Lyrics from "Chronology of Chaos"
Note: Lyrics for songs that appear on "Mapping the
Labyrinth" can be found here"
Note: Lyrics for songs that appear on "Mapping the
Labyrinth" can be found here"
All songs on this page, lyrics music, guitars and vocals by Scott Mapes.
Bass By Scott Mapes beginning with "The Measure of a Man" Drums
by David Bell beginning with "Hidden Turhts". (except "No Place to
Run" and "Québecois Rain '93 Demo)
Click here for stories behind the songs.
Bass By Scott Mapes beginning with "The Measure of a Man" Drums
by David Bell beginning with "Hidden Turhts". (except "No Place to
Run" and "Québecois Rain '93 Demo)
Click here for stories behind the songs.
THIEF OF SOULS
Another innocent victim who did no wrong
I don’t care, I’ll take them along
Blind are many to my presence so near
It only makes it easier for me to take life so dear
I show no mercy, I live to see you die
I leave others behind to mourn and wonder why
I can take your life in an instant, or slowly bring on death
You come closer to my blade with each and every breath
I’m a thief of souls stealing from the Earth’s ripe vines
By the time I get to you, I will have stolen countless lives
You can’t escape me, I am always near
I am The Reaper, you’ve plenty to fear
I don’t consider things like fairness and health
I play it as it comes, your cards have been dealt
When you draw that fatal card, I won’t hesitate
I’ll take your life in a whisper on that final day
I shall one day reap the harvest of the earth
But for now, I’m content to cause sorrow and hurt
I can only laugh when over a grave you cry
I am The Reaper, now it’s your thief to die
I’m a thief of souls stealing from the vines of the earth
I have stolen countless lives, now I’ve stolen yours
You can’t escape me, I am always near
I am The Reaper, you’ve plenty to fear
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DESTROYER
Apply within, I’m sure you’ll be accepted
Giving in to feeling you want to forget
You’re turning green with envy
Green is the color of me
Accept the job, but I don’t think you can take it
You already hurt too bad to make it
You can’t live with your unfulfilled desires
Such a man, but now I’ve made you a crier
CHORUS
I’m an equal opportunity destroyer, prejudice against no one
Sadistic pain enjoyer. I lash it out, and you can’t run
Equal opportunity destroyer, you brought me to you
Now you scream with anger. Burning rage while you’re feeling blue
You’re only going nowhere, and getting there fast
It’s hard to release me, I’m your haunting past
I’m the girl you want that the other guy has
I’m your fantasy dreams driving you mad
You’re just living life in a shell now
Too lonely and lost to reach out
Another fallen victim, I’ve won another game
Now I’ll move on, the weak are all the same
NEGATIVE CHARGE (The Highest Price, Pt. III)
Digital frigidness freezing me out
Analog warmth on alternate routes
Cerebro-linking to the people of the world
Controlling their thoughts and everything they feel
Emotions fading
Morality decaying
Electric gods overtaking
Becoming cybernetic kings
Techno-tyrants taking over everything
Diminishing all my hopes of hopeful dreams
Mechanical precision completely lacking soul
Dictating only with the knowledge that they know
People staring
No one’s caring
Electric eyes are glaring
My temper is flaring
How have we come so low to this?
Why has nobody tried to resist?
Tell me, if you can, the feelings that you feel
Or, have they reprogrammed you into something human, but unreal?
Sometimes, our emotions can be our greatest flaw
But, without them, we shouldn’t be here at all
It would be nice to never cry again
But, without these feelings, we’ve no right to exist
Darkness descending, tightening its grip
Loneliness locking onto my soul, telling it to quit
Emptiness embracing me with its morbid joke
Heartache hurling me into emotional overload
Tears are streaking
My heart stops beating
My nerves stop feeling
My life stops being
THE MEASURE OF A MAN (The Highest Price, Pt. I)
“Stand up and be accounted for. But say you nothing not!
