The Mariner
Protest The Hero
I freaked out in the backroom
While Choke was on the stage
I've been trying to fight the years off
But my voice is finally showing its age
I used to barely think about it at all
I breathe in fear and anger
Exhale a silent prayer
Please let it come back to me
Please let it be there
I used to barely think about it at all
Molded bearing feeble death
I'm in the alley and I'm trying to catch my breath
Now the time is up and I can't sing a note
I'm side stage with my heart in my throat
Harmony turns discordant and time stands still
So I step on the stage and I seal my fate
Grip tight on the mic and exclaim
My sisters and brothers they hated so bad
But it ain't coming out
No it ain't coming out
And now I'm at the bottom of a well and I'm alone
And I don't think I'm gonna make it
Slink back to the side of the stage
Sink into self-doubt, while I'm looking for Cage
Sit down in the back with a bottle of booze
Another failure, there's nothing left to lose
Despondent
Demoralized
This cycle of birth and demise
There's nothing in between the hope and misery
All joy erased by my poorly wired circuitry
Contract and then release
Inflame old injuries
Overwrite the good I've done while rewriting my history
From discord to harmony, the song sang out
Now I step on the stage and relive my fate
Grip tight on the mic and reclaim
My sisters and brothers they hated so bad
And hope it's coming out
Cause even at the bottom of a well I'm not alone
I don't recall a single moment
Louder than this moment now
Old friends stop by to see me
Same old question: What went wrong?
So I shrug my shoulders and put my head down
They're all thinking that I'm done
And honestly, I'm kinda feeling the same
And it's been a couple years that I've been feeling this way
So with my tail between my legs, I saunter back to the stage
And I witness something great
They're singing all together now
A chorus rises and never fades
It struck me to my core and still these days
When I am feeling low
When I'm uncertain where to go
I picture faces screaming from that show
A golden tide of voices
Pulled me from the depths
It raised me to the surface
And it filled my lungs with breath
If storms cloud my horizon
As I float forevermore
I will hear your voices
Where the chorus meets the shore
At the end of it all
Whatever that is
I'll have something to hold
And I am grateful
For the sound of your voice
When I needed it most
I just want you to know
I am grateful
I tied the bird I killed around my neck
And let its body reside
Until all this death doesn't seem so ugly
Until I can find the beauty inside
I am grateful