So, without further ado.... the lyrics to all the songs on the new CD, along with notes on each of the tracks. The CD is pre-ordering until June 9th, $2 off the price for anyone who orders before then. I'll start shipping the first batch out that week.
D'ANTHEM
How long until you let him win
How long until we make our stand
How long until the Ministry will recognize
The evil that creeps within our midst
We must keep love alive
When all hope around you dies
We must keep love alive
When the pain eats you inside
We must keep love alive
We cannot hide ourselves away (fight until the end)
You will live your lives as always (never let him win)
Fists clenched shut and wands held high (your power is within)
Do not let his lies control you (take them on)
We must keep love alive
When all hope around you dies
We must keep love alive
When the pain eats you inside
We must keep love alive
It's all about love...
Patronus, Protego, Stupefy
We will fight to keep him alive
Patronus, Protego, Stupefy
We will fight to keep love alive
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Written while I was still mixing "MP&M", an anthem for Dumbledore's Army. xCHRISx is on the verse vocals, I originally brought him in to do some screaming on this song, however he heard it much more melodic than I did; his way worked much better. Extra special thanks to the "DA Chorus" for the gang vocals in the intro, and the second bridge. You guys gave this song the impact I wanted.
SINS OF THE FATHER
For too long I've walked these halls and tried
But every time I was stymied by these goons at my side
Now I've been handed my future on a silver platter
It's what I'm used to but this time it really matters
All my life everything's been spoon fed into me
Of who I am, who we are, and my destiny
Mudbloods, muggles, and blood traitors beneath my sole
But do I want it if in the process I lose my soul
Am I to pay for my father's mistakes
Am I to blame for who I hate
Am I to pay for my father's mistakes
It doesn't matter, in the end he'll get us all anyway
I can't clear my head no matter how much I try
All I know is when I'm done, someone's going to die
It was fun to laugh and mock to get in Potter's head
But now I know how it feels when the Dark Lord wants you dead
Am I to pay for my father's mistakes
Am I to blame for who I hate
Am I to pay for my father's mistakes
It doesn't matter, in the end he'll get us all anyway
Is my father doomed to his fate
Can my mother stop before it's too late
How can I point and bring him down
Take the title, I'm not fit for this crown
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Malfoy's POV during HBP. Written while I was cleaning my garage. The bridge chords are totally stolen from Rush's "Hemispheres".
THE WEAKER PATH
I think it's time, it's time for me to tell you everything
I've waited too long and it's hurt me more than you could ever know
I think you're right, you're right in hating me as you do
It's my own fault and there's something that I should say before you go
Like a father to son, best friend to another
My love for you grew stronger every day
You always thought that we could fight this together
But now you know that there's only one way
This can go…
I think I've failed, I've failed to prepare you for what's about to come
One old man's fears have stood in the way of what I knew was right
I think I chose, and I chose to take the path of what was easy
And now it's time to give you the strength you need to stand up and fight
Like a father to son, best friend to another
My love for you grew stronger every day
You always thought that we could fight this together
But now you know that there's only one way
This can go…
Do you think less of me? I guess that's OK
As you stand there and scream I know it's your way
To let me know how you feel and what you're holding inside
Your emotion is real, it's not your fault that he died
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Dumbledore's POV at the end of OotP. The movie completely changing this scene is one of the many reasons I think it's the weakest movie of the bunch. I wanted the music to reflect Harry's state of mind while he was trashing the headmaster's office.
RIGHT HERE
This is not how it's supposed to be This is not how it's supposed to go
You're supposed to be here with me
Not taking comfort in someone else's arms
Could it be that I was wrong this whole time?
In wishing I was yours, and you were mine?
Could you look at me the way you look at her?
All I want is you and me, right here
Too many hours spent pouring over pages
Instead of learning how to win you over
Have the years come back to haunt me now?
Have the fights been too much and pushed you away?
Could it be that I was wrong this whole time?
In wishing I was yours, and you were mine?
Could you look at me the way you look at her?
All I want is you and me, right here
And now the end is coming on
I'm wondering where the chances have gone
I can't take another moment of you together
And me, still wondering why….
