North Philadelphia, North Minneapolis

Song: North Philadelphia, North Minneapolis

Album: Breathing Without A Pulse

Artist: The Blend

Written by Toussaint Morrison

Released December 6, 2011

ref: http://theblendmusic.bandcamp.com/track/north-philadelphia-north-minneapolis

Runnin’ like a parkin’ meter on its last minute

At the point ya just can’t tell how much is left in it

You could run this village down to the grain

Tie it up in handcuffs, but the color doesn’t fade

Or answer to your highness, lights and sirens

Drillin’ the surface to find another Osiris

Criminal minded or survivalist

This ain’t the East, South, West or North side of it

This is just lopsided math

This is the other side of the badge

This is the other side of the badge

I said this is the other side of the badge

Your lieutenant gots a band vendetta

Slams the office door twice a mornin’, I think he’s fed up

Rookies on the squad just don’t seem to let up

And the DA’s back on the bottle with Celexa

Shoot’s the afternoon at the range with a Stella

Kill’s a few brain cells, drains the beretta

Tries to forget it, so goes the city

Ghetto gorgeous, but ain’t a damn thing pretty

So enormous that can’t a damn frame fit it

Some try and hold it, but they can’t lift

Threatenin’ to jump off the curb again

Shiiiit, it ain’t nothin’ but an urban ledge- it goes

Church is closed and the time for prayer is over

Brother, I don’t understand what ya waitin’ for

They gonna reach for their piece ‘for your reachin’ Jesus

Your lord ain’t the one in charge

Ooooooh, yes it’s on

It’s all about what ya can’t afford

This is survivin’

My, my, my

Born unadorned, against the wall, underneath a storm

Baby, don’t blame nobody for defendin’ what they call home

Holdin’ a gun up against the law

So, it goes simple

As full names and info get blown, exposed and swindled

Through the wire shootin’ fire, barterin’ with souls

Makes me wanna throw the fuckin’ kitchen sink out the window

Still in limbo, they’re still on patrol

You’re in the middle of a building tryin’ to build a home

And it’s irony entirely the building is owned

You’re doin’ everything you can between a ceiling and floor

Maybe home isn’t the place to bleed the cash just to sleep in

Dreamin’ of just the feelin’ to walk the kingdom

Maybe it’s the hole in the floor you wake up to and ask the question,

“Where the hell’s it all headed?

How much longer can we walk in this war without sweatin’,

Holdin’ a weapon as our only leverage?”

Our chest’s holdin’ our hearts in a deadlift

No objective- Just death and acceptance

Either your patience is runnin’ paper thin with rough edges

Or life is just a rough draft without the edit

Whatever. Kids are gettin’ shot before high school

A low-income life lost, but what was it to you?

What was it to you?

What was it to you?

What was it to you?

What was it to you?

What was it to you?

What was it to you?

-

Chorus

I’m walkin’ twilight

In a blind fight

Might be your law

But it ain’t mine

-

Eric Floyd seemed to got the drop on your boys

You say he better run, but runnin’ ain’t a choice

Get smart, drop the gun, let’em claim a coward

This side of the equation been runnin’ since the Mayflower

Nobody ain’t about to wait for your approval

Before they wipe the slate clean with blue stain removal

One cop, two cop, three cop, four cop

Got the whole squad kickin’ in the door knob

We say “hold up” to make time stretch

Countin’ cash or countin’ on a blind guess

Subsidized housin’, but it’s still high rent

Payments of innocence, time- payin’ with debt

Payin’ with childhoods, daylight, spray paint and sweat

Payin’ to death, but still paid no respect

Ghetto war veterans sittin’ still

Either waitin for a bus, or waitin’ for a miracle

I can hear the shrills, the prayers, affirmations

The conflict of stoplights and tires against the pavement

Broken safe nets and morals

Where no grand jury can tell between the Joes and the Cobras

Lock our hopes up, but we keep alive yet

For runnin’ so much you’d think we were destined for flyin’

