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Death To All Kings

by Duckspeak

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1.
There’s a constant ringing in your ear that keeps you up at night, Like an alarm clock going off for hours, or the nagging thought of eating right, You get out of bed at 3 AM to swallow pills of Vicodin, And now your only thought, is that I used to see better in the dark, I thought I used to see better in the dark So dream of small towns, and the sound of a train in the night, The whistle calls out, the distance makes it a lullaby, You wear the crown now, this city’s nothing but bragging rights, So close your eyes tight and feel the rattle, feel the rattle And if you faked your death, drove your car off a bridge and left, You could go to Indiana or Mobile, Alabama while you’ve still got some good years left, And if you wanted to learn how to farm, there’s nothing stopping you, From living off the land, oh, from living off the land, oh, The Earth and the attitude Until they take you away, You’ve got responsibilities, there’s no time to be at ease, You better craft your retirement plan, Until you snap like a rubber band So dream of small towns, and the sound of a train in the night, Keep drinking coffee to keep your body in overdrive, And grind your teeth down until there’s nothing left of the whites, Just close your eyes tight and feel the rattle, feel the rattle, oh feel the rattle Feel the rattle, feel the rattle, hey Seattle, feel the rattle
2.
March 18th 03:16
I don’t feel highs, I don’t feel lows, I think I’m sinking into something stranger, sinking into something, Don’t feel peaks, I don’t feel valleys, rivers, streams, I miss the oceans in me, The endless possibilities And I know, I lost something in me that day, Oh I wanna feel the sting of March 18th I don’t feel rain, I don’t feel sunshine, don’t feel pain, The last thing I remember was panicking in bathroom stalls, And thinking that the light had left this world, Yeah, thinking that the good had left this, Thinking that the kind and gracious, Thinking that when you died, we died too And I know, I lost something in me that day, Oh I wanna feel the sting of March 18th I wanna feel the sorrow and the grief, To remind me that there’s always two extremes
3.
Hex 05:46
If I could, then I would tell you that it took its toll on me, But I’ve been through wars before, and this ain’t nothing, When they have their guns pressed firmly against my head, Will you still think that I’m paranoid? I think they’re gonna kill me, I think they’re gonna kill me, I think they’re gonna drop the bomb on me She laid a curse upon my head for crimes of decency, And I know that’s got nothing to do with the world around me, But every time I turn on the TV and see all of the people dying in the streets, I think, “I’m dangerous! I’m a walking witches’ brew!” I think they’re gonna kill me, I think they’re gonna kill me, I think they’re gonna drop the bomb on me And every night I hear your voice through the radio, Whispering through all of the songs that we used to know, And all the words sound the same when they play, you say, “You’re nothing, you’re nothing, you’re nothing, you’re nothing, You’re nothing without grace.” I think they’re gonna kill me, I think they’re gonna kill me, I think they’re gonna drop the bomb on me
4.
Hard Times 01:56
Your mother called to tell you that the money’s all run dry, And that’s hard times, that’s hard times, So you packed up everything in boxes, wrapped it up in twine, And said goodbye to northern skies And when you find yourself in a Greyhound station looking at the lights, You’re gonna realize, brother, that’s hard times Your father called to tell you that there’s violence on the rise, And that’s hard times, that’s hard times, So you barricade yourself indoors, and wouldn’t come outside, And that’s alright, neither would I Cuz when you find yourself on the edge of extinction, trying to survive, You’re gonna realize, sister, that’s hard times
5.
Dead King 03:44
Oh the night sky, opened its arms to me, Yeah it pulled me inside and it let me exactly who I needed to be, Cuz when it’s that dark and so quiet outside, I feel like the person alive, But you dance through my head like reruns on TV, To flaunt that you’ll air so much longer than me, Damn, maybe I should start eating right. O, I dreamed you were a neuron, O, and I orbited you like a moron And I’m not your bower bird trying to impress you, Dragging those trinkets back to the nest for you, I stuff ‘em into an envelope, and I throw them away, Then I fish ‘em back out ‘cuz those things are important, The seas are receding, the world’s getting darker without you, Or maybe, you’re still here too, ‘Cuz I need to remember the world don’t revolve, Around individuals or idiot hearts, But somebody told my grandma on Christmas, That this all came from you O, I dreamed I was a dead king, O, all my subjects dissolved into nothing O, I dreamt that I was double spaces, O, I had nothing to add to the paper, O, and I dreamt that I was an asshole, O, but I guess that’s not far from the real world
