1. |
Wings And Parts I
01:19
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Your bags are packed
But you don’t even know if you’re coming back
‘Cause Rat is on the ground
You can fly
But you might start to wonder why
’Cause Rat is on the ground
He’s been up for forty hours
Don’t need plugs
Ignore the tower
Live and shave
Assuming you make it the entire way
’Cause Rat is on the ground
No delays
The skies are clear, not a thing to fear
’cause Rat is on the ground
Boston on the radio
So long hippies
I’ve got a show
Your bags are packed
But you don’t even know if you’re coming back
‘Cause Rat is on the ground
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2. |
A Boy Called Rat
02:11
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Mrs. Falestra: Oh, what future will this poor boy have?
He’s asleep with those headphones on, again
What kind of noises does he seek?
What if the voices start to speak?
What will we call him if he blows?
No one knows
It’s the sound of a thing in pain
It’s the sound of an aero plane
It’s the sound of a…
Rat: I’m just a simple son
I learned my chords, I had my fun
This music’s dead, I’m through with that
Now you can call me Rat
Mrs. Falestra: What kind of songs play in his head?
What are those tapes under his bed?
Is he a Mozart for today?
Who can say?
It’s the sound of a Marshall stack
It’s the sound of a heart attack
It’s the sound of no turning back
Rat: I’m just a simple son
I learned my chords, I had my fun
This hippie shit is dead and gone
I’m just a simple son, I’m just a simple son
I’m just a simple son
I learned my chords, I had my fun
This music’s dead, I’m through with that
I’ll clear the room and won’t look back
Now, you can call me Rat!
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3. |
Francis Is Special
03:39
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Pollard: Francis is sleeping
Lives in a dream
Likes to count horses
Mrs. Fallestra and Pollard: Francis was not a mistake
Pollard: He’s got a purpose, a reason for being
Mrs. Fallestra and Pollard:
Since he was small, there was a tiny light
Francis was not afraid
He kept his mouth shut tight
His eyes were alive…
Pollard: Francis is dreaming
Lives on a cloud
Vessels like castles
Head like a velvet sponge
He’s got a purpose, a reason for being
Mrs. Fallestra and Pollard:
Since he was small, there was a tiny light
Francis was not afraid
He kept his mouth shut tight
His eyes were alive…
Now he’s awake -there is a tiny light
Francis is not afraid, no
He keeps his mouth shut tight
His eyes are alive
He is unknown...
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4. |
Take Out The Keys
03:25
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I’ve broken my piano
I’ve snapped some keys in half
To tune it like Sinatra
I’d take out all the black
There’s a distinct sound you get
When you stick it in a box
And fill it up with paper
Torn from the letters that I got
You can carry your tune over your shoulder
But it’ll never be a cross
You’ve got to drive the good ones crazy
Till the bad ones hit the spot
And all your polish will not save you from the hot, hard rain
Let’s see how you sound when the rust gets to your brain
I’ve broken my piano
But I’d shatter my guitar
To tune it like Sinatra
I’d play half the fucking strings
Yeah, I’ve got intuition
But that’s just asking for a cliff
You’ve got to jump off of curbs in South Beach
Before you’ll ever write a hit
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5. |
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Bernando: If there was a sound
Made by people you hate
That set your teeth on edge
Could you flip it around?
What if music was war?
Rian: What if they were your friends?
Bernando: Shining, uncontested stands the awful truth
Elected and infected wears the crown
Three horsemen bring apocalypse
Three horsemen ride into your town
Rian: It was decided back in ninety three
A porn lit heir put forth the call
For all the worst, there has to be a first
Someone to bravely take the fall
Rian: If there was a band
Made of people you loved
Bernando: But their music was shit
Would you still remain true?
Would you still come around,
If the joke was on you?
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6. |
Asleep At The Board
01:57
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Rat takes a nap
And the tape goes on and on
Rat takes a nap
And the take is over
Rat takes a nap
And all I’ve got here is a 12 minute song
And a maniac
Who will stop the tape?
Who will end this take?
Who will stop the tape?
Rat takes a nap
And the bartender stole my guitar
Rat takes a nap
Go visit Antonia
Rat takes a nap
And the chorus just goes on for miles
Who’s going to rewind the tape?
Who will stop the take?
Who will end this take?
Hey Rat!
Hey Rat!!!
Wake the fuck up!
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7. |
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You’ll sell a lot of cars
You’ll sell a lot of beer
You’ll captivate the country
With your beat and your veneer
The heart of the heartland
The best of the Midwest
You’ll pull it all in
You’ve got it right kid, You’re gonna be a star
You’ve got it right kid, You’re gonna be a star
You’ll sell a lot of soda
You’ll find fortune and fame
Yeah, you’ll be a darling
You’ll be know by your first name
And at the festival you will upstage
The clown with the balloons
And the baboon
You’ve got it right kid, You’re gonna be a star
You’ve got it right kid, You’re gonna be a star
You’re a winner, you know who you are
You’re gonna be a star
You’ll sell lots of cars
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8. |
Outside This Bar
04:03
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Pollard: Outside this bar, there’s a man screaming at the top of his lungs
There’s a man, screaming not to go down this road
Not to do what you’re told
In the bedroom, on the microphone
He’s holding to the lamp post
He’s grabbing on to major chords
And popping all the strings
And you can hear him sing
If you’re outside this bar, on a Friday,
At a festival, he goes…
In a town which all the partiers were thrown off of balconies
Into mediocrity
And pop tunes that kill brain cells
But sell lots of Chevys
Rat: "Outside this bar, there’s no one alive
Outside this bar, how does anyone survive?