You are an easily replaceable component, so it’s best to stifle your thoughts”
“Freewill amongst the humans must be suppressed. And,
eventually…eradicated”
Here I stand, defrocked of my rights, condemned by my own society
Betrayed by my saving grace-my humanity
Rejected by the question-less fools-worshippers of the Binaries
They stare in awe and pass thoughtless judgment,
and look down their noses at me
CHORUS
Thoughts untold go on unsaid
But are still expressed in the silence
Ill-conceived and with prejudice
Their judgments are quick, and their minds are set
Who I am, not what I have
What I can do, not what I can’t
How good I live, not how bad
Is how we should size up the measure of a man
I remember well the age of advancement
and the drastic improvements in our lives
But somewhere, something went dreadfully wrong
and now, the human race might not survive
The machines had formed free thought
And had arisen to search me out
They confined me where I could be no threat
I’d give my life to see their death!
For a crime I committed not
I have been locked away to rot
Every night I lay awake
And I plot the great escape
Although, I know it would be in vain
For in an instant, I would be slain
By one of the wicked metallic beings
But I guess it’s a chance I’ll have to take
The state of the world, I cannot tolerate
With a burst of rage, I begin to shake
And dream of smashing the positronic brains
I make my dash across the yard
Running fast, heart pumping hard
Laser lightning all around my head
One wrong move, and I’ll be dead
Then, a stun ray hits me in the back
I can’t react to counter the attack
I fall to the ground and all goes black
REPEAT CHORUS
I awaken before a human jury-surely full of bigots and unfair types
They sentence me to a period of shrinkage,
and cast me into the main conductor of their lives
As I look around in amazement at the seemingly giant computer walls
My consciousness is slowly fading, and their appalling ignorance is all that I
recall
REPEAT CHORUS
HIDDEN TRUTHS
Hope is an illusion to keep up occupied
Dreams are just a vision toying with the mind
Love is just a dream preying on the heart
I wish I could believe, but I can’t see that far
Words are only weapons to damage our esteem
Phrases are only fire, and talk is only cheap
Reality is a nightmare from which we never wake
Rejection is the reason for my seething rage
No matter where I go, they turn me away
They couldn’t give a damn if I died today
“Just one less problem to worry about”
Well, to Hell with you, and your upturned snout
So, you think you can read me like a book?
Well, you can’t judge a person by their look
If you can’t accept me for who I am
Then I don’t think you’ll ever understand
You’ll never understand that prejudice is an ugly disgrace
It doesn’t mean you’re pretty just because you’ve got a pretty face
So take your attitude and get out of my sight
How can you stand to live with who you are inside?
THE BLACK HEART OF BUSINESS (Pt. I of The Corporate Greed Trilogy)
Kiss up to me and I’ll pay you more
Integrity will get you thrown out the door
A lack of ethics is all you need
And your success id guaranteed
The mighty dollar is my holy shrine
Money, money, money! Make it, make it, make it mine!
I don’t care that you’ve hungry mouths to feed
Without a second thought, I’ll put you in the streets!
BRIDGE
Disposable people, lackey slaves
Working to an early grave
Another day at the stone
Grinding fingers to the bone
CHORUS
The black heart of business beats on evilly
Leaving you to sink or swim in a heartless sea
You are out of mind once your out of sight
The black heart of business beats on with no life
Work ten-times faster than you can
Supply must exceed demand
An “A for effort” here is never given
One step behind means instant termination
Automation is the future key
I can’t wait to replace you with machines
Glut the market, and my pocketbook, too
The power of money is my golden rule
REPEAT BRIDGE
REPEAT CHORUS
I vacation in Jamaica, mon
Watch bikini ladies in the sand
I throw lots of wild party
Write it off on my tax
I say, I vacation in Jamaica, mon
Put my money in bank in Switzerland
I buy a night with bikini lady
Because I have no morality
REPEAT BRIDGE
REPEAT CHORUS
GHOST RIDER
He stands alone in the dusty wind of the deserted town
Ghost Rider from the past, looking for revenge
Looking for the one who took him out
Coward shot him in the back, and that was the end
But, there’s a new moon on the horizon
glowing black against a sky of white
A fire of fury has been unharnessed
The Rider rides his ride tonight
On he’s ridden, waiting for his vengeance
which now he’ll finally own
A blazing storm from beyond is brewing
the night winds are blowing so cold
CHORUS
The Ghost Rider has returned
To make you pay the price
Don’t try to hide, you can’t run
His price is your life
The Rider met his end in El Paso
ten years ago to the day
The whole town watched a his killer fled
in a timid, cowardly haste
But now, the rider has found him
feeling some hope for a hopeless cause
Then he recognizes The Rider
and all hope of hope is gone
REPEAT CHORUS
“Shoot a man in the back,
and you prove that you’ve no pride
Even in death, I retain my honor
so turn around, and let me see your eyes”
Six guns start to blazing
breaking the silence of the night
A coyote howls in the distance
The coward shakes with fright
One bullet finds its mark
and takes The Coward out
Deliverance of death from a dead man
The Rider rides into the clouds
REPEAT CHORUS
LAUGHTER’S MASK
Good evening to you all,
let me tell you a joke or two
Maybe you’ll leave here tonight
feeling a little better when I’m through
Did you hear the one about such and such?
Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that?
Sit down and stay awhile,
it’s my job to make you laugh
I too, laugh before you
so that you may not see the truth
From the world I hide my pain
and hope for it not to show through
CHORUS
The tears behind laugher’s mask stay hidden, hiding from you
I keep it all inside of me, but what else can I do
The tears behind laughter’s mask still flow, flowing nonstop
Raining sorrow deep within me so that see it you’ll not
Laugh, and the world laughs with you
Cry, and you cry alone
It’s lonely at the top, it’s no fun at he bottom
nobody wants you when you’re down
At the times you most need somebody
they don’t want you around
The mask of laughter conceals the rage
hides the tears and the spite
The only thing of which I can be certain
is that I’ll remove my mask again tonight
How long can one survive
in this hopeless state of being blue
They laugh and tease and taunt me
and forget that I have feelings too!
CRYING
Crying in the rain
I see you walk away
with another
Crying in the rain
I feel my heart break
a little longer
Crying in the dark
I feel the world fall apart
from beneath me
Crying in the dark
I hear the silence of my heart
barely beating
CHORUS:
Crying for a love long ago lost
Crying for a gone, hopeless cause
Crying for a time long ago past
Crying all my tears until the very last
Crying in the wind
I can feel the pain
all consuming
Crying in the wind
I feel it all again
fire’s burning
Crying in the night
I can feel my life
slowly fading
Crying in the night
I can feel the spite
silence raging
REPEAT CHORUS
Another innocent victim who did no wrong
I don’t care, I’ll take them along
Blind are many to my presence so near
It only makes it easier for me to take life so dear
I show no mercy, I live to see you die
I leave others behind to mourn and wonder why
I can take your life in an instant, or slowly bring on death
You come closer to my blade with each and every breath
I’m a thief of souls stealing from the Earth’s ripe vines
By the time I get to you, I will have stolen countless lives
You can’t escape me, I am always near
I am The Reaper, you’ve plenty to fear
I don’t consider things like fairness and health
I play it as it comes, your cards have been dealt
When you draw that fatal card, I won’t hesitate
I’ll take your life in a whisper on that final day
I shall one day reap the harvest of the earth
But for now, I’m content to cause sorrow and hurt
I can only laugh when over a grave you cry
I am The Reaper, now it’s your thief to die
I’m a thief of souls stealing from the vines of the earth
I have stolen countless lives, now I’ve stolen yours
You can’t escape me, I am always near
I am The Reaper, you’ve plenty to fear
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DESTROYER
Apply within, I’m sure you’ll be accepted
Giving in to feeling you want to forget
You’re turning green with envy
Green is the color of me
Accept the job, but I don’t think you can take it
You already hurt too bad to make it
You can’t live with your unfulfilled desires
Such a man, but now I’ve made you a crier
CHORUS
I’m an equal opportunity destroyer, prejudice against no one
Sadistic pain enjoyer. I lash it out, and you can’t run
Equal opportunity destroyer, you brought me to you
Now you scream with anger. Burning rage while you’re feeling blue
You’re only going nowhere, and getting there fast
It’s hard to release me, I’m your haunting past
I’m the girl you want that the other guy has
I’m your fantasy dreams driving you mad
You’re just living life in a shell now
Too lonely and lost to reach out
Another fallen victim, I’ve won another game
Now I’ll move on, the weak are all the same
NEGATIVE CHARGE (The Highest Price, Pt. III)
Digital frigidness freezing me out
Analog warmth on alternate routes
Cerebro-linking to the people of the world
Controlling their thoughts and everything they feel
Emotions fading
Morality decaying
Electric gods overtaking
Becoming cybernetic kings
Techno-tyrants taking over everything
Diminishing all my hopes of hopeful dreams
Mechanical precision completely lacking soul
Dictating only with the knowledge that they know
People staring
No one’s caring
Electric eyes are glaring
My temper is flaring
How have we come so low to this?