6.
Be Ashamed 03:37
Be ashamed of the person you’re becoming when there’s no one else around, Be ashamed that the world is slowly ending and you’ve done nothing to help, You just think about yourself And it’s gonna take a long long time, but I think you’ll come out of your shell, It’s gonna take a long long time, cuz you know this world’s a living hell, I won’t tell you what to do, won’t tell you what to think, Your brain is breaking down, nightmares of the apocalypse, And that’s alright Be ashamed that there’s liquor on your breath when you wake up at 3AM, Be ashamed that you’re not marching through the streets to raise your voice against the man, We all do the best we can But not everyone can fight the fight when you’ve got a war inside your head, They wanna overwhelm you with hopelessness to keep you tucked in bed, They can’t tell you what to do, can’t tell you what to think, Gotta keep your body moving and plan your punches carefully, And that’s alright, Yeah that’s just fine
7.
Iconoclasts 05:17
There’s a hallmark card for every occasion, There’s a gentle art to gentle persuasion, There’s a television telling you the news, And the man on screen is talking the business, He says “Truth and lies are merely a concept, You can pick and choose which ones best suit your mood.” The older generations used to be smarter than this, But all the young kids born inside the internet know what progress is The last broadcast of a dying culture, And we know, we know, we know this couldn’t last, Iconoclasts shaking up the system, Would you be the ones to break up that dead hand of the past? There’s a history book, it’s telling the story, About all the Romans fighting for glory, In the coliseum, bodies left in ruins, You said, “There is violence built in the system, And the best that we can do is resist it, Burn your idols and your parents too.” The older generations will be turning in their graves, When all the young kids sucking all the poison out take over the reigns The last broadcast of a dying culture, And we know, we know, we know this couldn’t last, Iconoclasts shaking up the system, Would you be the ones to break up that dead hand of the past?
8.
Helplessness 06:15
Death to all kings, Death to all kingdoms, death to the way we lived, We won’t go back again, We’re all counting on you They broke down the walls, Between light and dark, between sense and sensational, Said we took it too far, Well brother just wait ‘til you see how much further we’ll go Oh, and they took in the trash and told us to live with it, Now the air is so thick that it’s hard to see through it, They put a gun to our heads and told us to stay quiet, But we won’t continue to buy in, But the pressure is raising and the stakes they keep mounting, Oh the winds blowing back when you climb up a mountain, The weight on our backs like an Atlas of judgement, When our legs give out, will the world crush us? Self help in the age of hopelessness, Self help in the age of helplessness And the world is overwhelming
9.
A Mistake 04:29
Oh you made a mistake when you were young, And they’ll never let you live it down, Oh you thought with your heart and you were wrong, Oh sweet fool, how could you be so dumb? Could you open your eyes and see your fault, From this perspective, now that it’s passed you by? When you look back at your past, do you feel small, Against a stack of regrets 20 stories tall? Thought you’d learned from your flaws, but you’ve become, A loop of film projecting endlessly in love, Or a record spinning around in a locked groove, The song don’t change until the needle’s moved by you, So pick up all the pieces from the floor, And don’t put ‘em back together like they were before, Oh the picture on the front’s always the same, But turn it upside down and you’ve got a blank slate Oh cuz what I need is not a certainty, It’s the hope for something pure, Oh and what I need is just to believe, That there is something more, Oh to love and hate, and all these wretched days, That make us lose our minds, Or a guarantee that if you’d stayed with me, That it would’ve turned out fine, And I hope you find out it was a mistake on your part, And I hope you find out it was a mistake Oh you made a mistake when you were young, And they’ll never let you live it down

credits

released October 2, 2020

Recorded, mixed, and produced by Ellie Karavas at Jam Eater Studios
Mastered by Mike Quinn

Giovanni Colantonio - Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
David Flamm - Bass, backing vocals
Doug Linse - Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboard, backing vocals
Greg Schulz - Drums, backing vocals

Ellie Karavas - Keyboard (3)
Nick Anton - Cello (5, 9)

Cover art by David Flamm

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Duckspeak Brooklyn, New York

Duckspeak is an NYC-based folk-rock band. Originally a solo project for singer-songwriter Giovanni Colantonio, they have since expanded out into a full 4-piece featuring Doug Linse (guitar), David Flamm (bass), and Greg Schulz (drums).

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