"Anything worthwhile takes effort."
One of the easiest traps to fall into in life is that slow disintegration into drifting. You know what I mean: it's that place of cruise-control, of reacting instead of acting, of going through the motions. Unless we consciously intend to live and love "on purpose", gravity tends to pulls us into that old sinkhole time and again.
Sometimes we're fortunate enough to get a wake-up call - whether that comes from some sort of internal a-ha moment or perhaps more commonly from an unexpected outside event. In "The Attic", the narrator has just such an experience after stumbling across a box of momentos that had been tucked away.
Musically, this song is a bit unorthodox and experimental. It doesn't follow a normal song format, nor does it really have a hook or even a real chorus. Maybe we could best describe it as "a short story set to music."
PLAY:
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LYRICS:
brown banged up boxes,
all taped and stacked up
pull one to the ground
and blow off the dust
let's see what I can find...
well, here's that old album
with pictures of us
and scraps of old letters
professing our love
the remnants of a life
I can see what we had
but look how I've been
I guess I just didn't feel prepared for this
It's all passing me by
it's said, life is what happens while we make our plans
remember when we said we'd always hold hands?
(but) the urgent trumped the day, and exhaustion, the night
my God, I have been entrusted with so very much
it's lovely and good but I didn't keep up
somewhere we got lost and failed to try
I can see what we had
but I know what I've been
I guess I just didn't feel prepared for this
somewhere I got lost and failed to try
----
well no more, no more
from here on I put my best foot forward
I don't want to take you for granted
well no more, no more
it's time that my own heart I restore
I don't want to take you for granted, again
tonight when I see you I'm gonna ask you to dance
and show you I still have the time for romance
I'm still amazed and you should know it
so I restack the box and climb back down the stairs
and find myself grateful for all that we've shared
you have my heart and it's past time I show it
Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 04:49PM 
After a few weeks of reflective heart-churners, I wanted to turn the tables this week and let loose. Musically this is one of the most hard-rocking songs of this entire project. Lyrically I chose the darker themes of coercion and manipulation to match the tone of the music. Crank it up... just don't come complaining to me if your head explodes.