The SecretAgent Songbook

[SecretAgent]

I had written a few songs when I was 10 (starting in 2002). None of them were really good, but when I heard "Mammoth" by Interpol in summer 2007, I was so jealous, I stole almost all the lyrics, added some of my own, and that's how my actual start in lyric writing started. For the next year and a half, all my songs were essentially stealing from other famous songs and melting them along with my own lines. The songs that were purely original were indeed crap, until I was in English in December 2008 and I wrote a song. That song was the beginning of my modern lyric writing. Since Dec. 08, I've written probably about 200 songs. As of right now I only have 18 songs, and 3 songs I've been trying to develop. (I'm often my own harshest critic as you can tell that I've only kept 10% of my songs just counting from Dec. 08) At the time of this topic, I've had a writer's block lasting for the better part of the last 3 months. PLEASE post your opinions!

 

A Colour Scene (Like A Supernova)

Dec. 08

 

 

VERSE 1

floating on the ocean

set the colours in motion

but the scene is far far away..

I am falling behind

can I please have back today

so that I can find

one thousand things to undo

and a thousand things to unsay

 

there’s one hundred million dreams in queue

but they’re all waiting to die and no one really knows why

 

CHORUS

life is like a supernova

it’s there then it’s gone

it starts then it’s over

like a brand new dawn

that comes out to play

then goes inside at the end of the day

and forever goes away….

 

BRIDGE

if only days were a little longer

I wish I could be a little younger

but the evening’s pulling me down and under

get me out of this queue

send me back to the ocean

I know exactly what to do

so set the colour scene in motion

 

 

 

 

Where is Somewhere?

Feb. 09

 

 

VERSE 1

I keep trying to get somewhere

but where somewhere is

is the thing that I don’t know

there are supernovas in the sky

I hope I’m not like them

they fall apart in a big hyped up show

 

CHORUS:

but I don’t know …. what will happen

because I can’t see…. the future

it’s just a fragile line

that I have to walk on now

with a blindfold on my eyes

 

VERSE 2

tell me are we there yet?

can you tell me where there is?

all these things I’ve never known

they run out and laugh at me

they say I can’t see

but they know I can hear them..

am I about to fall apart

in a big hyped up show?

 

 

 

 

Function

May 20th, 2009

-Not one of my best, yet it is one of my favorites

 

 

VERSE 1

left on the outside

so many times we have tried..

to break right in

to convince them

that we function

like everyone else

we function like

everyone else

 

CHORUS

bullets and sparks

blood and broken hearts

take my hands and make them new

so sick of what I’ve been through

cameras and bones

bleeding fingers, broken homes

I’m feeling ill, I need your colours

more still, I’m afraid to feel

because I don’t know what they’ll do

and I don’t know what they’ll put me through

 

VERSE 2

they step over the cracks

we’re dirt on their backs

hold on to something

to try and break the fall

and function…

on the best terms you can

 

BRIDGE

in the night and on our own

each step farther from home

just trying to function

on the best terms we can

we’re just trying to function

like everyone else

 

 

 

 

Satellites

May 22nd, 2009

-One of my favorites because of it's simplicity and effectiveness. Have tried to match this song's simplicity many times since but have always failed.

 

 

 

VERSE 1

communications break down

but we’re both to blame

it’s the same story somehow

it’s the fireworks with the bigger bang

 

CHORUS

satellites crashing in orbit

satellites tearing each other apart

but there’s really nothing for it

so please don’t even start

 

VERSE 2

this sorry state has earth in fear

‘cos of all the satellites crashing

it’s only our chaos my dear

look up to see the sky flashing

with..

 

 

 

Move On

June 3, 2009

 

 

VERSE 1

the years

fall away

like tears

off your face

you can’t erase what’s been done before

but baby please don’t be sore

there’s no reason to be scared

you’ve got a lot to live for

please don’t act like no one has ever cared..

 

CHORUS

because this is here

and this is now

yet somehow

you still fear

everything from the past

don’t you know the pain will last

until you give it up

until you move on..

