CONTENT WARNING
These lyrics contain language that is explicit and sometimes violent.
When
MRS. BRADLEY
When did I love you, you stranger?
When did you leave and forget to return?
When was our life no more your concern?
When did this all become such a mess?
(spoken) Is meatloaf all right for dinner?
MR. BRADLEY
I guess.
When did we plunge into danger?
When did her smile fade away from my sight?
When did I think it would all be all right?
When did I know it no longer would?
(spoken) Should I put the trash out?
MRS. BRADLEY
You should.
Other couples fight too.
MR. BRADLEY
It’s not like that’s so strange.
MRS. BRADLEY
But we’ve got to change our story.
MR. & MRS. BRADLEY
I’m scared to make the change.
MR. BRADLEY
When did she stop trying harder?
MRS. BRADLEY
When did he choose to give up on this fight?
MR. BRADLEY
When was it just too late to take flight?
MRS. BRADLEY
What was the date we locked in our fate?
(spoken) What are you up to tomorrow?
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
The Bullies’ Song
TOMMY, HUNTER, & CHASE
We see you walking past with your eyes to the ground.
We see you walking past and we know that you’re scared.
Did you think you could hide and never be found?
Did you think you’d be safe? Did you think you’d be spared?
We see you hidin’ out, hidin’ from the attack.
We see you hidin’ out from the Angels of Fear,
But we’re comin’ for you, son. There’s no turnin’ back.
We’re comin’ for you now, you sad little queer.
CHASE
In the showers, we saw you were starin’
Did you see somethin’ you’d like to feel?
HUNTER
Well, this isn’t a toy. At least not for a boy.
TOMMY
There are glances that aren’t safe to steal.
TOMMY, HUNTER, & CHASE
We see you standing there. Are you ready to play?
We see you standing there hopin’ someone comes round.
But no one’s bringin’ help, not to some little gay.
No, no one’s gonna help. Don’t you dare make a sound.
HUNTER
So you want us, you fudge-packin’ pansy?
CHASE
Well, you got us, you cock-suckin’ ho.
HUNTER
There’s no place you can hide.
CHASE
Trust us, others have tried.
TOMMY
You deserve what you’re gettin’, you know.
TOMMY, HUNTER, & CHASE
We see you standin’ there, as you wait for what’s comin’.
We see you standin’ there, breakin’ into a sweat.
Don’t you know, little man, just what you’re becomin’?
Don’t you know, little man, this is what faggots get?
HUNTER
Little faggot is gonna be hurtin’.
TOMMY
Little fag’s gonna wish he was dead.
HUNTER
You’re a pussy.
CHASE
A bitch.
TOMMY
And you better not snitch.
HUNTER
Or we’ll bury you next time instead.
What you gonna do?
TOMMY
You think you’re gonna fight?
HUNTER
Where you gonna go?
TOMMY
Ain’t no help in sight.
HUNTER
Close your eyes.
TOMMY
Make a wish.
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Hunter’s Song
HUNTER
He says that she’s been cheating,
And so she deserves this beating,
It’s the only way for treating such a whore.
She says he’s just a screw-up
And it’s time he up and grew up,
And then he got up and threw up on the floor.
And they scream and they fight and they break up.
Then they say it’s all right and they make up.
But i just count the nights till he’s drunk.
Nothing’s changed; you know it’s true.
Is this all that the world fuckin’ gives us—
Just a big pile o’ shit that outlives us?
Be a drunk, be a star, be a punk;
Like it matters what you do!
One day, he really hits her
And then swears he up and quits her,
But the next day, fuck if it’s her lucky day.
“I’ve changed at last; I mean it.”
“I’ll believe it when I’ve seen it.”
But his word’s enough to clean it all away.
And they scream and they fight and they break up.
Then they say it’s all right and they make up.
But i just count the nights till he’s drunk.
Did you think that he’d come through?
Point the gun, turn the knife; stop forgiving.
Do you think that this life is worth living?
‘Cause it’s sink or it’s swim, and we’re sunk,
And there’s nothing you can do.
She says she’s had enough, and
He just calls her on her bluff and
Tells her she can try it rough and crawl on back.
This story’s never bending.
When I try to change the ending,
There’s no point in me pretending
I know jack.
And they scream and they fight and they break up.
Then they say it’s all right and they make up.
But I just count the nights till he’s drunk.
Then it’s back to nothing new.
When will they get the fuck outta my face?
When will i get to get outta this place?
And they scream and they fight,
And they say it’s all right,
And they break up,
And they make up,
And they hit you,
And they hate you,
And they make you,
Then they break you.
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Start Raising Men
MR. SAMSON
You want someone to blame?
They’re just a bunch of boys.
They bleed, they cry. No reason why;
It’s just a lotta noise.
So they called this boy a name?
It ain’t so fuckin’ strange.
The cobra spits; the monkey shits.
Ain’t never gonna change.
Stop raising babies!
Start raising men!
Before the dawn, their mommy’s gone,
And what will happen then?