Why has nobody tried to resist?
Tell me, if you can, the feelings that you feel
Or, have they reprogrammed you into something human, but unreal?
Sometimes, our emotions can be our greatest flaw
But, without them, we shouldn’t be here at all
It would be nice to never cry again
But, without these feelings, we’ve no right to exist
Darkness descending, tightening its grip
Loneliness locking onto my soul, telling it to quit
Emptiness embracing me with its morbid joke
Heartache hurling me into emotional overload
Tears are streaking
My heart stops beating
My nerves stop feeling
My life stops being
THE MEASURE OF A MAN (The Highest Price, Pt. I)
“Stand up and be accounted for. But say you nothing not!
You are an easily replaceable component, so it’s best to stifle your thoughts”
“Freewill amongst the humans must be suppressed. And,
eventually…eradicated”
Here I stand, defrocked of my rights, condemned by my own society
Betrayed by my saving grace-my humanity
Rejected by the question-less fools-worshippers of the Binaries
They stare in awe and pass thoughtless judgment,
and look down their noses at me
CHORUS
Thoughts untold go on unsaid
But are still expressed in the silence
Ill-conceived and with prejudice
Their judgments are quick, and their minds are set
Who I am, not what I have
What I can do, not what I can’t
How good I live, not how bad
Is how we should size up the measure of a man
I remember well the age of advancement
and the drastic improvements in our lives
But somewhere, something went dreadfully wrong
and now, the human race might not survive
The machines had formed free thought
And had arisen to search me out
They confined me where I could be no threat
I’d give my life to see their death!
For a crime I committed not
I have been locked away to rot
Every night I lay awake
And I plot the great escape
Although, I know it would be in vain
For in an instant, I would be slain
By one of the wicked metallic beings
But I guess it’s a chance I’ll have to take
The state of the world, I cannot tolerate
With a burst of rage, I begin to shake
And dream of smashing the positronic brains
I make my dash across the yard
Running fast, heart pumping hard
Laser lightning all around my head
One wrong move, and I’ll be dead
Then, a stun ray hits me in the back
I can’t react to counter the attack
I fall to the ground and all goes black
REPEAT CHORUS
I awaken before a human jury-surely full of bigots and unfair types
They sentence me to a period of shrinkage,
and cast me into the main conductor of their lives
As I look around in amazement at the seemingly giant computer walls
My consciousness is slowly fading, and their appalling ignorance is all that I
recall
REPEAT CHORUS
HIDDEN TRUTHS
Hope is an illusion to keep up occupied
Dreams are just a vision toying with the mind
Love is just a dream preying on the heart
I wish I could believe, but I can’t see that far
Words are only weapons to damage our esteem
Phrases are only fire, and talk is only cheap
Reality is a nightmare from which we never wake
Rejection is the reason for my seething rage
No matter where I go, they turn me away
They couldn’t give a damn if I died today
“Just one less problem to worry about”
Well, to Hell with you, and your upturned snout
So, you think you can read me like a book?
Well, you can’t judge a person by their look
If you can’t accept me for who I am
Then I don’t think you’ll ever understand
You’ll never understand that prejudice is an ugly disgrace
It doesn’t mean you’re pretty just because you’ve got a pretty face
So take your attitude and get out of my sight
How can you stand to live with who you are inside?