Findin’ peace in a losin’ game

Believin’ in the water in a city of loose flames

Chorus

Know Me Now

Song: Know Me Now

Album: Breathing Without A Pulse

Artist: The Blend

Written by Toussaint Morrison

Released December 6, 2011

ref: http://theblendmusic.bandcamp.com/track/know-me-now

What it is- what it do-

What it ain’t- ‘sup to you

What’s the point and the proof-

Give’em hell- make’em move

Make’em run- make’em fly-

Make’em fall out the sky

Make’em love- make’em fight- yeaaaaaahhhhh

This ain’t a game y ou could play

This ain’t a face you can paint

This ain’t a style you can take

This ain’t ya savin’ grace

I don’t care

I don’t care

I don’t care if you don’t care

Snatch your life and sunshine out the air

-

Chorus

I get it now

I get it now

What goes down comes back up

See me smile, while on the ground

‘Cos this is far from done

-

All the king’s men and king’s sweat

Couldn’t hold a sparkler to my set

You don’t wanna mess

With a mess

Ain’t afraid of ya name

Ain’t afraid of ya flame

Consequence ain’t a thang-

Yeeeeaaaaaahhhh

Paint it white, red, blue, black, pink

Color of the feelin’ and the empty space inbetween

What it seems

What it seems

May not be what it seems

Snatch your life and your rainbows

Out your dreams

Chorus

See the shine glow from a broken light bulb

See the grass grow from the cracks in sidewalks

Got a problem, and I don’t want to fix it

Nothin’ wrong with nothin’ that’s right with this

See the shine glow from a broken light bulb

See the grass grow from the cracks in sidewalks

Got a problem, and I don’t want to fix it

Nothin’ wrong with nothin’ that’s right with this

Know me now

Know me now

Know me now

Know me now

Keep it cool- keep it calm-

Keep it true- keep it on-

Keep it you- keep it comin’-

Keep it tall

Are you sure why you came

Are you sure what’s at stake

You’re ‘bout two words away

From settin’ off the flames

Seen’em come- seen’em go-

Seen’em jump- seen’em float-

Seen’em sink rock bottom

In a good boat

Can’t complain if ya take

Half ya gave-

Ain’t got time to feel shame

For a couple rules and heads ya break

Chorus

Wish You Would

Song: Wish You Would

Album: Breathing Without A Pulse

Artist: The Blend

Written by Toussaint Morrison

Released December 6, 2011

ref: http://theblendmusic.bandcamp.com/track/wish-you-would

I told her I wanna feel the gravity against my shoulders

Enough to leave a footprint on the street corner

I want my old heart stitched in over the old scars

And wage war with the night until the streetlights go dark

Came to a quick death from a slow start

Once my mornin’ sun, now my old spark

Somehow we still connect ‘cos I guess she’s knows me best

Not ‘cos she’s from Minneapolis or the fact that she’s my ex

Maybe it’s because we can reinvent what’s left

Of good things lost to senseless arguments

Like our parents- Now that it’s done, it’s all fairness

Whether or not the past is apparent

I would call her queen, but I don’t wanna give her that upper-grip

Seein’ the coffeeshop’s the only place we co-exist

We know the script, but improve communication

Like free-versin’ over Thelonius and Miles Davis

She doesn’t need the ground ‘cos she’s her own foundation

And she holds her people down like cigarettes and conversation

As we sit, once again, caffeinated at a table

Gazin’ aimless and unable to explain

-

Chorus

How I’m starin’ at heaven, but I’m feelin’ like hell

Standin’ on earth under the same spell

She’s beautiful as the Boston Commons

Can’t ya tell, can’t ya tell

Queen without a crowd and she’s queen without

And when she leaves me, she leaves me without

Beautiful as she is honest

Can’t ya tell, can’t ya tell

-

It was a good lookin’ guy with a good lookin’ gal

Walkin’ down the street singin’ “Can’t Ya Tell”

They hold together like this moment almost never came

And coulda swore that they would first wither and fade

Together again, and not because it’s usual

But because it feels like they’re swing dancin’ to a musical

With traffic so immovable it’s singin’ in the streets

And homeless hands on drums somehow supply the beat

And they’re happy- and maybe that’s all you really need

Along with groceries, house keys, bicycles and coffee

Anything to keep you movin’ through this Rubic’s Cube

Like watchin’ these two give words commute with undisputable truth

She tells him when I look at you I wanna carve your name in my skin

So when I lose my mind, I’ll never forget

Y’see both her parents are schizophrenic

And in the natural selection of genetics, she’s next to get it

So as the chemicals in her brain begin to twist

The subtle details of reality, her brain begins to miss

Her pragmatic castle shattered broken

Fragments of rational thought float in an ocean of serotonin

Like scattered branches skatin’ the surface of Lake Huron

Retracin’ a path against the current of neurons

Dismembered memories of how she once held him

Standin’ like a tree beneath her cerebellum

And crazy goes hand-in-hand with “I love you”