Stop raising Marys!
Start raising men!
They yell, they fight; it’s all all right.
They’ll pick back up again.
So you think my son’s the problem,
And you’d like a little chat?
Well, I’d rather he bled or ended up dead
Than ending up like that.
Stop thinkin’ gentle!
Start thinkin’ smart!
If they’re in a scrape, Don’t let them escape;
They’ll finish what they start.
It ain’t the time for feelings.
It’s time he fights of falls.
They’re boys or they’re men. If not now, then when?
It’s time they grew some balls.
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
It Gets Better
WOMAN 1
I was twelve and just a girl, if still a tomboy,
And the kids all laughed and made up nasty lies,
But then she came up and said
Really gentle things instead.
Pretty soon, she moved away, away from me.
WOMAN 2
I was beautiful, and all the boys adored me,
And the girls would look with envy in their eyes.
And they never understood
Why I would or how I could
Try to end a perfect life and be set free.
It would never get better.
WOMAN 1
It was already too late.
WOMAN 2
So I wrote my last letter
WOMAN 1
And surrendered to fate.
MAN 1
I was fifteen then and, God, how I was frightened
By the men who should be boys with me in class,
And I hoped to disappear
And to never have to hear
What they’d call me when they saw me standing there.
MAN 2
I was seventeen and still I was a virgin
When my father talked of fags and kicking ass,
And I wondered, could he see
That he was attacking me?
So I turned to God to hear my desp’rate prayer.
WOMAN 1
I was sixteen soon and living on my own when
All my family said: act the part or leave.
It was tough out on my own
Left with nothing I had known,
But at least I knew the woman standing there.
WOMAN 2
No one understood why I had sought my exit.
No one could conceive of what I had to grieve.
So they had me pop some pills,
Level out the vales and hills,
And they called it progress when I couldn’t care.
MAN 1
It would only be trudging.
WOMAN 1
It would only wear on.
WOMAN 2
I could see they were judging.
MAN 2
I could see God was gone.
WOMAN 1 & 2
No one heard my voice.
MAN 1 & 2
No one heard my voice
WOMAN 1 & 2
No one gave a damn.
MAN 1 & 2
No one gave a damn.
WOMAN 1 & 2
You call that a choice?
MAN 1 & 2
A choice to
ALL
Live a lie
Or die as I am?
MAN 1
But I made it through. Though beaten, I’m not broken,
And it turns out that this world is not so small.
High school ends, you move away,
And you make it into day
From a darkness you had never guessed you’d shake.
MAN 2
I was twenty-two when I gave up on praying,
And I dropped my vow and told my fam’ly all.
And I saw my mother cry,
And I thought my dad would die,
But with time, they proved they weren’t so quick to break.
WOMAN 1
I’m a woman now and though I’ve lost my parents,
I have tasted of the joy of being seen
By a fam’ly of my friends.
Though we may be odds and ends,
They’re the reason why i’m glad to be awake.
WOMAN 1
When I came of age, I left that wretched city.
Left the meds and left the normalcy machine.
If I live or if I die,
Least I have a reason why
I believe I’m more than beauty or mistake!
MAN 1
And so, I’ve prevailed now.
WOMAN 1
I’d have thought it absurd,
WOMAN 2
But I’m glad that i failed now,
MAN 2
That my prayers went unheard.
ALL
Though life may be bleak now,
There’s the promise of bliss.
Though you’re weary and weak now,
You will never know what you’ll miss.
We know what haunts your dreams.
You’re not as alone as it seems.
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Hollow House
BOY SOPRANO
Hollow house—
Bricks and wood
Eaves and pavement
Walls and doors
Hollow house—
Air and boards
Lights and shadows
Empty drawers
Hollow house—
Cracks and stains
Crooked pictures
Dirty floors
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
He’s a Child
MRS. SIKES
I can’t say why he did it.
I know he’s had it rough.
MRS. CRUZ
And ever since his father left,
He’s had to play it tough.
MRS. SIKES
I’m not making up excuses;
I’m not saying it’s okay.
MRS. CRUZ
It’s just that he’s been fighting
Since his father ran away.
MRS. SIKES
He’s a boy, just a boy. Don’t be quick to say
That he’s bad through and through. You don’t know the way
That he’s fought to be heard all throughout the fray.
He’s a boy, just a boy.
MRS. CRUZ
He’s a child, just a child, and he’s been alone
Since his dad up and left. He was barely grown.
You’ve no right to cast blame; you don’t know what he’s known.
He’s a child, just a child.
MRS. SIKES
For years, he’s heard us fighting.
It had to take its toll.
MRS. CRUZ
He fights, he steals, but it was he
MRS. SIKES & MRS. CRUZ
Whose childhood we stole.
All you see is a man who is running wild.
Can it be all that long since my baby smiled?
If you must cast the blame, then i’ll be reviled.
Leave him be. He’s a child.
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Who’s Next
ALEX ROSS
Who’s next?