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Hermione's POV, HBP. Damn that Won-Won. xCHRISx on drums
TWO LOVES
When I see you come my way
My eyes light up only for you
I know you think that I'm just such a prat
But wanting your red hair just makes me so blue
I'll let them take the mickey out of me
If my grief will make you smile
So come and take a walk with me
I bet you'll be mine after a while
Would you hold my hand (he'll take you away)
I'll bring you to the promised land (I'll win your heart one day)
My one and only Lily (in time you will see)
You're the only one for me (you're the only one for me)
From the very time I laid eyes on you
In my cast off clothes from Spinner's End
I knew that I would never find another
Who's smile could bring me 'round the bend
Even different houses can't keep us apart
I know you said that I was your best friend
No matter what anyone else would say
I know that I'll love you until the end
Would you hold my hand (he'll take you away)
I'll bring you to the promised land (I'll win your heart one day)
My one and only Lily (in time you will see)
You're the only one for me (you're the only one for me)
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Mauraders Era. I loved having a little bit of distortion on Snape's vocals, it made them fit perfectly. I've never been happy with the song title, yet I never came up with anything better.
WHY
Tell me about the anger that lurks under your skin
Does it pain you at night when you hold it in
Tell me about the visions that haunt your sleep
When you watch them die, does it cut you deep
Why must you keep it all in
Why can't you let them help you win
Why must you think it's all on you
Let them guide you through
Tell me how it feels when their words get to you
Do you let them burrow within everything you do
Tell me about your godfather, and things you say
When he appears, what happens when he's taken away?
Why must you keep it all in
Why can't you let them help you win
Why must you think it's all on you
Let them guide you through
Don't be a fool for him anymore
Close them off and pack it away
Turn off your mind and push it away
Don't let him beat you with his lies
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xCHRISx on drums, Buzz Verdugo on lead guitars. Mostly about Harry's OotP nightmares and visions, and his insistence on putting everything on his own shoulders and not accepting help from everyone around him.
TINY IN DEATH
(instrumental)
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My tribute to Colin. The lovely and talented Sue Benoit guests on flute in this song. There are actually lyrics, but I left them off, as I thought the music presented the emotion perfectly. That's not to say the lyric version might not appear somewhere, sometime down the road.
TEST
There is no friendship here
Just a trail of pain and fear
There is no lifeblood here
Now that it's all become so clear
And when you knew I'd have to hear this
Pushed away the chance of hit or miss
You took it but you just wouldn't give
Knowing I'd have to die in order to live
This is not a test
I was always meant for this
This is not a test
You're not even here for this
This is not a test
Was there ever friendship here
Or just my trail of doubts and fears
And never words were spoken
Could I ever trust in you again?
I'll never try to take you
I'll never try to fake you
I'll never try to break you
All I know is it's what you're meant to do
This is not a test
I was always meant for this
This is not a test
You're not even here for this
This is not a test
This is not a test
Because you knew that I would do this
This is not a test
Always knew it would come to this
This is not a test
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Harry's POV, DH as he's coming to on the floor of the headmistress' office after viewing Snape's memories in the pensieve. He now knows he must die in order to kill Voldemort, and knows Dumbledore knew all along that Harry needed to be groomed to accept his own death. I'd say his anger at Dumbledore was justified. xCHRISx on drums and co-vocals; his screams made this song work. Always makes me think of early Deftones meets Snapcase.
BROKEN
What started out as a life gone wrong
Has quickly turned into a pure work of evil
He stopped you once, he'll stop you again
He'll bring the final end to your reign
You're a broken man with broken dreams
With nothing left for you to cling
You're a friendless man with shattered dreams
And soon you'll lose everything
How could a man's life end up so wrong?
Power and control are all you desired
A life not worth living is all you'll ever see
When a handful of redemption is all you'd ever need
You're a broken man with broken dreams
With nothing left for you to cling
You're a friendless man with shattered dreams
And soon you'll lose everything
You staved off death, now look what it's brought
Venegance for all, in all you have wrought
The time has arrived, your bill has come due
He's your arch enemy's man, through and through
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Just some general Voldemort bashing. I knew I had nailed the feeling of the song when my friend Barry heard just the music and he immediately said it reminded him of old Helmet and Quicksand. My first use of a subdrop.
