The source for the spoken parts in Liberty, Complacency, Dependency was thrown around in the "listening" thread; I always like to have those, as the song will make even more sense to lyrics people like me and a fair portion of the Threshold fanbase due to their consistently sterling lyrical standards. I also don't know the overdubs at 5:07 of Divinity, which are probably similar to the lyrics already given, or some of the narration before the track ("So I said, you are chosen!"), but I generally need them all, especially if the words are saying what I think they're saying.
ASHES (Lyrics: West)
Here we stand and face the world
Renegades of consternation
Innocent in thought and word,
ready for a new sensation
Block up the dam, close up the well to stop it flowing
Your memory is not preferred,
for that is not the way we're going
Sliding away - From liberty to lethargy we fall
Subsiding again - Collapsing from the burden of it all
(Chorus 1)
But time after time, we believe in better
Never let a chance pass us by,
and we're sure we'll never fail to notice
Sign after sign that a change is coming
Time is running out like the tide,
but we think we're on a march of progress
From ashes we rise, to ashes we fall
We cannot disguise our hand in it all
Here we stand and take the blame
We thought that this could last forever
We turned our backs on God again,
but everybody longs for heaven
Sliding away - From vision to deficiency we fall
Subsiding again - Collapsing from the burden of it all
(Chorus 2)
But time after time, we believe in better
Never let a chance pass us by,
and we're sure we'll never fail to notice
Sign after sign that a change is coming
Time is running out like the tide,
but we think we're on a march of progress
It's senseless to justify consensus
Pretensions to cover our pretences
The fences are sitting on the fences,
defenseless to cover our offences
To cover what we've done
Here we stand and face the end
Apathy alive and growing
On independence we depend,
but that is not the way we're going
Sliding away - From plenty to dependency we fall
Subsiding again - Collapsing from the burden of it all
(Chorus 3)
But time after time, we believe in better
Never let a chance pass us by,
and we're sure we'll never fail to notice
Sign after sign that a change is coming
Time is running out like the tide,
but we think we're on a march of progress
But we think we're on a march of progress (x2)
RETURN OF THE THOUGHT POLICE (Lyrics: West)
From a room in a house on a hill
The world can change on the turn of a will
Ooh, there's no need to remind us
Ooh, you're killing us with kindness
On the left (x3)
A desolate horizon
On the right (x3)
A destiny is rising
We forget (x3)
The signs and implications
We deny (x3)
Our final condemnation
From the dust of oppression and foes
We have risen from our chains
Now the rust of complacency grows
as we give it all away
How did our conscience get so seared
that we could all stand by
as victory disappears before your eyes?
(Chorus 1)
We can fight against corruption
We can stand for what is true
But we fall when we surrender
to the corporation view
And our faith can only offer
what we faithfully pursue
I promise you, I promise you
On the left (x3)
Apostasy has spoken
On the right (x3)
Our promises are broken
All the things we believe in and know
fall like targets in a war
All the thoughts we were thinking long ago
have become unthinkable
How did our conscience get so seared
that we could all stand by
as history disappears before your eyes?
(Chorus 2)
We can fight against corruption
We can stand for what is true
But we fall when we surrender
to the corporation view
And our faith can only offer
what we faithfully pursue
I promise you, I promise you
It's a silent revolution as so thoughtfully
we're persuaded 'til we're crushed and jaded
Feigning ignorance, faking innocence
to belie our inner voice
They shoot us with ideology, kill with policy,
so protection overrides objection
Contemplation a violation
'Til the memory of freedom is gone (x2)
(Chorus 3 & 4)
We can fight against corruption
We can stand for what is true
But we fall when we surrender
to the corporation view
And our faith can only offer
what we faithfully pursue
I promise you, I promise you
STARING AT THE SUN (Lyrics: West)
Well, you talk about the way out like there's no way out
When you talk about the way out
And you talk about redemption with a heart of doubt
When you talk about the way out
Well, you talk about surrender like you know you've lost
When you talk about surrender
Well, I hope that you remember there's a line you cross
when you talk about surrender
(Chorus 1)
Maybe we're meant to bow down
as we enter our darkest hour,
but I'll be staring at the sun
Maybe they want us to break
at their pointed display of power,
but we have only just begun
Well, you talk of intervention like a long-lost dream
When you talk of intervention
Do you start to feel the tension like a heart of steam
when you talk of intervention?