The one with good looks,
Or maybe the one with his head in the books,
Or maybe the child who’s always left waiting outside
For his ride?
Who’s next?
The one doing drugs,
Or maybe it’s one of the after-school thugs,
Or one of the band kids who sits with his rusted trombone
All alone?
Who’s next?
The one flunking gym
Or maybe the athlete who’s picking on him?
Will grades be the reason that causes the die to be cast
And they’re passed?
Who’s next?
The kids sneaking booze?
The kids with bright futures or nothing to lose?
Will the child who’s touched or the child who’s not been embraced
Be erased?
Who’s next?
The children who pray?
The ones who stay chaste or who give it away?
Will the ones with no money for lunch or with money to spare
Not be there?
Who’s next?
The bullies or geeks?
The kids who feel normal and try being freaks?
Will one of the kids who are out on the schoolhouse’s lawn
Soon be gone?
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
The Bullies’ Song (reprise)
HUNTER
So I hear little faggot’s a coward,
And the bitch took the easy way out.
TOMMY
Now they want to blame us
CHASE
No, more like to frame us,
For things we knew nothin’ about.
HUNTER
Yeah, who was it acted a pussy?
CHASE
Yeah, who was it pointed a gun?
HUNTER
You think that we’ve cried
Just ‘cause some faggot died?
TOMMY
Well, forget it, ‘cause what’s done is done.
(spoken) Hey, what do you think he wrote in his suicide note?
HUNTER
(spoken) “Sorry for the mess, Ma.”
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Raise Your Voice
FIRST MOURNER
The water’s still, and yet the tide can swell.
The air is hushed, but listens for the knell.
The path is steep, but know it’s worth the climb.
And now is the time, and now is the time to
Raise your voice for the boy we never knew.
Raise your voice for the man we’ll never know.
And know your voice will be strong and true.
Will you use your voice? Will you raise it wherever you go?
The dusk has passed, and we can hardly see,
Through night and storm, to truly being free.
The dawn will come, and bring the promised light.
It will be all right, but now we must fight, so
ALL
Raise your voice for a town forever changed.
Raise your voice for the friend we’ll never meet.
And raise your voice for a song that’s rearranged
For one less voice, but music that’s still just as sweet.
Raise your voice. While you have it, let it sing.
Raise your voice. Sing of dreams left unfulfilled.
And raise your voice. Hold your ground and let it ring.
Let them hear your voice for all whose voices are stilled!
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Was
MRS. BRADLEY
Was.
Was.
Wasn’t it yesterday I held his small feet?
It was. It was.
Wasn’t it yesterday he tore down the street?
It was. It was.
Wasn’t it yesterday he first bumped his head?
My heart started racing, for fear he was dead.
He looked up at me; not a tear did he shed.
It was. It was.
He’s no longer present; he isn’t quite past.
How long will this moment last?
Wasn’t it yesterday the bus pulled away?
It was. It was.
Was it my promise that he’d be okay?
It was. It was.
I’m falling through water; the surface withdraws.
The light’s growing dimmer, but maybe because
They turn and they ask, just as everyone does:
Please, ma’am, can you tell us who Sam Bradley…
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
The More It Bleeds
REPORTERS
A community in crisis
Though we’ll never know just why—
Why some children turn to bullies,
Why some children choose to die.
This story, we’ve been told
May go above the fold.
We know the needs it feeds:
The more it bleeds,
The more it leads.
REPORTER 1
Tonight at eight o’clock
REPORTER 2
A man who killed his kids
REPORTER 3
The reason why your air’s unsafe
REPORTER 4
A new report on SIDS.
REPORTERS
A community in crisis,
Up they pop at every turn.
Hold a light up to the story,
And then watch the city burn.
Just try to look away
You’re drawn like birds of prey.
We’ll meet your hungry needs.
The more it bleeds,
The more it leads.
REPORTER 3
We’ll be there, reporting live.
REPORTER 5
Hear what others leave unsaid.
REPORTER 3
Tonight at seven
REPORTER 1
Nine
REPORTER 4
Eleven
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Did He Think
MR. BRADLEY
Everyone is crying,
Afraid to speak of death.
His mother’s hardly breathing,
Like she holds his final breath.
Did he think about his mother,
Now never to be found?
Did he know he’d kill another,
While he’s resting underground?
Did he think about this fam’ly?
Were we doing all that bad?
Did he even give a damn he
Would destroy what chance we had?
He never took to baseball.
He’s not at all….
He wasn’t at all like me.
Maybe he’s the boy who just wasn’t meant to be.
Can’t we just erase all of
These memories are bleak
When they’re all so fresh and wild.
Still, what words did I speak
When I last spoke to my child?
Why are my memories faded
When this has just begun?
I guess I’ve masqueraded
As a man who knew his son.
I will never get to see
Who my boy turns out to be,
And though, perhaps, he now is free,
How could he do this….
©2011-2017 Aaron Alon (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
(TOP)
Recent Comments