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Blessing In Disguise - 1989
Lineup:
Guitars: John Marshall, Craig Wells
Drums: Kirk Arrington
Bass: Duke Erickson
Vocals: Mike Howe
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Fake Healer (5:55)
K. Vanderhoof
I prey upon your morbid fear
Of terminal disease
You won't know the difference
Now it's time for surgery
Another shot, another pill
Two weeks therapy
I take all major credit cards
Your money is what I need
I'm a healer
I will keep you all alive
I'm a healer
A villain at your bedside
Take this and you'll be fine
Severely educated
Just pay your bill on time
I think it's time for another test
I need more of your blood
Sign this affidavit
So my insurance won't go up
I'm a healer
I will keep you all alive
I'm a healer
Research and development
Spend millions every year
You sickly and decrepit ones
Keep my yacht safe on the pier
You're dying on a stretcher
We'll try to save your life
If you can't afford my service
I will let you die
I'm trusted and respected
Says my diploma on the wall
Before I will do anything
I'll give your bank a call
I'm a healer
I will keep you all alive
I'm a healer
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Rest In Pieces (April 15,1912) (6:38)
K. Vanderhoof
Integrity of construction
The best money can buy
Her size is greater than any
A Belfast shipyard's pride
Signal flags spelled out the word "Success"
On her maneuvering trials
Preservers and lifeboats were not in excess
Unsinkable, no plans to save lives
Athinai reports icebergs and field ice
At seven bells ahead just five miles
A black hulk against the night's darkness
Disaster along starboard side
Full speed astern were the orders
It would do them no good
No apparent collision
A rip deep below the waterline
Come at once, we have struck a berg
Interference in transmission
The newest, largest ship afloat
Had two hours to live
Lower all lifeboats, we have too few!
Women and children first!
Distress rockets fill the air
Abandon Ship!
Sinking faster, every light ablaze
Machinery, engines, crashing to the bow
Arching vertical, stern points to the sky
The great ship fractured
Everyone must die
Watching their families make it to safety
Fifteen hundred went down
The orchestra played to the last moment
An eerie almost unreal sound
The calm and icy North Atlantic
Titanic's burial ground
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Of Unsound Mind (4:44)
J. Marshall
A man exists alone
Hidden by a shell
Touched in such a wicked way
No one could ever tell
Is what he sees for real?
Or only in his mind?
The staring of the old man's eyes
Chills him deep inside
It is the eye
That will destroy him
Stuck in the mind
It is the eye
That will destroy me
Stuck in my mind
He plots the aweful deed
He know it must be done
Precision of a madman's mind
His goal is only one
Is what he sees for real?
The evil eye, the sun
His pain and fear must lay to rest
Piece by piece it's done
It is the eye
That will destroy him
Stuck in the mind
It is the eye
That will destroy me
Stuck in my mind
Twisting and tortured scars on my brain
No one can touch me in here
Trapped, fighting, driven to kill
Forced to live with my fear
When will it end? What can I do?
Who will believe? Why is this fear haunting me?
The end is the cure, the only way out
To numb the source of my pain
Death to life is insanity
the anger is growing again
When will it end? What can I do?
Who will believe? Why is this fear haunting me?
How can he stand to bear the pounding of his heart?
Something really must be done before he's torn apart
Is what he hears for real, the heartbeat in his head
I hear the pounding of his heart, but I know the man is dead
It is the eye
That will destroy him
Stuck in the mind
It is the eye
That will destroy me
Stuck in my mind
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Anthem To The Estranged (9:31)
K. Vanderhoof
Starved for destination, a beggar man by trade
A desperate man needs more than someone else to blame
Friendless he appears, he hides behind his tears
For things he's lost, or things he'll never have at all
The forgotten man wanders misplaced in the world
Obscurity is all the eye can see, and I recall
All alone again
As we pass on by and continue with our day
Can we appraise the quality of life some other way?
All alone again
When you take a longer look at someone on the run
You may see reflections of yourself becoming one
Take an extra moment when you find yourself at peace
To think about your values and your own affluency
Everything you've worked for and everything you've done
May be thrown by the wayside, and you're not the only one
Everything around you may seen worn and overused
But imagine yourself removed from all that you're used to
All alone again
Once an influential man, once was in his prime
He spends his days repeating lines like "can you spare a dime?"
Shunned by those loved you and by those who were your friends
Can you adjust to a different life of living on the edge?
The destitute find meaning in a different way of life
The doorways that they dwell in are shelter in the night
No shining crystal possessions set out for his display
His purpose is to find the food to get him throught the day
All alone again
Roaming aimless through the streets of supply and demand
Once a gypsy disconnected, no more, no future plans
Self discarded king of ruin, worthless to the world
Fight to keep his sanity, his voice is never heard
You may think it thoughtless and his mind is on a string (?)
