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The Turbulent Sea

by Casey Stratton

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1.
The Reign of Typhon Strange how quickly we lost so much gained The front lines collapse more each day Buried in lies and violence, how can this be? Everyday it’s something else entirely Snakes - take all the voices away Demolish the discourse and make Everyone fall in line and lose their trust Chaos sends masses into hysteria They don’t know they’ve lost such control They don’t see the trap Has been laid in plain sight The nuclear tides The paranoid lies Nothing justified They tear us all apart every time Arms holding us down if we try To counter the messages Why is it so hard to listen and engage? Why won’t they hear what we say? Where has this gone? They don’t know they’ve lost such control They don’t see the trap Has been laid in plain sight The nuclear tides The paranoid lies Nothing justified They tear us all apart every time
2.
The Uphill Climb There it goes The last, late thread from the dream we wove Torches burn We move through time but we never learn Broken down No open lines so the whispers drown Will it all implode? The system reacts to the same old code Melted hope engulfs us That heavy stone rolls back down The mountain, we start again The uphill climb Culture clash The destinies lie in smoldering ash Familiar sound The voices most vile are the ones that are loud We can’t hide Buried heads embolden the lies The machine must crack The chains must break and the world must react Melted hope engulfs us That heavy stone rolls back down The mountain, we start again The uphill climb Wake up and face it No way to deny Forces resist this We must decide
3.
The Constant Divide I need a refuge from these days It seems like an endless loop of pain From morning to night, every time in every way The constant noise, the constant divide I have reached the breaking point Don’t say it will be all right We don’t know that this time Will I make it through this? Or is this the moment I give I hear so many voices say That we can only proceed one way One way to dissent, one way to respect, one way to be It doesn’t seem to me that we should call that “free” Don’t say it will be all right We don’t know that this time Will I make it through this? Or is this the moment I give This isn’t what I signed up for I can’t move, I can’t breathe I can’t hear of another one lost to the sea Don’t say it will be all right We don’t know that this time Will I make it through this? Or is this the moment I give
4.
The American Way Take it all the way back To the start of this shame Place your bets and watch it act Like a parlor game Feast and famine coincide “The American Way” Now it’s time, it’s ride or die You must decide All the people who pretend it’s all right The people who wave flags in the night Resist it, we must speak against hate Persist it, we can learn from these days Our story is not one but it’s all The story of surviving the fall Stay with me - there is hope for us yet We’re still free - we can do this again I have watched my entire life As the monuments burned Walls came down and people cried Now it’s our turn Don’t let apathy take your voice Don’t let overload claim All that we can do in this noise We can make change All the people who pretend it’s all right The people who wave flags in the night Resist it, we must speak against hate Persist it, we can learn from these days Our story is not one but it’s all The story of surviving the fall Stay with me - there is hope for us yet We’re still free - we can do this again I heard you say Nothing would stop you Stand beside me We will move the line All the people who pretend it’s all right The people who wave flags in the night Resist it, we must speak against hate Persist it, we can learn from these days Our story is not one but it’s all The story of surviving the fall Stay with me - there is hope for us yet We’re still free - we can do this again
5.
The Shipwreck of Lies Sailing on as the sun is rising The clearness of day brings a false sense of peace Clouds rolling in as I hear their voices The sun goes grey as we crash through those waves Their song, distant and long Growing intense, casting its spell Luring me, out of the deep I must obey, I must betray Myself on these seas, so my hands freeze I cannot turn away from what is calling to me Can’t be set free This is the shipwreck of lies that fools believe Sure as the moon pulls the water into waves I swoon as the breeze brings a chill to my face The most beautiful sound, the most delicate lines With a wistful detachment that words can’t describe Their song, distant and long Growing intense, casting its spell Luring me, out of the deep I must obey, I must betray Myself on these seas, so my hands freeze I cannot turn away from what is calling to me Can’t be set free This is the shipwreck of lies that fools believe
6.
The Sea is Full of Loss You tremble like leaves Before a raging storm The vast swirl of unease Moves its way through your form It can’t end like this You haven’t found the key You swam through the abyss A dark and brooding sea The waves, they moan The sea is full of loss The skin, the stone We pay a deadly cost The sea is full of loss When dark fell it seemed That all the world had choked On black sands of this beach An under-worldly smoke The past came to collect A shared debt of shame And you failed to select A proper family name The waves, they moan The sea is full of loss The skin, the stone We pay a deadly cost The sea is full of loss You tremble like leaves Before a raging storm Familiar chants of unease Move through the crowds alone It can’t end like this There must be a line That we can draw in the sand That we won’t cross this time You can’t go back again You can’t begin again You say that you were never circling the end, or this You never wanted this, you said But this is what you ended up with then You’re back - you’re trying this again And it is orbiting a black hole Of despair, of pain It cannot be the same Don’t change Don’t call out her name
7.
The Keening 04:48
The Keening Take their souls Sail them home Under waves Will you keep them safe? The darkest hour Brings sorrow’s power It cages me Painfully So don’t mistake The memories made To be enough For all of us Take their souls Sail them home...
