Get all 21 Adam Balbo releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Clown World, Glitch, Adam Balbo Archive III (2009-2011), Twenty, Redemption, One-room Kingdom, A Little Bit Ludicrous, Adam Balbo Archive II (2006-2008), and 13 more.
1. |
All the World's a Stage
04:15
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One way or another, you pick a god to trust
Like, infinity times two plus one
The gym’s a cafeteria at lunch
They say a brain of a child is like a sponge
Words barely hurt - only stones and sticks
Break my bones - take your puppy, your old tricks
If you don’t know how it works - You can’t tell what needs fixed
A helpless cub - growling at a pile of bricks
Rehearse the script - in the gym - where we came of age
Cuz all the world is just a dinky, creaky stage
A cast of cool kids, the rebels, the nerds, the fools
In a janky podunk middle school.
Green cried two puddles: one yellow, one blue
After some kid yelled “I’m rubber & you’re glue”
Everyone’s some kind of stupid. Are not! Are, too!
The sheep goes bah. And the cow goes moo.
Class gets out - half past two
The highlight of my day - is to coax a smile from you
Just a couple thousand years of mistakes to know what’s true
You showed me your catastrophe - What else is new?
Rehearse the script - in the gym - where we came of age
Cuz all the world is just a dinky, creaky stage
A cast of cool kids, the rebels, the nerds, the fools
In a janky podunk middle school.
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2. |
Free Man
04:51
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My hero quest started in a garage
I like Mozart and Nicki Manaj
You don’t know shit about me.
Get the fuck outta my business.
I never asked you to help me.
I’m a free man.
I’m a free man.
Coercion was creeping, now it’s a barrage.
You stuff your face with sand in the middle of a mirage.
I don’t claim to know all about you.
Be well. Do good.
You can help anyone - as long as they want you to.
You're a free man.
You're a free man.
So, you want to change my scripture, do ya?
I’m like the child of Captain Kirk and Spock’s hot sister.
I’m a candle, blow me
Out. Then make a wish. Say what you mean. Own it.
But you don’t own me.
I’m a free man.
I’m a free man.
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3. |
My Rock In the Shitstorm
04:28
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If a tom loves a queen you get some kittens.
I can tell when a bear’s crawled in a mitten.
Polish a turd; you’ll get some turd on your hands.
Find solid rock; hard rain crumbles sand.
When shit’s really bad and forlorn.
And what gets rewarded most is to heap on scorn.
You’re my rock in this shitstorm
The shitstorm rages on all seven seas.
Undisciplined freedom is slavery.
Possessive love’s a kind of tyranny.
Saw a column of cloud, ya know, near eternity.
When shit’s really bad and forlorn.
And what gets rewarded most is to heap on scorn.
You’re my rock in this shitstorm
Y’all freaked out; he’s asleep in the boat.
So little faith, thought you saw a ghost.
If you’re afraid of the gale, the rock won’t float.
Doubt hard as cement; a stone’s throw from hope.
The finest misfortunes are heaven sent.
Foolish fantasy makes you hellbent.
Dreams can inspire, tell where the wind went.
Or bring the small hours quiet torment.
When shit’s really bad and forlorn.
And what gets rewarded most is to heap on scorn.
You’re my rock in this shitstorm
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4. |
Leave Me the Fuck Alone
04:06
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Be careful what you wish for - it just might come true
Almost everything is fake, nearly nothing is new
Without the light - there is only the dark
Spray just the right angle - a rainbow - the angel sang, “Hark!”
According to the prophets, what’s the good word?
From the dawn of time, brain bent with the herd
10,000 years in a blink of an eye - it’s all kinda of a blur
Word made flesh, right now, haven’t you heard?
Say it all you want.
Cheap talk, counterfeit.
Enough already
I think I get it.
\Will you please leave me the fuck alone?
I tried that shit. And that shit was hard
Save big money, shop at Menards.
Wanna know where the middle of nowhere is?
Between a steaming pile of dung and tray of caviar
A heart of stone and a mushy brain.
Twisted sense of the sacred. Shinny new profane.
Humility comes from becoming sick of disdain.
All that’s left are songs of freedom; here it comes, the refrain.
Say it all you want.
Cheap talk, counterfeit.
Enough already
I think I get it.
Will you please leave me the fuck alone?
Say it all you want.
Cheap talk, counterfeit.
Enough already
I think I get it.
Will you please leave me the fuck alone?
Will you please leave me the fuck alone?
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5. |
Pissing Into the Wind
04:08
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Pissing, yeah, pissing
For all I know, I’m just pissing into the wind.
Electricity and plumbing is so sublime
My parrot cage lined with the New York Times
Pissing into the wind
Pissing, yeah, pissing
For all I know, I’m just pissing into the wind.
Plumbed the vast depths of ignorance
Found an angry monster of arrogance
Pissing into the wind
Pissing, yeah, pissing
For all I know, I’m just pissing into the wind.
The unbridled idol of the hedonists
Insist on strangling all innocence
Pissing, pissing into the wind
Pissing, yeah, pissing
For all I know, I’m just pissing into the wind.
A dozen grudge hustlers for about a dime
Just grosses me out most of the time
Pissing, pissing into the wind
Outrage these days is all the rage
Aw, you made a golden calf out of your gilded cage
Pissing, pissing into the wind
Pissing, yeah, pissing
For all I know, I’m just pissing into the wind.
