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1. |
The Struggle Is Real
01:03
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I’m always torn
between speaking my truth
and being the perfect trans
‘cause the minute we stumble
they smell blood
push us til we break
and it’s the evidence
that they need
to tear us all down
(we’re all tarred with a single brush)
you’re socialized male
and that makes you a threat
It’s a strange thing
It’s a strange thing
When you beat the girl out of me
Every trans knows
The struggle is real
We’re always judged
by worst of our kind
The cis get a pass
Bad actors on blast
You still keep screaming
Not all men
It’s not enough to perfect or pass
you’re socialized male
and that makes you a threat
It’s a strange thing
It’s a strange thing
When you beat the girl out of me
Haven’t you realized I’ve never been a man?
I walked this world a secret third thing
I tried but it was a fucking sham
I can be a faggot, but I can never be a man.
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2. |
Gaslight Me
02:02
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These small towns hold cold hearts of stone
I know it too well
Pat yourself on the back while you raise your flags
Go to hell.
You spit and you snarl and recoil in horror
At of faces of color and queers
You’re glad that I’m safe here and it just can’t happen here
When I’ve been called faggot for years
Gaslight me!
Gaslight me!
Just go ahead!
Gaslight me!
Gaslight me!
Tell me it’s all in my head
Gaslight me!
Gaslight me!
Again and again
Again and again
Gaslight me!
pretend you’re my friend
So it happened here and now we’re on the news
And your faces are painted with shock
This can’t happen here it’s just not who are
Do you think that our lives are just lies?
And I watch you - you let folks die in the streets
And complain when you have to see them
Can I believe your compassion for causes abroad
When you turn a blind eye to your homes
Gaslight me!
Gaslight me!
Just go ahead!
Gaslight me!
Gaslight me!
Tell me it’s all in my head
Gaslight me!
Gaslight me!
Again and again
Again and again
Gaslight me!
pretend you’re my friend
I’d rather you lived lives of passion
for your fellow man
With more than just an ounce of kindness
Cause they have got a plan
To turn us against each other
Cause we can’t be fucking bothered
To see the human race
in an othered face
and I’m proud of all the marches
and the letters that you sent
more-so the blockades and the actions
and I hope we’ve made a dent
‘Cause I believe the cause the just
and I’m glad you chose to act
But where will you be when the limelight fades
And no one pats you on the back?
Gaslight me!
Just go
oh just go
oh just go ahead!
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3. |
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Sometimes -
- queer existence is enough resistance
When world is trying to grind you down!
every time you wake up and take a breath
you know the bastards haven't got you yet
we'll throw our punches another day
tonight we dance tonight we sing
Queer persistence is resistance!
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4. |
DIY or Die Trying
02:13
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the rules say I can't well you know I will
BREAK THEM
I'm not spending money you know I will
MAKE SHIT
I'm perfecting my skills until then I
FAKE IT
But this is our ethos can't stop us we're
MAKERS
DIY OR DIE
DIY OR DIE
We build it ourselves
- don't question why!
Circuits or wood
or metal or music
If you've got the tools - come on - why not use them?
We see the end
and so must we bend
the world to our shape
Your sweatshops are cheap but they come at a price
So I build it myself - I said craft is my vice!
Why don't you spend money? Have you finished it yet?
Well it spent it on tools and I have no regrets!
You carry a card, well I carry a knife
With pliers and cutters DIY is my life!
DIY or die trying, bitch
I make my own life and I'll dig my own ditch
Satisfaction? Obsession? Unhealthy pretension?
I ain’t alone I've got friends I should mention!
They back me up as we do it ourselves
self sustaining with books on our shelves
Things that we share as we bounce our ideas
(Did I mention that most of my friends are all queers?
I don't judge my worth by what have I made
But I also don't think that's it's wise or it's brave
To circle identity on brands and on styles
To toss it all out when it's gathered some miles
Fix it don't toss it, or better - build it yourself
It's not an illness, these are skills are true wealth.
From cradle to grave from beginning to end
Do it yourself or die trying, my friend!
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5. |
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Our safety over your comfort
Our lives over your feelings of disgust
We’ll rub it in your faces
Just like you’ve done to every one of us
Learn to deal with it !
learn to with deal it !
Like I put up with your fucking truck nuts
Your fucking flags and your thin blue lines
Your stars and bars and slogans I can’t trust
Can’t trust you
We’re supposed to take this lying down
Gives thanks to the oppressor
Won’t take it lying down
It’s time you learned a lesson
Won’t settle being left to exist
If you’re gonna call me a gender terrorist
Ha!
maybe I’ll do it
You’re asking me for self censorship
I’m asking you for the right to fucking EXIST
I’m not going away
Not going away
In your places
ain’t in your faces
When whole worlds painted up for you
- And the rest of us have to deal with your shit
Learn to cope with identities
Learn fucking cope with faces and beliefs
That aren’t your own!