REFLECTIONS PERSONIFIED
Night after night I'll sneak down again
Drawing me back
Night after night I dreamt of you
Holding me close
Day after day I've drudged on
Weighed so down
Time after time I wondered why
I was so alone
And I raise my eyes
And wonder if I'll cry
Looking at your smile
Why did you die?
I'll stare for hours
Wave for a few more
Wanting to feel your touch
Wanting to feel your warmth
Waiting to hear your voice
Waiting to be with you
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Harry's POV while in front of the Mirror of Erised. I wanted the guitar lead to be backwards, and played over a huge amount of layered screams - Harry on one side of the stereo field, Lily and James on the other. However, that made the song turn into mud, so I left that all off.
WINTER
Winter is in the air, I can smell it coming
It tickles my nose, caresses my face
Plays with my hair, touches my skin
And reminds me of how your hands once did
I wrap my arms around myself, hating it all
I curse at myself as my body begins to shiver
The wind wraps itself around me, holds me tight
And reminds me of how your arms once did
I wish you Happy Christmas tonight
If you were here, everything would be all right
I wish you Happy Christmas tonight
My perfect gift would be just to hold you tight
I walk along, hating every minute
The wind holds my hand, reminding me of you
I look around, taking everything in
So cold, so bleak, so never ending it seems
I run up to the tent, walk inside the door
A rush of warm air from the fire embraces me
Pulls me close, draws me in, beckons me on
Like your hard blazing look once did
I wish you Happy Christmas tonight
If you were here, everything would be all right
I wish you Happy Christmas tonight
My perfect gift would be just to hold you tight
I look back at my winter-coming
I sigh as I take off my cloak
Remembering the touch of the wind
I already miss it so
I walk across the room and see her smile
But it's not yours, it's not the one I need
We've traveled so far and walked so long
I think I'd give it up to see you just once
Winter is in the air....
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Harry to Ginny, DH era. The rock version of the acoustic song released online for December 2007 only. The buildup out of the second verse is my favorite moment on the entire album.
WALK WITH ME
Would you walk with me for a little while?
It's been so long since I've seen your smile
I've waited too long just to get to this day
But now that it's here I wish it would go away
I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to see your son
Grow up into the man that you know he'll become
I never got the time to tell you how I felt inside
When I saw you float through the veil I felt as if I had died
I never took the chance to tell her goodbye
'Cause if I did I know I could never explain why
Dear God I wish I could hold her close, just one last time
Now at end I can only think of how her lips had claimed mine
Would you walk with me for a little while?
It's been so long Mom since I've seen your smile
I've waited too long just to get to this day
But now that it's here I wish it would go away
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Harry to his loved ones in the forest in DH. My first time programming MIDI since 1993. I originally was going to scrap this song, after hearing OBatR "Open At The Close", which conveys the story and emotion of this song 100x better than I ever could (for the record, The Butterbeer Experience's "Chapter 34" is also fantastically beautiful, and contains one of the best lines EVER in wizard rock). But I'm glad I kept it in the end, it really grew on me.
NOT STANDING SILENT
I've waited here so patiently
Years I've waited for you to see me
All those breaths that I held in
Waiting for you to smile again
The time we've spent just hasn't seemed real
Just for a moment, I've been able to feel
Like there's a life outside for us
Don't throw it away, but leave if you must
I'll do anything that you ask me to
Just don't ask for me to wait for you
By your side is where I should be
Not standing silent, watching you leave
I've fought beside you, haven't I?
Yet you aren't willing to let me try
To help you three succeed in your task
When you walk away, it might be the last
Time I get to see you alive
Without you here I feel like I'll die
From missing your touch and wanting to be
Your fountain of strength, anything that you need
I'll do anything that you ask me to
Just don't ask for me to wait for you
By your side is where I should be
Not standing silent, watching you leave
And I'll stare at the curtain
Of my four poster bed
Dreaming of you
And everything you said
I'll stand up for you
We'll fight them from within
Until you return
To come back, to win
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Ginny's POV to Harry through DH. Perhaps one of my favorite songs I've ever written. I went through at least 3 complete re-writes before getting inspiration from the fanfic "Mad About Harry" at SIYE. All the lyrics I wrote before that just rang hollow and fake; this felt REAL to me. I hope it does to you as well. Ginny was never one to want to stand to the side and be left behind, was she? Originally intended to be an Emery-style basher, I think it's much better this way.