Get all 6 Die Like Gentlemen releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Hard Truths, Stories, Distinguished Company, The Quickening Light, Five Easy Lies, and Romantic Delusions of Hell.
1. |
Guts of a Beggar
07:48
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twist and squirm on the hook
swallowed whole by the fish
drawn deep into its gorge
flavoring for the dish
so the worm from the grave
gravely worms back to one
cleaned and dressed for the feast
then betrayed by the sun
the conqueror's conqueror
has hollows for eyes
the emperor's emperor
all lipless and smiles
here hung those lips that I kissed
I know not how oft
here sat that devilish grin
now how abhorred in my
imagination it is
when did you get so thin?
fine imperial shrouds
eaten through, eaten through
and the jewels on his crown
reinterred just like you
the conqueror's conqueror
has hollows for eyes
the emperor's emperor
all lipless and smiles
the conqueror's conqueror
the emperor's emperor
the coroner's coroner
the gravedigger's smile
rest my hand on the pane of the window into your domain
press my ear to the door 'til the whispers become something more
the worm eats for two
the worm passes through me into you
how can you just step over me? I'm still a man
even stewing in my own filth, I’m still a man
as my belly grows emptier, my mind expands
here's a handwritten list of my current demands:
liquor
cocaine
words exchanged
how can you just step over me? I was a man
lying here, rotting peacefully, I was a man
fatting worms as I once only fatted myself
slipping into the soil with loosening belt
casting my line
give it some slack
snagging your crown
tossing it back
for what need have I
for more bells on my cap
as I walk the sea floor
in the guts of a crab?
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2. |
Last Night on Earth
06:57
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heavy metals in the atmosphere
they’re the devils that we’ve come to trust
resonate and rumble more each year
ashes to ashes and rust to rust
swallowed by a mass of flesh and steel
seeking solitude inside the crowd
in the belly of an iron worm
slither ever further underground
we’ll pay by degrees
plastic tides recede
mountains of debris
last night on earth
elevator through the atmosphere
scaling jacob’s ladder in reverse
leave the vultures to their rotten meal
picking at the carcass of the earth
we’ll pay by degrees
plastic tides recede
mountains of debris
we’ll sell clicks and whines
dots for sunken eyes
setting sun decides
last night on earth
row after row ...
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3. |
Whipping Boy
06:51
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press the flesh
wave and smile
shake the salt
sell the lie
and I will cut the switch to strip a hide
and I will dig the ditch to bury every princely lie
whatever crimes the kings devise
the whipping boy will pay the price
us or them
demonize
crust for bread
nose for wine
and I am glad the trains still run on time
I look the other way so long it's not me and mine
whatever crimes the kings devise
the whipping boy will pay the price
whatever lies the princes hide
the whipping boy will pay the price
an iron flag unfurled
a turtle on its back
a liquid history
a propaganda tack
they claim to save the world
and then enslave the world
to sell the flag for scrap
and kick the turtle on its back
sound alarms
hue and cry
stoke the mob
aim and fire
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4. |
Infalling Bodies
09:55
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unseen fingers ever-reaching out
to caress the lips of mystery
every axiom succumbs to doubt
first attraction, then comes destiny
perfect intersection in their grasp
consummation cannot be undone
plunging forward into aeons past
and forever after two become one
infalling love
nothing is all
infinite heart
infalling love
whisper of each other's secret scent
every eye is drawn but cannot see
so begins a mutual descent
into nothing fall inexorably
from the instant that the two first touch
a convulsion shakes eternity
sending ripples through the universe
a single moment stretches endlessly
two blind eyes anthropomorphized
is this love inspired?
is this death inscribed?
is this love?
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5. |
In Ruins
04:36
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we will build not in iron but stone
future eyes will marvel at our empire's bones
we'll survive in epochal tales
giants stride through halls that stretch to match their scale
history will look at my plans, and
understand that sacrifices must be had
so if I turn a blind eye, why,
that's the price: millenniums demands I lie
are pharaoh's slaves to be mourned?
through him they may be reborn
and I, the architect divine
one thousand years to hide our crimes
now that my empire's expired
unrealized: demolished long before its time
I design a cenotaph of lies
with myself adorned atop its highest spire
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6. |
Bury Me
04:48
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although this dirt’s unhallowed
it’s good enough to swallow
better than sharing air
with all the fools up there
on this unlevel plane
of prophets trading blame
better my ears are filled with clay
than listen to these asses bray
bury me
but only up to my eyes
so I can see the world
and watch the spool unfurl
bury me
but only up to my nose
so I can smell the smoke
and hear the living choke
they holler supplications
and whisper condemnations
or live in sullen silence
while scribbling words of violence
they take the fools for saviors
blind to the lies and favors
they rally 'round the proudest
whoever yells the loudest
the guests arrive in force
to witness this divorce
the blind and doomed choose sides
the gravedigger presides
the marriage vows unwind
the church and state decline
the bells will be unrung
the hymns will be unsung
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7. |
Letting in the Rain
06:15
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the rain hasn’t stopped for days
tap-tap-tapping on the windows and doors
the rats scurry in the walls, between the floors
their pitter-patter works to keep me awake
haven’t slept for days
wish they’d go away from here
the storm worsens every night, lightning flashing bright
thunder claps setting off car alarms
the bombs landing closer now, burning houses down
sirens wailing long into the night
haven’t slept for weeks
will this ever cease?
did I let the rain blow through my door?
did I leave these footprints on my floor?
did I unlock this door?
the wind whipping through the trees, wailing like a scream
a crescendo of hollers and cries
the murderer stalking every floor, rattling each door
we’ll be safe if we only stay quiet
haven’t slept in years
watch me disappear
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8. |
Harbinger of Joy
04:35
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I am thirsty for your company
all day longing for you next to me
burning, soothing, ancient melody
complex, primal, distilled memory
pour your soul over my stones
mixing your blood with my own
have you always been a part of me?
who cares! just don't ever part from me
one man's poison... (lies and sophistry)
better living through your chemistry
while I still function at all
whether I run or I crawl
my friend Jack
drinks like a Cadillac
smokes like a chimney stack
always reaching for more
nurse that pain
nipping away disdain
all disappointment drained
by a healthier pour
won't you drink in paradise with me
won't you suffer for eternity
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9. |
Unliving
06:38
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of course! of course the virus is both unliving and alive
the corpse that was Osiris is reassembled and revived
alone, in isolation: a spell unspoke, a word unread
in flesh, in populations: revitalized to spawn again
spirit waning, color draining
suddenly locked inside a tomb and suffocating
watching clocks and x-ing boxes
waiting to shed your self-control and get intoxicated
dormant king restored to sing
songs of hope for dying things
as slaves to our seclusion
the months are yawning into years
this dust only resembling life
a formula for hopes and fears
in each of us Osiris rises to sire his revenge
a plague infecting paradise
an incantation of the end
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Die Like Gentlemen Portland, Oregon
From classic metal riffing to chunking sludge to dark acoustic ballads, Die Like Gentlemen is continually exploring new ground and new sounds.
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