Pissing, yeah, pissing
For all I know, I’m just pissing into the wind.
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6. |
Garbage In, Garbage Out
02:12
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Garbage in garbage out
Gimme food for thought. Don’t starve the devout.
Garbage in garbage out
If you put in garbage, garbage comes out.
A fountain of sludge pouring out of your mouth.
Ignorant rage - foam on your snout
Decipher the trash - to try to figure it out.
Would it do any good now? - I have my doubts.
Garbage in garbage out
Gimme food for thought. Don’t starve the devout.
Garbage in garbage out
If you put in garbage, garbage comes out.
It starts in the home - one has to admit.
Take your heart where roam - hang your hat in it.
Shovel BS -- smell it, lickety split.
Won’t help ya catch a break - or make a baby sit.
Garbage in garbage out
Gimme food for thought. Don’t starve the devout.
Garbage in garbage out
If you put in garbage, garbage comes out.
Like Veruca down the chute - where bad eggs get burned
Seed took no root - demand what’s unearned.
Now you’re out in the world - yank a table and turn
End up in an urn - Like you got nothing to learn.
Garbage in garbage out
Gimme food for thought. Don’t starve the devout.
Garbage in garbage out
If you put in garbage, garbage comes out.
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7. |
You're Boring
01:45
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I’d rather watch the grass grow
I’d rather look at paint dry
I’d rather study the mating patterns of the house fly
Or tally the grooves in a sidewalk square
Count every single strand of your head hair
Oh my God, you’re boring.
I’d rather mop the barroom
Or decorate the ballroom
Or watch an real-time documentary of a flower bloom
Eek out a living with a butcher’s broom.
Recount an anecdote for each heirloom.
Oh, God help me, you’re boring.
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8. |
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I love you even if you don’t believe me
Yeah, I’d have my doubts if I was you.
The burden of proof - bedeviled by mere slander
Evil are the lies - dividing me and you
Truth forged in the fire
To return to ash one day
I’ll stand with you when things get dire.
Can I expect you to do the same?
I love you even if you don’t believe me
Yeah, I’d have my doubts if I was you.
The burden of proof - bedeviled by mere slander
Evil are the lies - dividing me and you
Third rail - real live wire
Keep the attack dogs at bay
Courage dormant, urgently required
Charge down the hill - enter the fray
I love you even if you don’t believe me
Yeah, I’d have my doubts if I was you.
The burden of proof - bedeviled by mere slander
Evil are the lies - dividing me and you
Convinced the forces against you conspire
And life’s a zero sum game
Thaw your frozen spirit - word on fire.
Forgives all sins - burns away the blame
I love you even if you don’t believe me
Yeah, I’d have my doubts if I was you.
The burden of proof - bedeviled by mere slander
Evil are the lies - dividing me and you
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9. |
Nothing Left
10:31
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You took a mind dump on my face.
You blew my mind - now there’s brain all over the place.
We all make mistakes - in negligence or in haste.
Thanks for reaching out to touch base - just in case.
Less a helping hand - than a coup de grace.
Don’t wanna stick where the sun don’t shine - or rub it in your face
The tyrant inside is buried in every chest.
Poverty of spirit- make me blessed.
So there's nothing, nothing, nothing left.
Is your head on your neck or, like, in outer space.
I was born somewhere - in a very specific place.
Now, like water, I flow down to a lower place.
Common sense rare - crazytown commonplace.
Sipping from a firehose - fill a thimble with grace
Everything I hold dear - now seen as some sort of disgrace
The tyrant inside is buried in every chest.
Poverty of spirit- make me blessed.
So there's nothing, nothing, nothing left.
Doom seemed too gloomy, now it ain’t far off.
Heterodoxy greeted with a vicious scoff.
Gently herd the cats - hold back the throng.
Not a single drink, tending bar all day long.
Crawling under the lamppost light - in the dark tall grass all along.
The tyrant inside is buried in every chest.
Poverty of spirit- make me blessed.
So there's nothing, nothing, nothing left.
Singing to a bevy of swans a really sad song.
Faith has evaporated - trust is gone.
Before your breaking point, find mercy and hold on.
Gonna bear hug a nightmare - who wants to tag along?
All my friends are dead to me - crash goes the ominous gong.
Excommunicated & tribless - I know I don’t belong.
The tyrant inside is buried in every chest.
Poverty of spirit- make me blessed.
So there's nothing, nothing, nothing left.
Twist my words til it ain’t even what I said.
I need a lecture from you like I need another hole in my head.
Your reason leads to justify senseless death.
A vain sigh of relief - after the alligator’s been fed.
You get off filling your foes with a shot of dread
You found it in your heart to leave a horse’s head in my bed.
The tyrant inside is buried in every chest.
Poverty of spirit- make me blessed.
So there's nothing, nothing, nothing left.
I didn’t mean to interrupt. Go right ahead.
I’ve been following the plot, but one of us musta lost the thread.
Chillin like Charles Ingles - country’s edge - on my homestead.
Sure, I was naive, but I was misled.
Emptied myself in humble service instead.
All for the good Lord - til my last breath - my deathbed.
The tyrant inside is buried in every chest.
Poverty of spirit- make me blessed.
So there's nothing, nothing, nothing left.
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