 

VERSE 2

the fears

pile on

like autumn leaves

on the lawn

it seems that they

will never go away

but it’s no time to be sore

you’ve got a lot to live for

so get up off the floor…

 

BRIDGE:

so sing a new song

’cos this life is not that long

don’t bottle up what you need to say

and don’t put off what you want to be

because this is today

don’t miss the things you need to see…

 

 

 

Stay Young

June 14th, 2009

 

 

 

VERSE 1

looking back to where I’ve begun

I am ashamed of what I’ve become

I miss the days of being young

thinking that people lived forever

when I never said never

but nowadays it’s tough to keep myself together

 

CHORUS

oh little child, never grow old

stay young for as long as you can

oh little child, this world’s cold

it’s a sad place to be

filled with pain and misery

but little child, don’t lose hope

just stay young for as long as you can

 

VERSE 2

so where do I belong?

I’m so far gone that I don’t even know

which road to take, oh tell me where do I go?

I’ve lost myself so many times before

who am I? I’m not even sure

I’m swimming in this endless ocean

just trying to stay afloat

I hope that I can wash ashore

before it’s too late

 

BRIDGE:

oh little child, it’s the saddest thing

that you may not understand what I mean

until it’s too late

but little child I’m still telling you

don’t try to grow old

cos’ there’s so many things for you to do

just be yourself because you can’t be nobody else

take the days one by one

it’s better to walk then it is to run..

 

OUTRO

little child, I pray

that you will understand what I say

before it is too late….

 

 

 

 

Every Fire Escape

July 25, 2009

 

 

 

VERSE 1

I'm feeling like I'm breaking down

as if the elements inside are wearing out

massive amounts of compounds can't help me now

they take my high, but drop me from the sky

losing my mind, but I'm trying not to shout

lost on the outside, trying to pass the time

even more on the inside, wishing for a rewind

 

CHORUS

every fire escape is failing me

they should have made the exit signs

much larger in case of an emergency (like this one)

there's too much smoke, I can't see

filling up my lungs, I can't breathe

stuck here in this mental fire

the same one I lit the match to

 

VERSE 2

I'm feeling like I need one more chance

if you're up there, can you shoot me a second glance

I'd really appreciate it right about now

not quite ready to throw in my life's towel

I'll hold my breath and stumble around

somebody on the outside trying to douse the fire

I wish they'd hurry, time is down to the wire

 

 

 

 

Diminished

September 8, 2009

 

 

 

VERSE 1

we knew that a star so brilliant and bright

would burn out sooner or later

but we didn’t expect you to fall so far

in so short a time..

 

PRE-CHORUS

somehow you were diminished

the way it happens to everyone

but long before the due time..

 

CHORUS

and now all we have are pictures

the colours will fade out before long

and now all we have are our memories

they will slowly disappear from our minds

 

VERSE 2

when we see a star in the night sky

so brilliant and bright – we think of you

and how everything burns out in the end

in so short a time..

 

PRE-CHORUS 2

somehow we will be diminished

the way it happens to everyone

but never knowing when..

 

CHORUS 2

and all they’ll have are pictures

those colours fade out before long

and all they’ll have are their memories

that will slowly disappear from their minds

 

BRIDGE

in a relatively short while

we will die and be forgotten

nothing or no one will remember us

no matter what we’ve done..

it’ll all fade from memory

after we burn out

after we fade away

after we are diminished

 

 

 

Out Here (Desert)

October 6, 2009

 

 

VERSE 1

out here in this lonely desert

there is nothing to see, and no one to meet

I could walk a hundred miles in the burning sand

and not be able to fix a point in my mind..

it’s an everlasting monotony, a maddening sameness

one that makes me long to break away

and go as far as the trains will ride

then go as far as the ships will sail

and even farther still..

 

VERSE 2

out here in this blistering heat

filled with danger, I could die of thirst

maybe even disappear into shifting quicksand

vipers and vultures waiting to devour me..

out here in this desert, it’s only death…

it’s an everlasting monotony, a maddening sameness

one that makes me long to break away

and go as far as the trains will ride

then go as far as the ships will sail

and even father still

 

BRIDGE/OUTRO

out here in this lonely desert

out here in this blistering heat

out here in this lonely desert

out here in this blistering heat

out here, out here, out here

 

 

 

Elements

October 8, 2009

 

 

VERSE 1

I went outside in the pouring rain

to find myself and wash away the pain

but something happened that I did not expect…

as if it was some unanticipated effect

the rain came down and I melted away

yes, I said that I melted away…

 

CHORUS

into a flood of feeling and emotion covered with fakery

well I guess the laws of conservation hold true once again..