Together you and me turn this quiet night into silence
Together we'll turn this love into violence
Outside this bar, outside this bar…”
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9. |
Squelcher
05:03
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Harmony is drinking with the band
As the noise pours on and on
Wash out your ears, stand on your hands
While the noise goes on and on
Mindy rocks it on stage right
Little Julie fakes a scream
Lucrecia cranking to be heard
Ivy, tuneless and serene
Why did you come here?
Where did you go wrong?
You heard the siren's call
Then you heard the siren's song
Get some girls
Give them guitars
Plug them in
Now, they're fucking stars
Plug them in! Plug them in!
Melody died on stage last night
On a Thursday of an overdose
You're just to blame as anyone else
You just sat there, comatose
Mindy! Julie! Lucrecia! Ivy!
Get some girls
Give them guitars
Plug them in, Now, they're fucking stars
Plug them in! Plug them in!
Plug them in! Plug them in!
Why did you come here?
Where did you go wrong?
You heard the siren's call
And then, you heard the siren's song
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10. |
All Your Tone Is Wrong
04:00
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Face it forward
You won’t ever see them cringe
On your worst day
You just never felt the pinch
Of a pending collision
A Cliff to the tire
You always see net when you’re on the high wire
Every weekday
You just coast down the road
And on your worst day
You don’t feel any notes
Just a sleepwalking song
Without any feel
With a nod towards the end
And the soul that it steals
All your tone is wrong – you’ve got to sing a better song
If you’re to leave this town – you’ve got to move around
Don’t you eat the mic – you must look for fights
Aint no use for rock-n-roll if it don’t last all night
In a speaker, All the truth comes out
You can’t hide it – you can only drown it out
With reverb and feedback and chorus and twine
And claim that the lie was all meant by design
All your tone is wrong – you’ve got to sing a better song
If you’re to leave this town – you’ve got to move around
Don’t you eat the mic – you must look for fights
Aint no use for rock-n-roll if it don’t last all night
All you rejects – all you told to stop
Come out Thursday…let’s just hear what you’ve got
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11. |
He's My Nothing
03:55
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He’s on that thing again
He says it sounds like Hendrix
I can’t hear a goddamn thing
He’s not in bed again
I’ll fall asleep alone
But I can dream about a different sound
He tells me that I’m crazy
He can’t hear me when I sing
I’ve got scars that bleed affection
He swears that’s not his thing
Everything I’ve ever had, I’ve gotten for myself
He’s the king of noise, I know
I’m the queen of something else
He’s my nothing, he’s my nothing
He’s my nothing, and that’s everything
We’re flying out again
To see some band from Dayton, O
Then back around again
I’m on my feet again
I’m waiting for my man to come
He’s passed out on the bathroom floor
I think he thinks I’m lazy
I can’t stay awake that long
When his eyes are rolling backwards
His brain still buzzes strong
Everything I could become, I’ve tossed off in the dirt
Just to mend his favorite beanie
And wash his stupid shirts
He’s my nothing…
He tells me that I’m crazy
He can’t hear me when I sing
I’ve got scars that bleed affection
He swears that’s not his thing
Everything I’ve ever had, I’ve gotten for myself
He’s the king, he’s the king, he’s the king!
He’s my nothing, he’s my nothing…
And that’s everything
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12. |
Glory Hole Bastard Ghost
02:10
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I'm the one who's been here all this time
They've got the glory but some glory should be mine
They've got ringing they should hear the shit that's in my head
All these ghosts just won't stay dead
When the history of this is read
I'm the one who understood him best
Could have plenty but he's mine instead
They're far away but always here
Dead monuments that he holds dear
The ghosts
The ghosts
They follow us
Throughout the scene
And you don't understand
He's nobody's nothing
When the hat comes off and glasses too
I see the things that no one knows I do
All the kindness and the coldness too
And all the ghosts who couldn't cope
You haunt our walls, but I have spoken
When the hat comes off and glasses too
I see the things that no one knows I do
Girls who paint and girls with frozen hearts
Kick them to the curb but it is just a start
Cause I'm the one who's picking up the line
I'm the one who's been here all this time
They got the glory but the glory should be mine
They got the glory, but the bastard he is mine!!
They got the glory but the bastard he is mine!!
He is Mine!!
He is Mine!!!
He is Mine!!!