(Chorus 2 & 3)
Maybe we're meant to bow down
as we enter our darkest hour,
but I'll be staring at the sun
Maybe they want us to break
at their pointed display of power,
but we have only just begun
Maybe they're stirred by the boundaries
they blurred in their darkest hour,
but time will level all they've done
Maybe they want us to break
at their pointed display of power,
but we have only just begun
LIBERTY, COMPLACENCY, DEPENDENCY (Lyrics: West)
"It never ceases to surprise me
at the infinite capacity of the human mind
to resist the introduction of useful knowledge."
[et al. quotes - couldn't both make them out and find them online]
There's a dead sky rising on the dark horizon
with the reason and the rhyme of a hurricane
There's an empire falling and a future calling
as the seasons and the times move on again
Do we find solutions in a constitution?
Has the reason we designed it gone away?
Do we find repentance to suspend our sentence?
Because the seasons and the times don't want to wait
Once there was a city left to ruin, alone and broken down
The walls that once gave shelter are levelled to the ground
Powerless to cope, for there was no one left to trust
Nothing there to hope for
when your dreams have turned to dust
The kings are in the counting house
They're counting up their prize,
but all that they've accounted
is the sum of their demise
(Chorus 1)
Won't be moved by what I see
(Anger, fear, and jealousy)
Losing hold of liberty
(Complacency to apathy)
Running wild on make believe
(A panacea to legacy)
Watch it flow from liberty
(To apathy, dependency)
Once there was a city from the ashes arising up with faith
So eager as she rushes to make the same mistakes
Our fine veneer of progress only covers us so far
It only takes a crisis to reveal the way we are
The kings are in counting house
to borrow from their foes
The debts are only mounting
That's the way the money goes
(Chorus 2 & 3)
Won't be moved by what I see
(Anger, fear, and jealousy)
Losing hold of liberty
(Complacency to apathy)
Running wild on make believe
(A panacea to legacy)
Watch it flow from liberty
(To apathy, dependency)
(x2)
(Won't be moved by what I see)
(Losing hold of liberty)
(Running wild on make believe)
(Watch it flow from liberty)
COLOPHON (Lyrics: West)
The circling ravens are hunting us down
Erudite playthings who lost what we found
But I don't care
Hollow illusions, fallen from grace
To a land of confusion, there's no such place
And you won't go anywhere, and no one cares
Avalon nation, where is your station now?
'Cause everyone wants to go home,
but can't find the way
(Chorus 1)
Honesty hides in the dust of the afterglow
Scattered so wide, but we know what we have to know
Lost in the view but ignoring your colophon
Longing to lose our illusion of counting on you
But I'm counting on you, I'm counting on you
Did you do all the things that you wanted to do?
Nobody noticed the war of the worlds
A paradise broken, a planet disturbed
So unaware
The carrion ravens are down for the feast
to feed on the broken, the lost and the least,
before they go anywhere, and no one cares
Babylon nation, who's going to save you now?
Because everyone opened their homes
and closed off the way
(Chorus 2)
Honesty hides in the dust of the afterglow
Scattered so wide, but we know what we have to know
Lost in the view but ignoring your colophon
Longing to lose our illusion of counting on you
But I'm counting on you, I'm counting on you
Did you do all the things that you wanted to do?
Every image bears the imprint of the master,
and the message is the way to ever after
Did you do all the things that you wanted to do? (x4)
THE HOURS (Lyrics: West)
Everything you want from me
and everything I long to be
are twisted up and torn
It must be written on the heart of men
to get back on our feet again,
to brave another storm
(Chorus 1
I fight against the hours
I fight against the hours until it comes to pass
I stand until my strength is gone,
and even then, I carry on until I'm home at last
Everywhere you promised me
and everywhere I long to be
are visions through the storm
It's hard to focus when the world's so loud,
enthralling me with sight and sound,
but I will not be drawn
(Chorus 2)
I fight against the hours
I fight against the hours until it comes to pass
I stand until my strength is gone,
and even then, I carry on until I'm home at last
Day by day my memory fades
and all the gains I made are drifting on the wind
Lost my way, my energy wanes
until I feel no pain, but I can't stop the hurting
Destiny - Don't let this dissolution get to me
Empathy - Don't throw away the life that's meant for me
One by one, my thoughts are undone
until my dreams are gone like shadows on the wind
Hope has flown, my plans are unknown
I try to call them home, but they won't stop deserting
Destiny - Don't let this dissolution get to me
Empathy - Don't throw away the life that's meant for me
Hours turn to days
Days fade away until it comes to pass
(Chorus 3)
I fight against the hours (Hours turn to days)
I fight against the hours (Days fade away)
Until it comes to pass (Until it comes to pass)
I stand until my strength is gone,
and even then, I carry on until I'm home at last
Until I'm home at last
THAT'S WHY WE CAME (Lyrics: Wilson)
From the breath of existence
to the dawn that divides these riches
Have you witnessed the pain
that cannot be explained?
