AS I LAY DYING LYRICS

1. Cauterize

The truth of my heart is like a repressed tale
A censored and silenced story

Repression or restraint
It is a delicate balance
Between bleeding out what will make me drown
And closing in what I cannot afford to spill

Either way I must cauterize
Cauterize the open wound

I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell
I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell

And if these are the only options
This will always be Hell
Never ending
Though I still may be breathing
There is no quality of life
So I choose to risk it all for you
For you to be by my side

I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell
I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell

A crowd is easy to deceive
But now I am a patient on the table

I'll give you the knife
Cut away as you see fit

Just promise me the patience
To wait for me to heal

I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell
I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell

I'm caught between the feeling
Of being pulled apart or stuffed into a cell

2. A Greater Foundation

Reality no longer battles perception.
This letter's written to no one.

Sincere,
I sought your truth and divine purpose through myths of revelation.
Guidance all wrapped up in a paper box,
supported only so long, as my mind was the enemy.
I could not in conscience hold on.

AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS
AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS us

The powerful constant that I had once leaned on is no longer there (no longer)
You call this shameful disbelief,
a process like losing my closest friend.

AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS
AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS us

Sometimes we have to watch our whole lives fall apart,
before we can rebuild them again - a greater foundation.

I wish there was another way, but no amount of devotion can fix this.
Triumph awaits! [x5]

Sometimes we have to watch our whole lives fall apart,
before we can rebuild them again - a greater foundation.

3. Resilience

Your resilience inspires me
Facing tragedies I will never face
Your presence is humbling
To think of all that you have overcome
It took such little pain
For our lives to coalesce
Finding what I could've found in no one else

You bring me through the darkness of myself
And show me that frailty can be turned to strength

Suffering
Persistence
Such sorrow
Yet resilience

From the outside I've deceived the world
With false bravery
Yet you have taught me so much more
Much more than I can ever teach
And someday you might
Need someone to lean on

I can only hope that I'll have gained the courage
To be there for you in whatever you face
You bring me trough (you bring me through)
The darkness of myself
And show me that frailty (can be turned)
Can be turned to strength

Suffering
Persistence
Such sorrow
Yet resilience

At times I'm carried on the shoulders of a child
I find power in your firm fallibility
My source of hope is seeing that weak prevail
And I'm better able to live because you're alive
I could not imagine a world without you
Where I looked you in the eyes and left you to die

Suffering
Persistence
Such sorrow
Yet resilience

4. Wasted Words

There are days when sorrow seems never-ending,
Like the countless roads upon which I've driven
The price of attachment in pursuit of dreams
That I so often can't seem to remember
Yet there are days when beauty cannot be contained
It even crawls out from under ordinary things

A foreigner,
No place to go
Holding on,
Making the most,
Of what little time I have

All the wasted words I said,
In all the cities that I left,
The last act of our precious play,
Must not close with regret

I will not leave wishing I had done things differently

The moments I treasure are seldom the ones
That I planned for
And if I knew where pain hid,
I might still let it go,
So when the audience has run toward the latest drift,
It will be my time to face the life that I have set,

A foreigner in my own home,
Holding on,
No place to go

All the wasted words I said,
In all the cities that I left,
The last act of our precious play,
Must not close with regret (regret)
All the wasted words

Some days the line between peace
And pain seem more like blur,
But I know with certainty,
I can't leave wishing, 
I cannot leave
I can't leave wishing,
I'd done things differently

5. Whispering Silence

Each little piece begins to stack up
Now suffering under the weight of my choices
And I hardly recognise myself
Somewhere along the line
There stopped being lines at all
(whispering silence)

Whispering silence
The subtle contradiction
Compromise creeps in
Forgetting who I once was
Slowly changing
Who I once was

Each moment seemed so small
When looked at by itself
But it adds up
And it has torn me down
All lines are gone
(whispering silence)

Whispering silence
The subtle contradiction
Compromise creeps in
Forgetting who I once was
Slowly changing
Who I once was

So close to the truth
But still impossible
It was never one thing
And too many to try to add up
Fueled by faint deception
Conflict without acknowledging opposition

All because I had taken pride in my hidden lies

Whispering silence
The subtle contradiction
Compromise creeps in
Forgetting who I once was
Slowly changing
Who I once was
It was never one thing
And too many to try to add up

All because I had taken pride in my hidden lies

6. Overcome

All these moments of pain
Must add up to something,
Our bodies have been trained to keep it all in,
But our hearts, still hold on

Some say to release it, forget about your past,
Instead we count the cost, it's part of us
That doesn't mean that we cannot move on,
It's just a memory of what we were once were

No matter what it is we've faced
It's now part of us (part of us)
We can overcome

Why rid of fuel that can make us stronger
When properly put behind us (put behind us)
And in the same way that
Everything good in life can be taken away
So can all this pain

No matter what it is we've faced
It's now part of us (part of us)
No matter what we've faced in this life
We can overcome

Trying to forget is a burden we can never bear,
When facing trials openly,
There's nothing left to hide,
New paths of strength come alive

No matter what it is we've faced
It's now part of us (part of us)
No matter what we've faced in this life
We can overcome

