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What Went Wrong

by Micah Sommersmith

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1.
A New Thing 02:29
I've been searching for a New Thing under the Sun I've been looking everywhere, asking everyone I've been waiting all my life for Someday to come I've been searching for a New Thing under the Sun I've been thinking on the words that I never said I've been thinking on the lives that I never led I've been thinking on the thoughts running through my head I've been thinking on the words that I never said I've been wondering about my place in the universe If I'm everything or nothing and which is worse And if my only way out of here is in a hearse I've been wondering about my place in the universe And I don't know Where on Earth I am going Where on Earth I have come from Where on Earth I belong And I don't know What the Devil I'm here for What the Devil I'm doing What the Devil went wrong But I've been searching for a New Thing under the Sun I've been looking everywhere, asking everyone I've been waiting all my life for Someday to come I've been searching for a New Thing under the Sun
2.
O Geraldine 03:46
O Geraldine where'd we go wrong Were we fucking it up all along And why did you cry when you heard that song Geraldine where'd we go wrong? O Geraldine who do we blame It's like a movie but not quite the same And to say that's just how it goes seems pretty lame Geraldine who do we blame? O Geraldine what happens now I'd keep going but I don't know how See I've gotten so used to you hanging around Geraldine what happens now? O Geraldine what have we learned Hot dogs get roasted but people get burned And you cannot spend what you haven't earned Geraldine what have we learned? What have we learned?
3.
The Man is hansome and the man is cool, and the Man has impressive skills But the Man won't drive your kids to school or pay your cell phone bills The Man won't turn your TV off, you have to do that yourself And the Man won't sit your children down and pick a book from off the shelf Hey there are plenty of things that the Man can do But fix your life is not one of them Problems will still exist and you'll still have a ton of them You'll still have trouble sleeping and your daughter still will date that jerk And of course it goes without saying you'll continue to hate your work And people will die and children will cry and the Man will screw up so will you so will I But maybe if we all just do our best then things will turn out all right The Man might change a lot of things but the Man won't change your tires And the Man cannot protect us all from fools and forest fires No the Man won't change your tires for you and the Man won't pay your rent The Man would never die for you The Man's not Heaven sent The Man's not Heaven sent
4.
When he tells you he's too busy tonight When he tells you he's too tired When he tells you he would rather not fight Or that you're making him work too hard When you talk about the future And he retreats into the past When he doesn't make the effort at all And you start to think that maybe it won't last, well It isn't that he's above you It isn't that he isn't there It isn't that he doesn't love you It's only that he doesn't care When he tells you that he'll meet you at three And then he doesn't show till five When he goes about his daily routine And you start to wonder if he remembers you're alive When he gets a reputation As a guy who does everything on his own When in every situation In which the two of you are alone, you feel alone, well It isn't that he's above you It isn't that he isn't there It isn't that he doesn't love you It's only that he doesn't care When you look through your rose-colored monocle, It's quite a sight It might seem funny, it might seem ironical But everything looks to be quite all right
5.
My True Love 03:15
Red is the color of my true love's blood That stains the kitchen floor And green is the color of my true love's eyes That won't shine anymore And silver is the color of the knife That I sent through my my true love's heart And black are my tears And black are my thoughts I remember how my true love smiled On our wedding day And I remember how I cried When my true love ran away And I remember how I laughed When my true love came back again But it's not funny now And it was not funny then I gave my true love one good chance To prove our love was strong Instead my true love used that chance To show me I'd been wrong And there is only so much That one person can take Before that person bends Yes and that person breaks Red is the color of my true love's blood That stains the kitchen floor And green is the color of my true love's eyes That won't shine anymore And silver is the color of the knife That I sent through my my true love's heart And black are my tears And black are my thoughts
6.
The promises you've broken The privileges you've abused The harsh words that you've spoken The offers you've refused I shouldn't be offended Rather I should be amused You've got a long history of letting me down
7.
500 Dollars 03:18
Everybody's talking about the things that happen when you turn your back And everybody's talking about the things that will give you a heart attack And everybody's talking about last night's game with the third quarter home run (wasn't it a shame) The goalie had the touchdown, the shortstop was sacked, they were running through the streets and they never came back And they burned down my car so I had to walk home, I was scared I was nervous I was all alone And I lost 500 dollars to a woman in an alley way Yes I lost 500 dollars, it's not something that I'm proud to say But I lost 500 dollars and maybe you will too someday Everybody's talking about the man with the plan and the tricked-out van And everybody's talking about a pie in the sky and getting high And everybody's talking about this new machine that will take you back in time, that will get you nice and clean That will win back your girlfriend get back your job take your whole life back to before you got robbed Just thirty easy payments and a slice of your soul, nothing to lose step up be bold And I lost 500 dollars to a fellow in a stovepipe hat Yes I lost 500 dollars what the hell is up with that Oh I lost 500 dollars to that dirty dirty rat And I lost 500 dollars to somebody on the internet Yes I lost 500 dollars and I hurled a couple epithets I lost 500 dollars but that hasn't stopped me yet I said I lost 500 dollars
8.
Spare a dime for a starving architect? They won't build my bridges; they won't build my concert halls. At the Academy they all said that my work was great, so what's wrong? What went wrong? It's not right that a guy like me should wind up on the street. Can't you see that I'm highly qualified? I shouldn't be here; there must be some kind of terrible mistake. I work hard, I play hard, I eat hard, I drink hard: hey man, I've done everything right, so what's wrong? What went wrong? It's not right that I'm stuck here and you're up there and I'm still here. No, it's not right that a guy like me should wind up on the street.
9.
So, you were fairly young when you came into this world (as a boy, as a girl, it doesn't really matter). See, your parents saw in you all they wanted for themselves; you were going to be their own little them, only better. So they scolded you, they praised you, they molded you, they raised you to do everything that they had learned that you're supposed to do... and so when the neighbors say "What a great little kid!" well, it's your parents they're applauding, not you. And when they take you down to Cannibal Town They will make you feel right at home But there's a dirty little secret about Cannibal Town It's filled with cannibals Now, your parents are busy; your parents have jobs, and others have the same problem too. So to keep you kids from forming unsupervised mobs, they send the whole lot off to school, where you learn things like Geography, Science, Orthography, the Stories of the Brave and the Bold, and things like Knowing you Place and Hiding you Face and Doing Whatever You're Told. And when they take you down to Cannibal Town They will make you feel right at home But there's a dirty little secret about Cannibal Town It's filled with cannibals Now you find yourself working in an office in the city in a building made of metal and glass, and your primary duties include sleeping through meetings, looking pretty, reading memos and kissing ass. And they don't pay you much but it's just enough to keep you suffering in silence, not considering violence, oh it's a science. You don't buy it? I don't hear you deny it, and you're so quiet I've a feeling I won't see you at the riot. All right, so when you were a child you thought like a child, and you acted like a child and you smelled like a child. Now as a woman or a man, there's a change of plan: can't keep your damn head in the damn sand, gotta take a stand. See, everybody wants something, and most think that maybe they can get it from you, but the truth is this: if you don't get remiss, they can really only get it if you want them to. And when they take you down to Cannibal Town They will make you feel right at home But there's a dirty little secret about Cannibal Town It's filled with cannibals
10.
Enough 02:00
I don't need a lot of money, just enough to live And I don't need a lot of love, just enough to give Yes and I don't need to be to happy, just as long as I'm not too sad And I know that I'm doing all right If I'm not doing too bad

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released May 1, 2010

Songs written and produced by Micah Sommer.
Cover art by Meg Duff.

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