Brick & Mortar
Brick and mortar like the corner store
“If you build it, they will come”
They told me that's for sure
But I ain’t lookin’ at a hammer in my hand,
I'm exactly where I am
Because I will not do a little chore
A little work to prove I'm just as good as dudes
Who sit and gather up the millions
Is it rude if I have them schooled
In the art of practicing the shit you preach?
It takes a real man to reach
When you can't see past your hand
But you know in your soul, you stand
To gain what the others can't
If you’re keeping track
Of what the universe is telling you…
Man,
You can fly!
So far and wide, going higher
Than the kites,
Than the roofs,
Feeling light,
Needing proof? Kill the lights —
Blow the candles out, turn the page
Haters cannot look away
They’re hearing every word you say
But they’ll interpret how they want to
And will not be swayed,
So why give a fuck?
Everything will be okay.
Brick and mortar like the corner store
“If you build it, they will come”
They told me that's for sure
But I’m just sitting in my room
Listening to sad tunes
Have room in my schedule for some writing
Bad news, nothing doin’
You don’t have to pay for what you feel in your heart
You owe the world true art
Whether it’s blue art or green art
No purple hearts given in the battle for your self esteem
That you gotta win to prove
You're worth a damn and have a dream
That people wanna hear about —
That inspires confidence.
That inspired all of this.
That inspired me to have a plan!
Instead, here I am
Having a damn panic attack
Cause I ran from the pressure
No chance to come back
In my head, here’s where I stand:
I never built a fucking foundation
For what I wanna do, it’s basic:
Improve my situation,
Offer invitation to grow with me —
Plus a little inspiration,
I’ll hone my navigation and go.
Still prone to investigation
Into my soul
But when I’m on vacation I know
I’m letting precious time go
It’s a balancing act —
We try and try to succeed
But please:
Never trade a dollar for a dream.
Brick and mortar like the corner store
“If you build it, they will come”
They told me that's for sure
But I ain’t looking at a woman on my arm,
If you can’t be who you are, where’s the charm?
You’re a superstar!
My message to potential women sold on me:
I’m just a little self-defeating
But I do that shit wholesomely
I only hope to see myself become a man
Who’s as worthy as he can be
To take you by the hand
Yes a man who stands with the woman I wanna know
It’s my desire to show
My worth, potential and goals
To her, and this entire world —
Built around sex
I’m not a bad man…
But I’m a man nonetheless.
I want some more of that too
But first I gotta earn it,
Gotta be a man that you can hold onto:
A rock you can stand on and feel light
Whether in the morning or at midnight
When you’re snoring, I laugh
When you need me, I fight
Let me brew your coffee for you
Let’s talk life
What should we be to make this work right?
Let’s see:
Laugh at my jokes
Hear my music
Show me yours, I’ll listen to it
Every word the truth
But it fuckin’ hurts to go through it, life:
Knowing you must grow all alone
With no one by your side
It takes support to know
You’re getting close to gold
But I ain’t had that for the longest time
Left it behind to chase the story I now sit and write
Where did that get me? Am I still missed?
What has the game been like lately for me?
Something like this:
I went out to find a kiss
The first shot I took missed
I lost patience, got pissed
Stuck up in my head, ripped
Yes, too faded —
Standing around in a loud basement
Head down, waiting for a fucking invitation
It hurts to say it…
…but that’s how I’ve always lived.
That’s how it always is.
I haven’t changed a bit.
But I can always choose to grow and make that stick
Cause that same bullshit…
Is why my building don’t exist.
Brick and mortar like the corner store
“If you build it, they will come”
They told me that’s for sure
But I ain’t lookin at a permit for the land
I’m exactly where I am
‘Cause it’s my right to stand!
Why can’t I just…
Throw my caution out to the wind?
Let my fears blow around forever
Without them, I can thrive
Maybe find an answer to the question
“Who am I?” before I die
I wanna know what’s really locked inside
Of this building that I haven’t started working on yet
I wanted to feel set
I wanted to feel stable, I wanted:
All hands on the table, I wanted:
Basic cable, I wanted:
…something?
I wasn’t able to get permission
From someone to start pounding nails
Rule number one is that inaction always fails
Maybe it’s nerves or it’s cowardice
Making these excuses only sours this
Every scar’s a testament:
Reaching for the stars is betterment,
Following your heart kills resentment,
And then better shit can grow in its place.
I’ve had so many opportunities…but ruined the space.
I’ve had so many feelings wooing me
“Hey, come and see the cooler me”
But foolish me, did not want to do
What he knows that he must do
Time is ticking right now
Hammer’s staring daggers at me…
Waiting to pound.
I wanna start but I doubt
That when I pound that first nail
I’ll inhale a new breath
And be reborn without fail.
Brick and mortar like the corner store
“If you build it, they will come”
They told me that’s for sure
I’m only looking at a hammer in the sand
I’ll pick it up, drop it again
Just to see where it lands
I’m in the planning process…
Paralyzed by fear.
The fear to build this life up
Twenty-nine years
Wasted, crying fake tears
Try to make it seem okay
To make it seem like I would never succeed anyway
All I gotta know is brick by brick
I’ll show you all you can do this shit
If you just stick
To the plan that you craft
And the plan of attack
Is to man up, in fact
We have no answers to back
Up the fake rules you make for yourself
No escape from this hell
From the distraction of inaction,
Oh well, come join the faction
That knows what the truth is:
Inaction only fuckin’ derails
What you were feeling in your soul
You gotta work to make it known
That you're here now, no fear now
It’s how you grow.
And then you become you:
Build a little house
Make that house a home
Draw your life in sand
Build your life in stone
Then stack more stones high
By the side, two, three —
And pretty soon you see
Just what you could be
If you do what you need
One by one, from the ground up
Looking up one day to see that you have found what
You knew all along you could do
So grab that hammer
And be cool
Let’s retool
And make them see you.
Every day dudes wake up
No clue what to take up
If that's you, we can shake up
The bad news, we can break up
All the old patterns we don't need no more
Get off the couch, put your feet on the floor
Come with me, let's build together
Escape hell or whatever,
And make your world better.
