AS I LAY DYING - 2003
"Frail Words Collapse"
Track List:
 1. 94 Hours
 2. Falling Upon Deaf Ears
 3. Forever
 4. Collision
 5. Distance Is Darkness
 6. Behind Me Lies Another Fallen Soldier
 7. Undefined
 8. A Thousand Steps
 9. The Beginning
10. Song 10
11. The Pain Of Separation
12. Elegy

1. 94 Hours
+++++++++++
94 hours of regret for me to realize what i held
unfading beauty, not just a face
i held its innocence within my heart, now i won't let go
the torment of your eyes has awakened my soul
the pain of a moment's time will forever beg your forgiveness


2. Falling Upon Deaf Ears
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
the sound of silent voices surveying my thoughts
regularity defining perfection 
neither sorrow nor contentment
whispering emptiness, frail words collapse
my weight only stirs the ground
how long can i hold your hand as you walk over graves
you search for tears of compassion
yet find the comfort of winter
reassurance dead like the falling leaves
losing hope in your unchanging ways
all of my strength cannot save you
if you are unwilling to help yourself


3. Forever
++++++++++
forever your eyes will hold the memory
i saw your heart as it overtook me
we tried so hard to understand and reason
but in that one moment i gave my heart away
that perfect breath where my mind lay beside me
and all i knew was what had overtaken me
with no explanation i am comforted by inability to understand
when i wake from this dream will you still be here
will your smile still open my heart and leave me transparent


4. Collision
++++++++++++
can you understand my meaning hidden in the roses around my eyes
i want you to know how much it means to have you in my life
your love brings me close again in this instance when our worlds collide
the wire of eternity twists around us
i can feel this river rising, moving up my back
some things never change
some things never go away
i could never forget you
and i will never be the same


5. Distance Is Darkness
+++++++++++++++++++++++
the contingencies of a day unravel my senses
and now your distance is darkness
my hope has been beset by your absence
i decay from inside
underneath it all there is still life
despite it all there is still love


6. Behind Me Lies Another Fallen Soldier
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
i want to bring you all that is in my heart
i want to give you my everything
but i've failed you so many times 
how can i stand here before you
when i begin to steal what only belongs to you
i am able to bring you nothing that isn't already yours
i am so ashamed of what i ever called my own
take what i have, take these broken remains
what can i give you that you don't already deserve
you laid down your life when i refused to give mine


7. Undefined
++++++++++++
what is this world, what is this we've created
in the burdens of this life i cannot rest
this world means nothing
everything we hold will pass away
with a void of completion comfort will ever fade
i long for this wind to cease
we once held undying devotion
now dead to our thoughts, undefined like our love


8. A Thousand Steps
+++++++++++++++++++
we climbed a thousand steps without a single imprint
this drowning regret will die, forgotten like my past
moving bodies lie in rest
carried by each other


9. The Beginning
++++++++++++++++
i see who you are and who else can compare
i meant what i said, i promised to stand by your side
until the end, that's where we begin
from here to eternity we begin understanding
it is our hearts that define what has meaning in life
some will ask how can this be
but it was you who made me feel


10. Song 10
+++++++++++
one night opens wounds and words utter pain
the truth cannot breathe a one in your soul
you've hid hearts and songs as long as you recall
his kind words just fall near your feet
with their last air, all they want done is to be heard in your sweet ears just once


11. The Pain Of Separation
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
how can i bear this any longer
arms stretched out only to hold separation
take me away
i'm dying inside, emptied before you
take me into your arms
i will fight until the day when i will see
sight given to these blind eyes
when will i be taken from this life
take what is yours
you deserve more than my life


12. Elegy
to Stephanie for undying friendship
+++++++++
did you ever see me or could you even see at all
i looked at your cold white face, so still, so empty
yet i knew you were at rest
much more comforted than i
what else could i find to replace who you were
it was the carefree unrestricted love that you never meant to give
you never had the choice
it was your innocence
it was part of who you were
it was the comfort of a friend