I can break down and it’ll show exactly what I am

because none of it can ever be destroyed..

 

VERSE 2

and as the rain begins to turn into shine

I’ll evaporate in the heat, how unkind

cos the elements are warring against me…

they won’t let go, holding on endlessly

without much regard for me

and if they let go

then the let me go… (repeat chorus)

 

 

 

The Edge of the World

October 12, 2009

-My best song. I had been doing homework all the way up to 5:30 AM in the morning on the 12th, and when I finished I felt like writing a song. This was the first song that I wrote on the computer instead of paper and the only song that I've never had to go back and edit/change. I was dead tired but only took 30 minutes to write it. Damn proud of this one, especially considering the circumstances.

 

 

 

VERSE 1

there’s nothing in this world

that makes sense

everything is broken

everyone is hurting

dance all they want

it won’t change a thing

so let’s get off, let’s get out

 

CHORUS

we’re gonna go to edge of the world

if we fall off, then we fall off

if we fly, then we fly

either way, we’re out of this place

we’ll be gone without a trace

 

VERSE 2

don’t need to take anything

all I need is you

everything is mocking

everyone is laughing

laugh all they want

it won’t change a thing

so let’s get off, let’s get out

 

CHORUS

we’re gonna go to edge of the world

if we fall off, then we fall off

if we fly, then we fly

either way, we’re out of this place

we’ll be gone without a trace

 

BRIDGE

to the horizon

let’s get gone…

to the horizon

we’re done

let’s get gone

 

CHORUS

we’re gonna go to edge of the world

if we fall off, then we fall off

if we fly, then we fly

either way, we’re out of this place

we’ll be gone without a trace

 

(repeat chorus)

 

VERSE 3

stop at the border

look at what’s behind

nothing at all

now look into the unknown

nothing to lose

everything to gain

 

CHORUS 2

we’re standing at the edge of the world

only one more step

and the unknown will be known

if we fall, then we fall

if we fly, then we fly

either way we’re out of this place

we’ll be gone without a trace

from this place..

 

(repeat Chorus 2)

 

 

 

 

The Middle Distance

October 16, 2009

-If "Edge of the World" is my best, then this is my favorite. The first verse came from a crap song I wrote on June 3rd 2009, but I liked the first verse enough to where I kept it when I tossed out the song. For the next four months I tried to add a chorus and a second verse but it NEVER happened. Then on October 15, I added the first two lines of the chorus that I had made up on the spot while looking at the song. The next day, the song was finished. This is the first song I've written with plans for background vocals (in parentheses). It's not great but it's the most work I've ever had to put into a song

 

 

 

VERSE 1

this is the middle distance (in ever instance)

this is far from the start (and my heart)

but it’s far from the end (so I’ve got time to mend)

this is the middle distance

and it seems like every day drags on (like everything is wrong)

and it seems like there is no sense (to it all, watch me as I fall)

 

CHORUS

into a place where I can’t find a way out

into a place where the walls are coated with doubt

and the doors, the doors are bolted shut (from the outside)

I’m stuck in the middle in between the beginning and the end

it’s the middle distance..

 

VERSE 2

this is what I’ve seen (a cold and dark scene)

this is what I know (oh I know)

but there’s still some unknown (like how to find a way back home)

this is the middle distance

and it seems like every day drags on (like everything is wrong

and it seems like there is no sense (to it all, watch me as I fall)

 

BRIDGE

fall, fall, fall….

fall, fall, fall…

 

 

 

[RpgGamer]

I like :thumbup:

Do you happen to have any audio links? If you ever want to collab with tsome TIF people, I suggest posting in the song writing thread, in the MM&T subforum.

[SecretAgent]

No I don't have audio links. :(

 

I'm adding more lyrics as we speak by the way.

[SecretAgent]

I'll post the rest tomorrow most likely.