THE BLACK HEART OF BUSINESS (Pt. I of The Corporate Greed Trilogy)
Kiss up to me and I’ll pay you more
Integrity will get you thrown out the door
A lack of ethics is all you need
And your success id guaranteed
The mighty dollar is my holy shrine
Money, money, money! Make it, make it, make it mine!
I don’t care that you’ve hungry mouths to feed
Without a second thought, I’ll put you in the streets!
BRIDGE
Disposable people, lackey slaves
Working to an early grave
Another day at the stone
Grinding fingers to the bone
CHORUS
The black heart of business beats on evilly
Leaving you to sink or swim in a heartless sea
You are out of mind once your out of sight
The black heart of business beats on with no life
Work ten-times faster than you can
Supply must exceed demand
An “A for effort” here is never given
One step behind means instant termination
Automation is the future key
I can’t wait to replace you with machines
Glut the market, and my pocketbook, too
The power of money is my golden rule
REPEAT BRIDGE
REPEAT CHORUS
I vacation in Jamaica, mon
Watch bikini ladies in the sand
I throw lots of wild party
Write it off on my tax
I say, I vacation in Jamaica, mon
Put my money in bank in Switzerland
I buy a night with bikini lady
Because I have no morality
REPEAT BRIDGE
REPEAT CHORUS
GHOST RIDER
He stands alone in the dusty wind of the deserted town
Ghost Rider from the past, looking for revenge
Looking for the one who took him out
Coward shot him in the back, and that was the end
But, there’s a new moon on the horizon
glowing black against a sky of white
A fire of fury has been unharnessed
The Rider rides his ride tonight
On he’s ridden, waiting for his vengeance
which now he’ll finally own
A blazing storm from beyond is brewing
the night winds are blowing so cold
CHORUS
The Ghost Rider has returned
To make you pay the price
Don’t try to hide, you can’t run
His price is your life
The Rider met his end in El Paso
ten years ago to the day
The whole town watched a his killer fled
in a timid, cowardly haste
But now, the rider has found him
feeling some hope for a hopeless cause
Then he recognizes The Rider
and all hope of hope is gone
REPEAT CHORUS
“Shoot a man in the back,
and you prove that you’ve no pride
Even in death, I retain my honor
so turn around, and let me see your eyes”
Six guns start to blazing
breaking the silence of the night
A coyote howls in the distance
The coward shakes with fright
One bullet finds its mark
and takes The Coward out
Deliverance of death from a dead man
The Rider rides into the clouds
REPEAT CHORUS
LAUGHTER’S MASK
Good evening to you all,
let me tell you a joke or two
Maybe you’ll leave here tonight
feeling a little better when I’m through
Did you hear the one about such and such?
Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that?
Sit down and stay awhile,
it’s my job to make you laugh
I too, laugh before you
so that you may not see the truth
From the world I hide my pain
and hope for it not to show through
CHORUS
The tears behind laugher’s mask stay hidden, hiding from you
I keep it all inside of me, but what else can I do
The tears behind laughter’s mask still flow, flowing nonstop
Raining sorrow deep within me so that see it you’ll not
Laugh, and the world laughs with you
Cry, and you cry alone
It’s lonely at the top, it’s no fun at he bottom
nobody wants you when you’re down
At the times you most need somebody
they don’t want you around
The mask of laughter conceals the rage
hides the tears and the spite
The only thing of which I can be certain
is that I’ll remove my mask again tonight
How long can one survive
in this hopeless state of being blue
They laugh and tease and taunt me
and forget that I have feelings too!
CRYING
Crying in the rain
I see you walk away
with another
Crying in the rain
I feel my heart break
a little longer
Crying in the dark
I feel the world fall apart
from beneath me
Crying in the dark
I hear the silence of my heart
barely beating
CHORUS:
Crying for a love long ago lost
Crying for a gone, hopeless cause
Crying for a time long ago past
Crying all my tears until the very last
Crying in the wind
I can feel the pain
all consuming
Crying in the wind
I feel it all again
fire’s burning
Crying in the night
I can feel my life
slowly fading
Crying in the night
I can feel the spite
silence raging
REPEAT CHORUS
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