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Alan Smithee

by Altly

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about

A straight-forward, head bobbing track about being dissatisfied with what you have or haven't accomplished in life and wanting to disown it and start over. Beat samples the song Morphine Child by Savatage.

lyrics

As I looked out into the night
The thought came to me
That beyond what I could see lay the future
Everything existed until I got there
And found that the horizon
Had escaped my attempts to grab it
But I continued on towards the goal I set
Because staying still
Is equivalent to death

Once upon a time the light wasn't faded
Once their was a fire inside never sated
My words were smooth on the edge not serrated
When the pencil hit the paper, didn't shred it like it's bladed
I could move a room with a nod and a smile, man
I could prove a point without yelling at the sky, man
I could run a mile with no pulmonary tightness
And I could get a night's sleep without a couple vicodin
Some Percocets, xanax, a strong pint or six
Percussion hits, head throbs, gets me fuckin' sick
I'm always hungover though you know what I to blame
The bottle's not the problem, it's the bottom that's the real shame
Smart, in the wrong way, heart in the wrong place,
last in the cast, small part in a long play
Wise to the lies, so I cave, finally
Take my name off this life, call me Alan Smithee

There's a thief on a summer's night
Across an ocean
Who sees another's life fading away
There's a thief on a summer's night
Across an ocean
Who sees another's life fading away

Set out to rip me of ambition, it was futile
Cause apparitions have no mission but to live again, beautiful
But as useful as a kayak in a perfect hurricane
I know there's no way back, but that desire, still hurts the same
In the throes of a noted sticky summer's past
I feel a bloated gut unload a poem in the grass
Of a lifetime trashed, not a damn thing learned
Checks that were cashed, not a damn thing earned
But another few days of repreive
And another long week to sink deeper in my sheets
Figments of a dream swimming in a sea of dignity
Whole oceans inbetween integrity and some solvency
Back-broken mornings and these soft-spoken warnings
All these soulful outpourings, All this whoring of my core beliefs
It was all for the benefit of none, and a bed that stays cold
And an audience of one

There's a thief on a summer's night
Across an ocean
Who sees another's life fading away
There's a thief on a summer's night
Across an ocean
Who sees another's life fading away

I've been around for ten thousand sunsets
But I've only seen a couple dozen of them for myself, shit
Trouble with this life, it's not a privelage, it's a right
Real trouble with the light is it goes out on a dime
I could tap my feet and nod my head on time, man
I could hold your head and your hand in mine, man
I could tell you that I'll see you on the other side, man
But that song and dance is a waltz for the blind man
Balked at the signs, planned walks in the pines
Boardwalks with the bright lights, all mystified, shy
I see hikers on the road, not a trouble or a goal
Unchecked on a list that's been crumpled into compost
I'm a ghost in the fog, stalled, post-modern porno addict
Coasting on a long gone
IQ test that professed I was a genius
If she could see me now, at my weakest, Jesus

There's a thief on a summer's night
Across an ocean
Who sees another's life fading away
There's a thief on a summer's night
Across an ocean
Who sees another's life fading away

In my youth I was breathless in the face of so much potential
But all at once my breath returned to me
And now I can only expand my lungs so far
I can no longer pretend to be satisfied
I can no longer pretend to be surprised
No matter how cold it gets
Somewhere, there is someone drenched in sweat
And no matter how hot I get
Somewhere, there is someone freezing to death

credits

released March 9, 2016
Vocals & Lyrics by Altly ft. Precedent
Beat produced by BerraBeats

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about

Altly Burlington, North Carolina

Altly is a rapper, spoken word poet and artist. His work emphasizes introspective, emotional, and poetic lyrics set to various beats influenced by several genres, ranging from folk to electronic to old school and everything in between.

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