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Over The Line

by Brian O'Connell

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1.
Inside The Lines 08:15
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INSIDE THE LINES When we were young and they shaped our minds. In the little book we would neatly trace the lines. We colored nice and so perfectly. We learned the game and they taught us well. We go out into the world we know Following the rules in the great design. No questions please it is in control Follow the rules please behave now. Don't be a fool don't step out of the line. *** Add your voice to the song. You're free to sing along. You're free to just be Free to be you and me. But don't step out of line You won't have a good time. You're friends will shut you out You'll scream and stamp and shout. And run back to your room And lonely little homes. What you need is TV And get yourself some sleep And dig an early grave. Be sure that you behave and Don't ask questions we can't answer *** The book is colored and the pictures clear. Won't you hold me close I need to know your near. It's dog eat dog and we must beat the rush. From home to home no one has the time. But we all know in our heart of hearts If only we could look at what is our part. What is the story that we tell ourselves? What is the picture that we color? What is the story that we tell to each other? What is the story that we tell to each other?
2.
History, part 1 -> Chosen People -> History, part 2 08:26
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HISTORY PART I In this land and with this word The voice of our God our fathers heard This promise is our just reward For this we wage unending war We are the chosen ones The seed of kings Our time has come Gather stones into a pile Ten thousand seeds Cast across the miles CHOSEN PEOPLE This is where I live this is what I give My contribution to society There's nothing wrong with that, in fact it's where it's at I've worked and paid for all that you can see. But you don't understand the lessons of this land All the things we fought and paid for in blood And you don't know because you don't salute the flag You should just go back to where you came from I work hard to get ahead. My job's a bitch I know But I don't finance welfare queens and bums We salute the flag, blood of the patriots Don't forget that they died for your sins This is the car I drive, these are the reasons why I've worked all my life to get aheard And you can do it too we all have an equal chance Except for some like you know who We are free, and we are the chosen people We can see that they just don't understand We have faith and we believe We are free and we are strong We pave the way for truth and freedom We know mercy and we belong We are free To be what we want To buy what we will Pepsi or Coke Freedom's no joke HISTORY PART II Columbus sailed the ocean blue In the year 1492 An explorer with a brilliant mind He never could have committed genocide Lincoln freed the slaves JFK and Regan gave us grace The founding fathers were so brave And they only owned a few hundred slaves
3.
Politicians Lie 04:42
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POLITICIANS LIE Politicians lie And the media will hypnotize It's easy to hypnotize We gotta see through their disguise The truth is there to see And the lessons of history Can you see it's you and me We gotta spread democracy We are WMD's Setting terrorism free Be all that you can be Don't be afraid to disagree I've seen you hiding Behind the starts and stripes I've heard you using Their names in vain Meanwhile we the people are sleeping Meanwhile, we the people are dreaming You have to be sleeping To believe the American dream Soundbites sent to kill Our thoughts and all our will Into our heads they drill Propaganda, we pay the bills I tell ya red and blue is a lie And they've sold us down the line The well is running dry And we feed into the lie And the ice is melting soon And we're running out of room And when we finally learn Even our money won't cure the burn You've got two good eyes What do ya see Two good ears What do ya hear? Meanwhile we the people are sleeping Meanwhile, we the people are dreaming You have to be sleeping To believe the American dream Politicians lie And the media will hypnotize It's easy to simplify We gotta see through their disguise
4.
Lie To Me 04:30
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LIE TO ME VERSE I All the dirty hippies And the filthy punker children Are climbing down from their ladders To the stars They're finding newer dwellings Closer to the ground They're trading their fears For security this time VERSE II Strong emotions, fueling revolution Stop on a dime New age old solutions Forced fed lies Digging earth, growing lives Masks, faces, and illusion Growing pains, maturity Force fed society CHORUS Why don't you lie to me Tell me what I want to hear Why don't you lie to me Tell me what I need to know Again and again Again and again VERSE III Staying up one night very late Flipping through the TV stations Found a channel where they sell The name of your generation In the new age In the new world What can one person do Living through the ghosts inside the tube CHORUS BRIDGE What is going on I don't even know But I think I care Does it even matter anymore? The circle is fading SOLO BRIDGE
5.
Remote Control 04:43
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REMOTE CONTROL VERSES Nobody knows Of sin and crimes But you know That's how it goes Smiling TV It loves you It knows That you'll always agree Freedom we love They hate us And you know We will rise above What can you do Only you can tell What is really The truth CHORUS Remote control Is in control Remote control Has got your soul CHORUS CHORUS
6.
Into The Underworld 09:34
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INTO THE UNDERWORLD (The Goddesses speak...) Lay down your guard We mean you no harm Put your opinions down Lay your fears on the ground Who are you? Is this true? Where is your revolution now? Who holds the truth who holds the crown? The plan, the answer to it all, We want to know. You say that you have got the plan. And they just cannot understand. They lie, they cheat, Misguided fools who keep us down. But we know that All must change, and we Can rearrange, there is no Time to waste. Cast off doubt. Escalate. We call out to those who believe Who work each day to pick apart The system that destroys free will The will to live. Can you shine your Love light? Will you shine? Shine light, sing truth. Expose the lies that keep us down. *** (The voice of doubt...) How many sins have you committed? How many time have you lied? It's not that you gave up early, It's just that you never did try. And what's the use of trying? We can never get back what you stole. A failure from the beginning. What an asshole. You're a failure. You're a fake. Who did you think you where fooling. What makes you think times on your side? What is it that you are smoking? What is it you're trying to hide? We know everything about you. We know all the thoughts in your head. You need to comprehend. That someday you too will be dead. You're a failure. You're a fake. *** (The Goddesses return...) Can you shine your Love Light Will you shine? Shine light, dig deep in side your soul, your choice, your move.
7.
Saints and Sinners 02:22
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SAINTS AND SINNERS Tell me of the nature of the human mind Is it basically evil, or basically kind? Is it really true that people will always fight? Or are we all constructed out of towers of light? Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and all the saints. Hitler and Mao, Bin Laden, all had their day. Do you believe in original sin? Is there a devil that is hiding within? Or are we all angels inside? Moral and pure only corrupted by lies. Or is there a darkness that hides? Deep inside us there's room for both of these kinds. *** It's all inside us, and there's more. The shadow, the saint, the sinner. The pure child, safe in mama's arms. A little devil. A towering pillar of light. This darkness, buried deep. Gets darker, down the deeper we go. Touch the dark side, and proceed. Let the light shine, down on you and me. Let the light shine, down on you and me.
8.
Between the Lines -> Out of the Underworld -> Sort It Out 10:53
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BETWEEN THE LINES VERSE ONE When we draw the line in the sand. Between the subject and the object. Between the mind and the world at large. Between the self and the other. How does one tell the two of them apart? Where one stops and the other begins? VERSE TWO At what moment does food become a person? At what point are your thoughts my ideas? If we think about it more it is certain. We'll find many more examples like these. Focused on ourselves the world becomes our mirror. We only see what we want to see. CHORUS It's inside, it's outside, it's behind, It's in front of us and we barely have the time To know of the connection between the eye and the object. The hand and the touch. (Instrumental chorus) VERSE THREE The self is born from the womb of the object. I The mind expands across the whole universe. Nature and nurture fight it out over dinner. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Round and round we go, the wheel of confusion. Where does it stop where does it begin? CHORUS It's inside, it's outside, it's behind, It's in front of us and we barely have the time To know of the connection between the eye and the object. The hand and the touch. There is no reasoning which sheds a light on the idea that We are all, separate from the world. And here we go digging deeper down into the world of the self. And soon begin to stop across CODA The line in the sand Past duality. What's behind that let's take a look see. Is it making sense according to our story? What is the story? That we tell to each other. What is the story? That we tell to each other. What is our story now? What is our story now? What is our story now? What is our story now? *** OUT OF THE UNDERWORLD Now, here we stand, at the edge of the universe. Time, has no meaning here, in the underworld, down deep. We know, the shadow, the dark spaces. In the underworld, we confront our fears, and become ourselves. Becoming whole is the key to being free and thinking For ourselves, it all comes down to that. And we don't want our hopes and fears to be manipulated By the power of the media machine. The State and corporation, propaganda mind control. We reject it and we refuse to buy in. We're gonna start today to build a better world. For all the unborn generation the people who carry it On, On, On, On, On, On, On *** SORT IT OUT VERSE ONE Don't believe all I hear on the radio Don't believe all I see on the TV show Don't believe all I read in papers and magazines Don't believe all the lies that they're feeding me CHORUS It's time, time to sort it out Time, time to sort it out VERSE TWO Walking down the street feel concrete underneath my feet Walking down the street each thing itself is each complete Walking down the street hear cars and birds and people talking Walking down the street it's me I'm there and I'm just walking CHORUS It's time, time to sort it out Time, time to sort it out VERSE THREE Incoming message beaming in bright from my news machine Incoming message yes I think I know just what you mean Incoming message think I'll change the channel on my TV set Incoming message no I'll turn it off that's better yet CHORUS It's time, time to sort it out Time, time to sort it out