That aren’t your own!
That aren’t your own!
We’re supposed to take this lying down
Gives thanks to the oppressor
Won’t take it lying down
It’s time you learned a lesson
(Breakdown)
Our safety over your comfort!
It’s just our queer existence
No one gets hurt
The only damage
In the equation
The kids you’ve killed
Teaching them to be ashamed of
Themselves
Our safety over your comfort
Our lives over you misplaced disgust
I’ve no trust
in you
Our your safety over your comfort
Lives over property
No one has to get hurt
But we’re drawing lines
Right now
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6. |
No More Dead Friends
02:35
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I…
Lost so many fucking friends
When the hell does this ride end
Almost been another one of them
If I hadn’t turned it around
And made amends
WHEN DOES THIS STOP
IIIIIIIIII
WANT THEM BACK
WANT THEM BACK
IIIIIIIIIII
CAN’T DO THIS
AGAIN
I can’t -
No
PLEASE STOP THIS NOW
TURN IT AROUND
know the futures dim
it’s hard to start
and it’s okay to fall apart But
No more dead
or missing friends
Time for you to stand up
and maybe i should shut up
cause I don’t really wanna tell you what you oughta to do but
there’s reason that we fight
and we gotta do our best
but you gotta keep hydrated
and you gotta get your rest
respect yourself and understand
a comrade dead can’t do a thing
so it’d really mean a lot to me
if you stay if you could breath
all I mean is that I’m tired
all I mean is you could try and
I could make it thru the year
Without losing another friend
I’m trying to believe
That there’s a future out there for all of us
something in the struggle worth the cost
I can’t stop the march of time
but I can care for you and care for mine
can I repay what y’all did for me?
I’ll keep trying cause I want to see
Your beautiful fucking faces
I’M TIRED AND ALONE
AND I’M GLAD THAT YOU HAVE GROWN
I WATCHED MY FRIENDS AS THEY CONQUER SHIT
BUILD LIVES AND KIDS AND HOMES
BUT I MISS THOSE THAT I’VE LEFT BEHIND
I DON’T WANT ANOTHER WAKE
I’M SCARED ABOUT MY FRIENDS
KNOW THAT WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES
Time for you to stand up
and maybe i should shut up
cause I don’t really wanna tell you what you oughta to do but
there’s reason that we fight
and we gotta do our best
but you gotta keep hydrated
and you gotta get your rest
respect yourself and understand
a comrade dead can’t do a thing
so it’d really mean a lot to me
if you stay if you could breath
all I mean is that I’m tired
all I mean is you could try and
I could make it thru the year
Without losing another friend
Without losing another friend
NO MORE DEAD FRIENDS
NO MORE DEAD FRIENDS
NO MORE DEAD FRIENDS
NO MORE DEAD FRIENDS
Love each other.
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7. |
General Strike
01:09
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Lets fucking go!
the workers have more power
with hands in their pockets than billionaires
dream of at night
shut it all down
it’s time that we all call for a
general strike
this is how we win
this is how we win
a brick through a window feels good
but accomplishes little
and still
they grind us to dust
but we can be change
If we call the shots and we call their bluff
We call their fucking bluff
From the factories to the ports
From the storefronts
to the streets
Workers have got power
Cause we control the means
This is how we win!
We can stop it
in it’s tracks
Not too late to turn around
Cause Together we have the power
To shut this fucker down
Time we call their fucking bluff
Show them who’s in charge
Hit them where it hurts
SHUT IT DOWN
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8. |
Confidence Job
01:42
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Please bless me
with the confidence
Of the
businessman
I’ve learned not to respect
Oh no
Every day’s a struggle
just to overcome
an imposter syndrome
so where the fuck do you get off?
Can’t stop being afraid
Tho I’ve learned to make mistakes
You don’t understand
how much fucking work this takes
But respect is earned
and surely you’ve paid your dues
- Fuck you
Before you put yourself out there
Wanna walk a mile in our shoes?
I
wanna live
I wanna dance
Build relationships
and romance
Bury my fears in the fields outside the city
But I worry of what comes next
Cause without profit nothing grows
And I’m terrified of these people
Who have cut off their own fucking nose
to prove a point to form a tribe
cause you’re always certain
and you’re always right
no second guesses or if what when
I can’t
can’t comprehend
It’s a fucking con job!
I hate to see myself this way
I hate to fear another fucking day
I hate climate change and the USA
I hate the way I’m full of hate
I hate to think that I’m made this way
I could be broken - who’s to say
But I’ll keep on pushing everyday
They can’t take that away
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The Obvious Tells Burlington, Vermont
The Obvious Tells is a punk/hardcore/d-beat band of the decidedly queer and trans variety, by Jessica Amelia, a trans woman living in Burlington, Vermont.
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