You had no one to trust
Now you're looking to us
(Chorus 1)
That's why we came (That's why we came)
That's why we came
Through the deafening thunder
From the ashes of awe and wonder
As landscapes erase,
we are lighting the way
(Chorus 2)
That's why we came (That's why we came) (x2)
That's why we came
If you've nothing left to be taken away
When there's nothing left
Seems there's nothing to trade
So as you stand alone and face the day,
we'll lead the way - we'll lead the way
(Chorus 3)
That's why we came (x2)
(That's why we came)
You've witnessed the pain
(That's why we came)
That cannot be explained
(That's why we came)
As landscapes erase
(That's why we came)
We're leading the way
DON'T LOOK DOWN (Lyrics: West)
Don't look down (x4)
It's time to shine
You spent your life confessing what was wrong inside
They left you second-guessing how to close your mind
So you cry for redemption from all you thought
until you wake up tomorrow just the way you were before
So what are you waiting for?
Your feet never leave the floor
You're running round in circles like a tethered mare,
but there is no exertion that can get you there
So you cry for exemption from all you've done
and try to shake off the sorrow over all that you've become
So what are you waiting for?
Your feet never leave the floor
(Chorus 1)
We're looking out for a leader to believe in,
for a watcher of the sky
Don't want a pretender to deceive us,
or a demon in disguise
So if you can't live through the shadow of our eyes,
we'll come to receive you, 'cause we need to
in a world that's born to fly
Hesitation has a strong design,
but every good intention slowly fades with time
And your forced hibernation is no retort,
because you wake up tomorrow
just the way you were before
So what are you waiting for?
Your feet never leave the floor
(Chorus 2)
We're looking out for a leader to believe in,
for a watcher of the sky
Don't want a pretender to deceive us,
or a demon in disguise
So if you can't live through the shadow of our eyes,
we'll come to receive you, 'cause we need to
in a world that's born to fly
(In a world that's born to fly)
Staring at the endless sky
Longing for the clouds to take you
Looking for a promised time
Hoping that it won't forsake you
There's nothing you can do about the wasted years
The battle brought the mettle that makes you
You don't need an angel to carry you here
and you don't need a devil to break you
When all your reason and reference are taken away
and you believe in the perception that something must change
When all your credence and candour are put in their place,
you'll find the boldness to abandon the future you face
Don't look down (x4)
It's time to shine
So what are you waiting for?
Your feet never leave the floor
(Chorus 3)
We're looking out for the leader to believe in,
for the watcher of the sky
Don't want a pretender to deceive us,
or a demon in disguise
So if you can't live through the shadow of our eyes,
we'll come to receive you, 'cause we need to
in a world that's born to fly
Don't look down (x4)
It's time to shine
CODA (Lyrics: Morten)
I will break down this belief
Exhibitions of the weak
Sunken eyes that now behold
you and I held in relief
Like the parting of the sea
Fatal inhibitions
As my purpose now unfolds,
I will break down these walls
I will break down these walls (x4)
I am flame, desire burning your heart
I am damned, forever failing to start
And when the spirit departs, I'll walk with God in the stars
I am black, the shade of grey in your white
I am back, assigning blame when you’re right,
and your wrongs repeating time after time
Face down now, in amongst your mistakes now
Drown open mouthed, no escape now allowed
The fight is still on despite all you've become
Now remain brave now,
fight because you can save somehow what was lost
Remember the power you found
as you made up lost ground
(Chorus 1)
I will break down this belief
Exhibitions of the weak
Remember, remember
You and I held in relief
like the parting of the sea
Remember, remember
I have found the roots of man in the earth
To the ground we walk with consciousness blurred
Only with the blueprint submerged can we finally learn
Icon crowned, forging wounds in the skin
Last in line for redemption within
Without the scars that you've carried, your renewal begins
Face up now, take your place on the stage and bow
to the crowds now devout and proud
We look to the sun, now your life's work is done
Celebrate out loud, raise your voice to the sky and shout
We're sorry we've lost you
We remember all that you gave, in our hearts you'll remain
(Chorus 2 & 3)
