Ludicra
Fex Urbis Lex Orbis
1. Dead City
Something big and bright
Looms outside my window
Choked with promise
Smother in hope
Days plod on like machines of ceaseless ruin
Lost in a forest of haunted buildings
I'm the feeble crack of light
That shines in spite of all
I'm held in place by a fragile base
I'm the feeble crack of light
That shines in spite of all
I'll rest in denial
I'll hide here for a while
With each sundown comes sickness
With each sunrise surrender
And still they come deaf and dumb
Days of incessant woe
The walk is paved in shame
The cement blocks and common sense
The lowly steep in mockery
The exalted drained all our strength
2. In Fever
The voice has splintered to a rasp
From broken words of waste
It cast forth illusions
Of a life without mistakes
It told the worst tale ever told
And spoke of better days
The truth be told as I grow old
A chronology of decay
A piece of mind unhinged this time
The doors I've left behind
To lie and wait for an escape
Before it is too late
Wander alone through the hours
And the neverending wait
A shadow thrown across a face
A warped forgotten haggard shape
Cast on a heap of wounded birds
Their wings hang broken like these words
Broken shards of life scattered by the wind
Between each myth is a sheltered place
A place of no regret
Sanctum refuge
But you can only stay for so long
Before you stay forever
In fever, in death
A piece of mind unhinged this time
The truth be told as I grow old
And still I wait though it's too late
Wave the short-lived farewell
Return to an unkempt shell
And finally to show your face
3. Veils
Can you not escape the face?
That glowing haunted stare
Take the way that's caked with filth
A far less travelled path
Veils of bygone grief and death
To deflect the gaze
The sickening sight
There is no manner learned
From any teacher from any source
From any know-it-all
From any keeper, from any mouth
From anyone you know
Vials of promised sun
Sapped of life when splendor brims a thimble
Thirst to the point of madness
To each his own demise
(And) when the oldest soul
Pushes through your flesh
And paints your lids white
Submit to more than just the lure
Of the hands that held you tight
So stop everything an bring on nothing
Content to sleep
In filth or feathers
(So stop everything and bring on nothing)
A shiftless shapeless mass
What started out like any other
Was twisted into this
Part of the living, part of the dying
Though blood soaks through your soles
And gusts lash your skin
Continue on your way
To a place called home
4. Only A Moment
Again it's time to realize
Care is no longer there
Fret that consumed every cell
Dissolved into the air
The throng of mutterings ends today
Forfeit all attempts
Charms fade and gardens grey
Ignore their waning, dying scent
No elation sent
No unmatched soul will be sought
Silence their petty whispers
Cut out their wagging tongues
Prying eyes seek gouging
When secrets come undone
No need to polish treasured wares
That expose beneath the dust
Leave the webs to cover and hide
In times of regretted lust
Charms fade and gardens grey
Ignore their waning dying scent
No elation sent
No unmatched soul will be sought
This is only a moment to oneself
Spewed forth for all to see
Its purpose, no one can tell
Break up the worn humdrum
Await a new chance
Curse aloud at the crowds
Their common march is their only crime!
Make sure to build the wall too high
No more peeking for any sign!
Shake up the slow humdrum
Churn bitters into wine
Stow the thoughts away
Until another time
Seal the holes that leaked the lies
Shun away the arms of foolery
Believe the fraud that you are wise
5. Collapse
Here's the sign that modern times is finally crashing down
Weeds rise form concrete beds
Dance 'til you're dead in the parking lots
Take to the rooftops and see what's left
The doors of empty homes stand open
Like our toothless mouths
Illness in a black rainbow
Rifle through their pockets while saying last rites
Here's the end that we have dreamt of
Here's the face of the collapse
Reach out for something living
See your hands are filled with dust
Walk under rolling clouds of fragmented bone
Join the fanatics and rant to the sky
The torrents of red murder mingle with the garbage
Coagulate in heart-shaped stains
Left out to dry in acid rain
Left out to die insane
The dues left unpaid are the only kindly fate
Footprints collect with soot and smother out the lines
The dwindled carry tattered wares
On calloused backs of pride
To climb the scape, the nails will scrape
They cling to hope's last ride
Gone are the days of reckless vanity
Gone are the old songs from the shore
A different set of eyes viewed the bleakest past
Open sores breathe in the new mass
Here's the end that we have dreamt of
Here's the face of the collapse
Sorrows grow with each tomorrow
To remain is now the only task
It is time to settle in the ash
Ross Sewage ‒ Bass
Aesop Dekker ‒ Drums
John Cobbett ‒ Guitars
Christy Cather ‒ Guitars, vocals (additional)
Laurie Sue Shanaman ‒ Vocals
Lyrics in plain text format