They don’t take sane for granted because taking leads to trouble

They breathe with ease and pace like a city breeze

If they can handle schizophrenia then I can handle coffee

And now my heart’s offbeat from the music outside

She’s shootin’ me down with those brown eyes

Had no clue I was fallin’ ‘til ya cut me

There’s nothin’ left, but to smile and just breathe

Chorus

She doesn’t have a cuss jar, she has a bottle of Jack

And she can walkaway from a car wreck and not look back

They call her crazy because they’re afraid of her confidence

And she never says maybe ‘cos she’d rather move on with it

Her lawlessness is her common sense

Gravity gets lost when her sanity walks off the cliff

And I’ve been to the bottom with her

She sacrificed her mind climbin’ out instead’a me havin’ to help to lift her

Break-ups aren’t convenient as relationships

And she’s mastered the art of not taken shit

Weathered by disappointments and bad boyfriends

She bends for no one, her back is jointless

And her spine, like the pillar of the Ottoman Empire

Can split a smile while her eyes set fire

An uncommon goddess, unattainable as the wind

Speaks her words like a promise, not a thang to gain or give

Wields her fists like bricks, gunshots don’t make her flinch

Eyes that hath no end, I never know where to begin

Late For My Own Funeral

Song: Late For My Own Funeral

Album: Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Homeboy

Artist: Toussaint Morrison

Written by Toussaint Morrison

Released May 3, 2011

ref: http://toussaintmorrison.bandcamp.com/track/late-for-my-own-funeral

Ya see that thing up there, it’s called the sky

And I’m gonna give it to you someday, but only when it’s right

You see my time here isn’t long, matter fact I’m already gone.

They buried me yesterday with my backpack and a song

Well first things first, tell Carol she was my earth

I enjoyed the long talks over Szechuan after church,

The long prayers through it all, the long stares at the wall

Makin’ waits to hear your fate from doctors at the hospitals.

And we made it- well at least you did, so tell Jane

She’s the ink for those “World’s Greatest Mom” t-shirt templates

We fought like deadlines, set-backs, age and time

And worked out like deadliner, set-backs, and age and time

Rock on Janer, you last minute lane changer

Combattin’ cancer on the daily all love and no anger.

Tell your daughter, Annie, to take it easy on herself

She’s come farther than her father could ever help.

Yea, I dig that guy, but he’s a sketchy profile,

And I’ll be damned if I’m not the one to walk you down the aisle

I have a few words for Ricky, but we’ll save that for the end

So for now sister, know your brother loves you after death

And I’m still lookin’ for Chase, Jerren Schaden and Doc

Maria Croix, Barb Jones, and Joe Sodd

It’s crazy up here, I’ve been in line since I landed

Fillin’ out paper work to make sure I am who I say I am, but

-

Chorus

What I miss most is your voice

My memory’s still the same even though my life has change

Cos’ what gets me by are the simple joys.

I was late for my own funeral so I could spend the day as a ghost on your shoulder.

-

Anyways, over here the roads are pristine

I only wish I could’ve brought my Honda with me.

That things gonna out live your kid’s kids

So don’t forget, every 60,000 give the transmission fluid the business.

Drive it back to New Orleans, have a hand grenade for me

And kill the hangover with PJ’s in the mornin’

I wanna hear you laughter in the hereafter

Unconditional, no matter where luck steers the dagger

Smile, it may not feel like a lot,

But trust in the end, it’s the only thing you’ve got

I don’t mind that you don’t care, I don’t mind

And I’ll be late for yours too, so I guess it’s only fair

It’s clear you pick the moments you choose to be a father

And I’m guilty of lettin’ my mood determine what I call ya

Derek, Mr. Morrison, Dad whatever it is today

I’m your son, and even in the next that won’t change

But what I miss most is your voice

My memory’s still the same even though my life has changed

What gets me by are the simple joys

I was late for my own funeral so I could spend the day as a ghost on your shoulder…

-

You don’t need to be my father right now,

But as the final hours wind down

Let’s take this walk and put the pride down

And own the moment while we can

You don’t need to be my father right now,

But as the final hours wind down

Let’s take this walk and put the pride down

And own the moment while we can

You gave me my name

You gave me my name

For everything you took

You gave me my name

I take it to the grave