[titan9]

Compared to the Creed lyrics(namely on the first two CDs), AB's lyrics are, imo, fairly elementary. If Uncertain were here, I'm sure he'd back me up. I've been a lyricist for nearly two years now and have studied poetry in depth. As a result, I have come to be, well, a tough one to please when it comes to lyrics. I personally want something that is deep and isn't generic. I want something that really makes me think. To illustrate my point, I'm going to pull some examples from AB and other artists who I happen to think have really good lyrics.

AB:
"As your will is bent and broken
and every vision has been cast into the wind
as your courage crashes down before your eyes
don't lay down and die

'Cause I see in you
More than you'll ever know
And I ask you, "Why
You question the strength inside?"
And you need to know
How it feels to be alive"

U2:
"I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

I want to feel sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud disappear
Without a trace
I want to take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do"

AB:
"Looking back I clearly see
What it is that's killing me
Through the eyes of one I know
I see a vision once let go
I had it all

Constantly it burdens me
Hard to trust and can't believe
Lost the faith and lost the love
When the day is done

Will they open their eyes
And realize we are one
On and on we stand alone
Until our day has come
When they open their eyes
And realize we are one"

Creed:
"A court is in session, a verdict is in
No appeal on the docket today
Just my own sin
The walls are cold and pale
The cage made of steel
Screams fill the room
Alone I drop and kneel

Silence now the sound
My breath the only motion around
Demons cluttering around
My face showing no emotion
Shackled by my sentence
Expecting no return
Here there is no penance
My skin begins to burn"

AB:
"Drank so much last night I think that I drown
But now my cup is empty
No one has seen the will around and now my heart is aching
Sometimes I fall asleep for days
But now my bed is empty
I know I'm too set in my ways
Tell them all i'm okay

So burn it down
Discover the dusk of your day has reached it's dawn
So burn it down
Remember to find a new way to carry on"

Stapp:
"I met a man in New Orleans wore a half suit with dark blue jeans
Kicked his heels together winked at me real nice
I saw him from a mile away
But in my state of mind I let him make his play
"Hey boy, have you seen the other side?"
Yeah, in this man I saw the Devil's hand so I looked at him man to man
And said, "This time, it's gonna be a fight."

I do not have to justify
The way I live my life
I do not have to justify
The reason I'm alive...
No more...no more
.......
Let me change the timbre of this section
Add a little booze to the ice
I guess you've probably noticed
I've been living a double life
......
We fly around like we were Superman
Live in another trance
A different way to dance
With dark romance
You get another chance to do that dirty dance
without consequence"

AB:
"Fight the fight alone
When the world is full of victims
Dims a fading light
in our souls
Leave the peace alone
Now we all are slowly changing
Dims a fading light
in our souls

In my opinion seeing is to know
The things we hold are always first to go
And who's to say we won't end up alone"

Creed:
"An artificial season
Covered by summer rain
Losing all my reason
Cause there's nothing left to blame
Shadows paint the sidewalk
A living picture in a frame
See the sea of people
All their faces look the same
So I sat down for a while
Forcing a smile
In a state of self-denial
Is it worthwhile
Sell my pity for a dime
Just one dime"

AB:
"Watch your words
or your words might drown you
and cure my wounds
and the light will blind you

to truelly see well you must have faith
oh the righteous they can't wait
a saving grace that all we know
let us pray
let us hold on

I can't breath
I prefer to find a ceiling to this hate of mine
I can't win
I can't fight no more
I'm drowning
and I'm sick inside..."

Creed:
"I spent a day by the river
It was quiet and the wind stood still
I spent some time with nature
To remind me of all that's real
It's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone
And remember that you feel
I said It's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone
And remember that you feel

Again I stand, Lord I stand, against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand, against the Faceless Man

Now I saw a face on the water
It looked humble but willing to fight
I saw the will of a warrior
His yoke is easy and his burden is light
He looked me right in the eyes, direct and concise to remind me
To always do what's right
He looked me right in the eyes, direct and concise to remind me
To always do what's right"

I'm just going to stop there(and I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to really illustrate my point). Don't take this as me bashing AB; I really love the band and the music they have put out. I'm a huge fan and they are one of my favorite bands. The vocals are amazing, the musical aspect of it is great. But the lyrics.....are the glaring weakness in AB, at least as far as I'm concerned. For me, they aren't deep, they don't make me think and are just a tiny bit generic. I know that Mark is capable of writing better lyrics(look at the chorus to MOP and the first verse of WTLF) than what is on this album. And I know Myles could have written better lyrics for ODR(look at what he did for FTR). Granted, Stapp's lyrics are nothing amazing on his solo CD.....but I do not view them as being quite as generic as ODR's. And I know that Stapp is capable of great lyrics, just judging by what he did in Creed. So my hope for Stapp's next CD, and AB's, is that they both come up with better lyrics that aren't generic and are good. I'm looking forward to seeing what both do, and no matter what, I'm still a fan of both. I love the music too much to not be a true fan.