about

Over The Line is a theatrical rock opera written by Brian O'Connell that was performed four times in 2012 at Spontaneous Celebrations in Boston, MA. A nine piece band performed the music with short segments between the songs telling the story acted out by giant puppet actors in front of the stage and narrated by the band.

It follows the story of Sleepy Doormat, a hipster and all around average guy. We first learn about his indoctrination by church and school in youth. Then as an adult Sleepy meets an activist on the way home from work one day who challenges his orthodox way of thinking. Attempting to forget about this while engorged in mass media consumption, he falls asleep and is confronted in a dream by a group of ancient animal Goddesses who take him through a series of lessons and trials in which he confronts himself. At the end of it all Sleepy awakes as a transformed person.

This album features the only the songs from the show without the narration and acting. The music stands alone as a song cycle meditation that critiques and satirizes modern thought control and ideology.

The basic tracks were recorded live in June, 2012 and then overdubbed on and remixed throughout 2012-2013 by Brian O'Connell

Live recording and additional mixing by Davis Thurston.

brianvoconnell.com/over-the-line

credits

released December 2, 2020

The Band:

Brian O'Connell - bass, piccolo bass, guitars, touch guitar, keys, juno synth, samples, percussion, vocals

with:

Justin Kleya - guitar, vocals
Kevin Silvia - acoustic guitar, bass, vocals
Joel Ockenheim - piano
Sam Ward - drums
Dave Scandurra - percussion, glockenspiel, vocals
Kat Arrants - vocals
Knox Petrucci - vocals
Jenna Miller - vocals
Colleen Kleya - vocals, percussion

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Brian O'Connell Massachusetts

Widely known for his inventive and kinetic bass and touch guitar playing with Arukah, Uncle Sammy, Gordon Stone, Gary Backstrom, Dave Brunyak, and Dead Man's Waltz. O'Connell also has a strong compositional approach that is featured in his rock opera and original bands. His most recent solo project is a podcast-rock opera about the Salem Witch Trials called Witch Hunt. www.brianvoconnell.com ... more

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