I call this one “a life in the shadows”…

i figured out the key to short-term success
just tell everyone that you’re clinically depressed.
make a list of all the people that you’ve wronged.
don’t ever call them back, but use them in a song
and if you’re lucky enough to have a parent pass away,
pretend it broke your heart, but never go to their grave.

and it goes 1, 2, 3, easy as 1, 2, 3.
it goes 1, 2, 3, let’s all exploit our misery.

i figured out a way to twist reality,
just take a ton of drugs and never go to sleep.
re-rent the saddest movie that you’ve ever seen.
fill your room with TV sets and put it on repeat.
push all your friends away with the cool things that you said.
if you need company, you got the voices in your head.

and it goes 1, 2, 3, easy as 1, 2, 3.
it goes 1, 2, 3, let’s all exploit our misery.

so stay down on yourself
and if you feel a glimpse of hope,
you gotta choke it out before it grows.
you’re the only one that really counts.
stuck dollar bills inside your ears
and let the rest of them work it out.

and it goes 1, 2, 3, easy as 1, 2, 3.
it goes 1, 2, 3, let’s all exploit our misery.

right now

“Missed Medicine” by Her Space Holiday

I call this one “still life in college town”…

This place is a prison
and these people aren’t your friends
Inhaling thrills through twenty dollar bills
and the tumblers are drained and then flooded
again and again.

There’s guards at the onramps
Armed to the teeth
And you may case the grounds
from the Cascades to Puget Sound
but you are not permitted to leave.

I know there’s a big world out there
like the one that I saw on the screen
in my living room late last night
it was almost too bright to see.

and I know that it’s not a party
if it happens every night
pretending there’s glamour and candelabras
when you’re drinking by candelight.

And what does it take
to get a drink in this place?
what does it take?
how long must I wait?

“This Place is a Prison” by The Postal Service