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13. |
That's Not Music
02:17
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My mother said
Music comes from your heart
It's in your soul
For some, it's all they know
But mom was wrong
Bless her heart
She couldn't know
And thankfully never had to hear
This noise that’s coming to my ears
There is no kindness in the words
There is no softness to be heard
It's from a place she's never been
There is no soul
There is no soul
She didn't know
She didn't know
She didn't know of this
It has no soul
And all the cool kids
With their clever, hipster tees
They just follow him Like lemmings, until their ears ring and bleed But for me
It has no soul
It has no soul…
There will be kindness in the words
There will be softness to be heard
There is a sound straight from my dreams
I’ll give it soul
I’ll give it soul
Then they will know
Then they will know
They will hear all of me
I’ll give it soul
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14. |
Ballad Of The Rat
03:44
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Every single one of you is crazy
You’re all just missing it, man
Yeah, you’ve got a guitar but you’re lazy
You know damn well you’re in the wrong band
You know damn well you’re in the wrong band
You’re all just buying the story
Just one hype away from your dreams
But your Gods don’t have any glory
And they stole all their riffs from me
Yeah they stole all their riffs from me
I’ve seen the birthplace of Manson
In a strip mall bar wrist cut scene
And the shock on their faces was classic
But now it’s boring and passé and clean, clean, clean
You commute to a soundtrack of liars
Songs written by robots and thieves
In a world where the oils make ricin
You at least need a chorus that’s mean
You at least need a chorus that’s mean…
You’re a freak, you’re a freak, and you know it
Deep in your brain it is there
And like a seed, if you bury, you’ll grow it
Yeah
You’re a freak, you’re a freak, and you know it
Deep in your brain it is there
And like a seed, if you bury, you’ll grow it
And when it shows,
We’ll record it and stare
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15. |
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Rat: All this torturous back and forth
Has brought us here, just like before
To begin again, another round
Your blurry eyes, my wall of sound
So what's our goddamn plan, now?
You're not quite gone, so I try to save you
Another kiss to resuscitate you
You slip away to the other side
This town has so many places to hide
And what's our goddamn plan, now?
What's our goddamn plan now?
Charli: I'll meet you at Churchill's
We'll sort it out at Churchill's
We'll hideaway at Churchill's
I’ll meet you at Churchill’s
Rat: We can get some food beforehand
We can leave the world behind
Charli: We'll sort it out at Churchill's
Rat: We can write a song on the stage
A single note, with words unspoken
Charli: We’ll hideaway at Churchill’s
Rat: You can take a cab home, cause I’m staying if the club is open
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16. |
Wings And Parts II
03:12
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Pollard: All that stress from flying
Takes its toll on the design, you know
You've got to take a close look at the wing
Rat: And falling off the cargo hold
My head facing the sky, you know
The tarmac hit my head and made it sing
Pollard: On the ramp it's just a long parade
The planes just come and go
Once you get behind the counter
You can see through people's soul...
Rat: While you take your kids to soccer
And the bills begin to pile
I'll be halfway to Japan
To hear the Voices live
Pollard: While you are watching Idol
And eating corporate tripe
Rat: I'll be dancing in Japan
With Robert Pollards wife
Pollard: All those iffy landings
Take their toll on those big tires, you know
You've got to keep inspecting for a flaw
Rat: And every day, security
Pretends that they don't know me
They shrug and tell me, "Frank, it's just the law."
Pollard: On the ramp it's just a long parade
The planes just come and go
Once you get inside the baggage
You can see through people's soul...
Rat: While you take your kids to soccer
And the bills begin to pile
I'll be halfway to Japan
To hear the Voices live
Pollard: While you are watching Idol
And eating corporate tripe
Rat: I'll be dancing in Japan
Pollard: He’ll be dancing in Japan
Rat: I'll be dancing in Japan
With Robert Pollards wife!
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17. |
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Cast: Your bags are packed
But you don’t even know if you’re coming back
‘Cause Rat is on the ground
You can fly
But you might start to wonder why
’Cause Rat is on the ground
We’ve been up for forty hours
Don’t need plugs
Ignore the tower
Your bags are packed
But you don’t even know if you’re coming back
‘Cause Rat is on the ground
Rat: I’m just a simple son
I learned my chords, I had my fun
This hippie shit is dead and gone
I’m just a simple son, I’m just a simple son
I’m just a simple son
I learned my chords, I had my fun
This music’s dead, I’m through with that
I’ll clear the room and won’t look back
Now you can call me Rat
Cast: RAT, RAT!!
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The Rat Opera Florida
The Rat Opera was created by Rob Elba (Holy Terrors, Shark Valley Sisters) & Brian Franklin (Diane Ward Band, Solo Projects). The soundtrack also features musicians Russell Mofsky (Gold Dust Lounge, Quit), Andre Serafini (Quit) & William Trev (Holy Terrors) as well as vocals by Diane Ward & Ali Culotta. It was recorded at Dan Hosker Studio & Beachsound and was mixed by Bobby MacIntyre at Studio 71 ... more
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