I will break down this belief
Exhibitions of the weak
Remember, remember
You and I held in relief
like the parting of the sea
Remember, remember
THE RUBICON (Lyrics: West)
Out across the water, staring to the shore
Standing on the threshold of a dream
No prior warning, no overture,
just a sudden ocean from the stream
Isolation never was a violation
Domination never was a destination
(Chorus 1)
We flew our colours always on the run
and all our gains were shadows in the sun
But as we journey through the fall, so uncertain of it all,
we've never come undone or crossed the Rubicon
Out across the valley, variation comes
Now the glow of summer disappears
No remonstration, no loaded gun
won't offend the ones who brought us here
Condemnation never was a contemplation
Domination never was a destination
(Chorus 2)
We flew our colours always on the run
and all our gains were shadows in the sun
But as we journey through the fall, so uncertain of it all,
we've never come undone or crossed the Rubicon
A spring of much potential, a summer so eventful
And so we carry on (And so we carry on)
An autumn to sustain us so winter won’t betray us
And so we carry on (And so we carry on)
We fought against all reason to last another season
And so we carry on (And so we carry on)
Dependent on the kindness of those who stand behind us
And so we carry on (And so we carry on)
Condemnation never was a contemplation
Domination never was a destination
(Chorus 3)
We flew our colours always on the run
and all our gains were shadows in the sun
But as we journey through the fall, so uncertain of it all,
we've never come undone or crossed the Rubicon
Never really thought we'd come so far
(Everyone has something more to lose) ("Consume to Live")
Never really thought it’s all we are
(So we must invent again ourselves) ("Sunseeker")
Never really thought we'd fade away
(I have given to you all you have) ("Exposed")
Never really thought we'd see the day
(A future generation divorcing its past) ("Freaks")
Never really thought we'd lose these things
(All you ever thought will fall to the ground) ("Light and Space")
Never really thought we'd spread our wings
(Stronger when the stars come crashing down) ("Phenomenon")
Never really thought we'd touch the sun
(The truth behind the end remains unseen) ("Mission Profile")
Never really thought what we'd become
(A penny for the one you thought you'd be) ("Slipstream")
DIVINITY (Lyrics: Morten)
As one man's will declines,
gone are his reasons and rhyme
At odds with awkward evens
Stand your ground to be believed in
To those who already shine,
how did it feel when you switched sides?
I guess I'll know, I guess I'll know, given time
(Chorus 1)
See this side of me, these humble offerings
From this well, hope still brings my enemy
As my pride lays crumbling, so down comes everything
With a heavy heart, this sadness brings my destiny
It's one man's will to rise
So precise, the predictable line
Anchor the body and prepare to breathe in deep
Can you see what's in my mind?
The reaching point of reaching pride
Although it's hard, I guess my heart can't lie
(Chorus 2 & 3)
See this side of me, these humble offerings
From this well, hope still brings my enemy
As my pride lays crumbling, so down comes everything
With a heavy heart, this sadness brings my destiny
Seasoned minds will bring these humble offerings
From this well, hope still brings my purity
You see me stumbling
With a thankful heart, I spread my wings
(Spread my wings - x2) Divinity
In the quiet of the mind, the fog of memory is formed
The gravity of its charge states that you reclaim it
Amongst the trails here, you will find
visual echoes that conform to the divine in all its parts
This path you have laid it
If you were ever needing proof,
just follow now your inner truth to guide you
Don't give doubt the space to confuse you
There's no room in here
If you were ever feeling moved
to shape this coming life renewed, I excuse you
As your guardian, I choose you, to me it's clear
(x2)
[There are vocal overdubs during the second repetition,
including the two lines Pete provided written below,
but I cannot make them out. Pete?]
I excuse you, we excuse you, we all excuse you
We won't lose you!
(Chorus 4 & 5)
See this side of me, these humble offerings
From this well, hope still brings my enemy
As my pride lays crumbling, so down comes everything
With a heavy heart, this sadness brings my destiny
Seasoned minds will bring these humble offerings
From this well, hope still brings my purity
You see me stumbling
With a thankful heart, I spread my wings
(Spread my wings - x2) Divinity