8.
The Dead Hand Switch A short wave daze, paranoia stitches the fragments made I can hear the buzzer Outside the pain moves across their faces The fear is plain, listen of the tone to know you’re safe I have heard the whispers The powers at play fashioned up a system Should one side launch, mutual distraction ensured The switch automates the end of the world So stay very much alert And remain in place Listen for the signal And pass the word The ending could come anytime Keep a watchful eye on the skyline One more chance to explain To beg them to see straight We won’t be here to say What happened when the sound went away Nothing will be left on that day Should that tone be fully demolished The dead hand switch will launch a swift counter-attack And then no will be left to say why We made something so destructive The rhetoric ramping up on every side Strikes cold terror in the hearts of the People that stand to lose the most Can it change, can it really change? One more chance to explain To beg them to see straight We won’t be here to say What happened when the sound went away Nothing will be left on that day Do you hear the sound? I can’t hear the sound I can’t hear the sound This is it This is it In a flash it came Everything imploded The glass like blades The air, it turned to poison The sky went black Screams in muted silence A mass attack Ravaged by the violence Millions wiped away In only minutes No way to fight Against assured destruction The dead hand switch Employed to kill the masses Great harm, is it a false alarm? Was it a false alarm?
9.
The Diamond Gate Follow me as we move through the night A distant sound means the end is in sight The underworld gives a pass to return We must go to the dark if we’re ever to learn In times of strife we must hold to the truth No sorcery can the elements move But still I collect all the energies made To cast a spell over those they betrayed Rivers deep, they carry me To the diamond gate To the prophecy that seals our fate The mystic fog hides the water below A river of fire and a river of woe A lamentation for worlds gone before And the heartless acts of the ones we deplore Rivers deep, they carry me To the diamond gate To the prophecy that seals our fate I’ll find you inside You will not be denied I’ll take you back Or I’ll stay in the black Persephone finds You and me in the night We’ll beg her to send Us back from the dead Rivers deep, they carry me To the diamond gate To the prophecy that seals our fate
10.
The Islands of Despair Dark clouds cast a spell upon the tides Green hills ask for another sacrifice I heard you say that you felt the moment shift I think we knew it would somehow come to this We lost our way - we let the landslide shift our center And try as we may - there are times when nothing works I’ll find a safe place - I will turn over every stone I promise to try, promises made are the only saving grace Looking out over islands of despair The sea reacts to the carnage everywhere I saw your face - I could see you losing hope It makes perfect sense when destruction is all we’ve known We lost our way - we let the landslide shift our center And try as we may - there are times when nothing works I’ll find a safe place - I will turn over every stone I promise to try, promises made are the only saving grace Tell me when it’s safe to look Tell me when morning comes And give me another chance to sail again Give me another chance to survive We lost our way - we let the landslide shift our center And try as we may - there are times when nothing works I’ll find a safe place - I will turn over every stone I promise to try, promises made are the only saving grace
11.
The Traces That Remain Stolen moments fade from my memory At the end of the day Still I find myself Looking for the traces that remain So I let myself Go down the roads where you and I were made Made of rain and deceit Those ghosts of you must set me free Still I find myself Thinking that I’d rather hold on So I let myself Live in denial that you’re really gone And it dulls the pain It numbs me completely It stains the days with hints of regret And then it ends… You’re out there somewhere In those ethers You’re so far out there I’ve lost your trace…
12.
The Moon and the Dawn We travel over hillsides through the dark, embittered night Her silver, lonely moon our only guide Will we find our way across the harsh, bitter terrain Our mission very clear, we must regain A shooting star reflects our hope to move at higher speed Dismantling a system made to stay stuck on repeat But we channel all her wisdom through the moonlight and the stars We can define who we really are You stand before me, looking down I know it feels like we’re spellbound I’ll stay if you’ll stay, we can weather this We can change the way that this story ends She brings the dawn to give us all a sign that we remain In a world where the sun shines every day We must keep in mind the great strides that we have made Over seeming endless nights, through the hard rain You stand before me, looking down I know it feels like we’re spellbound I’ll stay if you’ll stay we can weather this We can change the way that this story ends I won’t go - if you promise, I’ll promise, I’ll show I’ll keep giving myself, I will grow I will hope for your hope and I’ll know That it’s possible to have a home Where the moon and the dawn let us know That tomorrow will bring what we hope So I won’t go if you won’t go I won’t go if you won’t go

credits

released November 12, 2017

All songs ©2017 Sleeping Pill Music (ASCAP). Written, produced and performed by Casey Stratton.

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Casey Stratton Grand Rapids

Formerly signed to Sony Classical, Casey Stratton has experienced the corporate side of music in full force. His 2004 album "Standing at the Edge" received high critical praise from the likes of Billboard, People and USA Today. His song "House of Jupiter" reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Chart. Now independent, Casey has released 28 albums and much, much more. ... more

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