He always seems to find a reason to him through the day
All alone again
He staggers down the alley to drink his spirits by himself
As he prays to God that he wakes up somewhere else
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Badlands (7:21)
K. Vanderhoof / M. Howe
I ride alone, the wasteland that I cross
Will take another life, we'll take another loss
I feel a dry wind, dust is in my eyes
The artic cold at night, the earth, it tells me lies
God in heaven, my only friend
Will I live to see my journey's end?
As the world awakens me so hard, my values have been changed
I make a promise to myself: Never again
A dusty godforsaken path, endless to my dismay
I know these are the badlands, somehow I'll find my way
No more paradise, no more soothing rain
All the sacrifice, the pain is all the same
Still I'm pushing onward, alone I can't deny
My presence fills the desert, my spirit never dies
Will these lonely nights ever end?
Will I live to see my journey's end?
As the world awakens me so hard, my values have been changed
I make a promise to myself: Never again
A dusty godforsaken path, endless to my dismay
I know these are the badlands, somehow I'll find my way
The vultures that circle, cloud the empty sky,
Patiently waiting, they wait for me to die
Tortured and beaten, blistered by the sun
Forceful and heartless, have the badlands won?
Still I'm pushing onward, alone I can't deny
My presence fills the desert, my spirit never dies
As the world awakens me so hard, my values have been changed
I make a promise to myself: Never again
A dusty godforsaken path, endless to my dismay
I know these are the badlands, somehow I'll find my way
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The Spell Can't Be Broken (6:46)
K. Vanderhoof
Rituals are carried out for reasons quite unknown
The fact remains you have no mind to call your own
Condoned by a bible I have written for myself
No duplicates, there's only one inside my shelf
The spell can't be broken
You all have been chosen
You're dying for me
Demoralized servant to my every need
A system of tyranny rages uncontrolled
One day soon you'll find it now controls your soul
Nothing's changed for many years, your dreams are run with rats
They won't hesitate to rip the shirt off your back
The spell can't be broken
You all have been chosen
You're dying for me
Demoralized servant to my every need
What will you do when your future unfolds?
Life as you've known it, you'll be much too old
Days of your youth were all spent in defense
Memories are painful, the thoughts you resent
I know I was meant for much better things
No time to sleep, so I've lost all my dreams
Look forward to nothing, look back at the same
I'll spend my life here and deal with the pain
The choice has been made, you all will be slaves
Unreasonable power
I mock at the suffering and grow strong by the hour
Hatred grows among the ones destined to be slaves
But only life itself can lead you to your grave
Lost in thoughts of what you're told to do for someone else
I don't think you're superior, you're making my life hell
The spell can't be broken
You all have been chosen
You're dying for me
Demoralized servant to my every need
It's A Secret (3:47)
J. Marshall
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Cannot Tell A Lie (4:17)
K. Vanderhoof
On the pedestal you stand of promises to keep
I can make the changes and keep you off the streets
I will never let you down, together we can win
All I need is your support, the funds keep flowing in
I am the one who will make all the difference
I am the one who cannot tell a lie
My opposition tells you that I am the bad guy
But I have done some research in his private life
I feel that it's my duty to let the people know
I know it's no one's business, I destroy to get a vote
I am the one who will make all the difference
I am the one who cannot tell a lie
Raise those banners, raise those flags
Raise your wages, raise your hands
No more war, all at peace
I have the solution to all the nation's needs
Hail to government, hail to liberty
Hail to God above, hail to me
No more war, all at peace
I am the solution to what this nation needs
My missile proposition is effective as can be
No trades for arms for hostages, no Star Wars shit for me
I'm an average person, blue collar all the way
Everyone will have a job, just cast your vote my way
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The Powers That Be (5:22)
K. Vanderhoof
It's more than understanding, to realize just what it means
Interpretations, different meanings, can be drawn out of anything
It all makes sense now, I see it clear
The picture comes together, and I have lost the fear
Your heart is the key
The powers that be
Are handed to me
There is no suit of armor to pretect you from the dark
Just let your guard down, and the sword will hit the mark
The words get twisted, you hear the lies
Just takes a look around you, and pray they realize
Your heart is the key
The powers that be
My sanctuary
It's not what you wear, it's what's in your mind
It's not worth the emptiness inside
I have left all blackness behind
No more questions about black and white
A gift of free will, the choice is all up to you
Just let your faith rule, and you will know what to do
The cults grow stronger, I'll stay away
I'm looking at tomorrow, now I know the way
Your heart is the key
The powers that be
Are handed to me
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