stars will rise
Giving way to blood red skies
A warning call for those who dare
From sailors to the unprepared
Sailors to the unprepared
No one wants to wait for anything
Looking for an answer in the darkness as it sings
Serenading softly in my head
We’re only dreaming, we’re only dreaming
We’re only dreaming, we’re only dreaming
Moonbeams In Your Eyes
Now the stars stretch over the city
With each stranger closely confined
As you clung to the groove of this sadness
That played inside your mind
When the lights went down with the pale moon
And the mirrorball shined in your eyes
I kept wondering who you would cry to
It took me by surprise
Place your head upon my shoulder
We can fade into the night
Finding comfort in the darkness
With moonbeams in your eyes
Now your hips both sway to the rhythm
With your arms wrapped tight to my sides
In a trance, looking off in the distance
It couldn’t be denied
As the lights come on in the ballroom
Every light goes out in your eyes
Should’ve known this was all gonna end soon
It isn’t a surprise
Place your head upon my shoulder
We can fade into the night
Finding comfort in the darkness
With moonbeams in your eyes
Lead me with the movements of your body
And I’ll leave you with a little bit of love
Ask me for an answer to this moment
And I’ll never ask you what you’re thinking of
Now our clothes slip off in the bedroom
Under sheets where we don’t have to lie
When you leave, I’ll still know where to find you
With moonbeams in your eyes
Moonbeams in your eyes
Moonbeams in your eyes
Moonbeams in your eyes
Sleeping In
Stuck down in this basement now for years
It wasn’t made survivable
The sunlight never comes to visit here
With these foreign thoughts, undeniable
Nothing else to hold inside our hands
Still broken while invincible
Carefully built these overwhelming plans
As they’re crying out, so predictable
We’re sleeping in again, sleeping in again
Sleeping in again, sleeping in
Tortured eyes from keyholes
So tired and alone
Victims caught as silent prey
Now how will they get home?
How will they get home?
Ripped apart the echoes of this shame
All brushed off as disposable
Desire that devours any blame
Such an appetite, uncontrollable
Some will still believe it’s all pretend
With thoughts so reprehensible
No one ever sees around the bend
Hear the helpless cry, indefensible
We’re sleeping in again, sleeping in again
Sleeping in again, sleeping in
Tortured eyes from keyholes
So tired and alone
Victims caught as silent prey
Now how will they get home?
How will they get home?
We’re sleeping in again, sleeping in again
Sleeping in again, sleeping in
Now how will they get home?
How will they get home?
How will they get home?
So tired and alone
History
Paint yourself an image of the future
Recounted from the past that won’t retreat
Illusions in the eye of the beholder
Born from all the facts we can’t perceive
Pretty soon they’ll come to a conclusion
Steady or unsure, it all depends
Working through these fits of paranoia
When nothing’s all that simple in the end
So princess
Tell me princess, are you dreaming?
Are you looking for some reason?
While you’re begging for some peace
Now princess
Tell me princess, are you leaving?
Don’t you see our hearts are bleeding?
We can’t seem to find relief
Shining from some light made artificial
Transfixed to what’s projected on the screen
Corpses to exhume for one last mission
This history wasn’t meant for us to keep
Echoed through the hallways lying vacant
Brought down by some weight to reach our knees
Constructed from the truths we’re always sold on
It’s all in what we’ve chosen to believe
So princess
Tell me princess, are you dreaming?
Are you looking for some reason?
While you’re begging for some peace
Now princess
Tell me princess, are you leaving?
Don’t you see our hearts are grieving?
We can’t seem to find relief
Counting down the hours as they’re slipping away
Rising with our torches to pierce through the haze
Waiting so intently to feed us a lie
Sheltered by the silence to deflect and deny
Everybody sees but they’ll never admit
No one deals in reason when they’re all full of shit
Always on a witch hunt to serve our beliefs
Ignoring what’s been lost as this history repeats
It wasn’t meant for us to keep, it wasn’t meant for us to keep
It wasn’t meant for us to keep, it wasn’t meant for us to keep
So princess
Tell me princess, are you dreaming?
Are you looking for some reason?
While you’re begging for some peace
Now princess
Tell me princess, are you leaving?
Can’t you see our hearts are bleeding?
We can’t escape this history