We can overcome

7. No Lungs To Breathe

I fought who I am inside
Until I wanted, I wanted to die
Instead of finding balance I found hatred
Consumed by failures and ignoring my own strengths
Pushed out sea without learning to swim
Or stranded in the desert with no lungs to breathe

With no lungs to breathe
I had almost lost everything

How can I be expected to readily be content
With a view of life that has rejected
The basis of what has helped me to survive?
And replaced them with precepts
Rather than instruction
Full rule is an illusion (illusion)
All I can do contain selfishness
And unveil what little power we may have

With no lungs to breathe
I had almost lost everything (everything)

Tearing away my flesh before taking
The time to understand it
A miracle may not be the answer
(tearing away my flesh)
When anchoring first on what I have
(before taking the time to understand it)
The ability to change

Like being stranded in the desert
With no lungs to breathe

With no lungs to breathe
I had almost lost everything (everything)

8. Defender

Fighting so hard to be heard
Yet having nothing to say
You talk about changing masses
But forget those close to you

Most of us have given up
On these words that all sound the same
But I am still willing to believe
If you have done all that you can

You can justify almost anything
If you are willing to be loud enough
But once you've spent everything
To change the world around you
Even if your voice is taken away
Such actions will still inspire

Most of us have given up
On these words that all sound the same
But I am still willing to believe
If you have done all that you can

Drained
Spent
Determined
Intent
Now you've earned the right to be heard

We've been deceived by elegant speech
Whose only concern is mere distraction

Defender

Drained
Spent
Determined
Intent
Now you've earned the right to be heard

I will follow to the grave
A man who's willing to die

Most of us have given up
On these words that all sound the same
But I am stilling willing to believe
If you have done al that you can

I am willing to die
Defender

9. Washed Away

[Instrumental]

10. My Only Home

Like a swarm of flies colliding with a moving windshield
So are our lives on this never-ending road
I have left behind my mark only to be later washed away
And was consumed with the allure despite the inevitable decay

When did the road that I'm on become my only home?
When did this become the one place I truly know? (I truly know)

A journey making us like weeds
Where the wind steals our splendour
But spreads it to the distant fields
Despite our fragile imperfections
Yet shaking walls and wearing wheels
Can never capture my heart the way you do

When did the road that I'm on become my only home?
When did this become the one place I truly know? (I truly know)

I am missing what makes me whole

11. Tear Out My Eyes

The storm is coming and I have no choice
To accept nature or lose my voice
Shall I scream and plead for nothing
Or build a roof over my head?
I mourn the days that I wasted
Trying to change what has been set
Fighting against myself

Before I tear, tear out my eyes
I'll just admit they're part of me

I've labelled enemies who do not hate me
And then claimed friends who could care less
All an unnecessary struggle
So now I truly know what it means to repent
Changing everything

Before I tear, tear out my eyes
I'll just admit they're part of me
(they're part of me)

Instead of fighting against myself
I will open my eyes
To find who needs me
I am awakened
I am awakened

12. Unwound

[Deluxe Edition Bonus Track]

I see no reason to try and be what I am not
If simple honesty moves me, then why should I care?
Others may think I lost my poetic way (I've lost my way)
But I'd rather make my point without confusion

I have failed those who I love the most
And in the process become aware

I have accepted there is so much that I don't know
I have accepted my limitations

It is that knowledge that opens the door
For greater understanding
Perspective on what is still untold

I have accepted there is so much that I don't know
I have accepted my limitations
I have accepted there is so much that I'll never know
I have accepted my limitations

Sorting out my thoughts, that is why I write
Though I reveal my weakness surrendering is remedy
These songs have helped me though my greatest pain
Unwound within me the disorder of my life

I now see things for how they are
Even if that is a harsh reality

I have accepted there is so much that I don't know
I have accepted my limitations
I have accepted there is so much that I'll never know
I have accepted my limitations

13. A Greater Foundation (Extended Demo Version)

Reality no longer battles perception.
This letter's written to no one.

Sincere,
I sought your truth and divine purpose through myths of revelation.
Guidance all wrapped up in a paper box,
Supported only so long, as my mind was the enemy.
Until I could not in good conscience hold on.

You call this shameful disbelief,
A process like losing my closest friend.

AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS
AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS us

The powerful constant that I had once leaned on is no longer there (no longer)
But no matter how sincere my devotion
The pieces never fit.

AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS
AS WE face distress WE MUST not lose heart.
STAND FAST and press on,
TRIUMPH AWAITS us

Sometimes we have to watch our whole lives fall apart,
Before we can rebuild them again - a greater foundation.
(We watch our whole lives)
Sometimes we have to watch our whole lives
(Fall apart)
Before we can rebuild them again
(We build them again)
A greater foundation

I wish there was another way,
[?]
Triumph awaits! [x5]

Sometimes we have to watch our whole lives fall apart,
Before we can rebuild them again - a greater foundation.
(We watch our whole lives)
Sometimes we have to watch our whole lives
(Fall apart)
Before we can rebuild them again
(We build them again)
A greater foundation







AS I LAY DYING LYRICS