>>introduction

packed full of politics and love poems, this album documents the hallmarks of set aside's first two years as a band.  recently re-released on cd format, this album features three previously unreleased songs which were not included on the cassette version.

*proceeds from this album donated to the interval house for battered women.

>>track listing

01. nine months 'til morning (because it'll take forever for this night to end)
02. better days/turns away
03. scarecrow
04. would you like fries with that?
05. family traits
06. nazijock
07. untitled
08. assimilation nation
09. a humane ending?

>>lyrics

better days

a violent rage in the streets today,
bystanders shot as they ran away.
a final cry to god they pray,
these out of control youths must pay.

why can't we just think ahead
before we all wind up dead?
when will we change our ways?
when will we see better days?

a lack of order, a world of dismay,
hatred clouds every word we say.
these bloodstained streets are here to stay,
were we destined to live this way?



turns away

well i don't know what to do
but i guess i should make my move.
get up the nerve and fucking try
before she's with another guy.

i don't know what to say
and i guess that i'm a bore.
she just turns away,
walks right through the door.

why the fuck am i so shy,
so scared i could fucking die.
she doesn't even look at me
but i know we were meant to be.



scarecrow

crucified, forgotten, a scarecrow lashed to a fence.  we closed our eyes in silence to let this crime commence.  his face covered in blood, his clothes stained, except where tears washed it away.

heartless, fear, burning from a black hole.  hatred gnaws away at empty violent souls.  they destroy what they cannot understand, remove this mentality of what it means to be a man.

twisted, book of lies, book of hate.  blinded never question what they advocate.  ignorance is the light they reach but whatever happened to the love they were supposed to preach?

and the gay soon keeps living in fear,
beaten by the broken myth of manhood.
forced into a prison of concealment
and deemed criminal by his heart.

would you like fries with that?

a child born into this world with little chance of hope.  corruption, greed, lies, and hate how will he ever cope?  a family overwhelmed with debt no chance to break free, destined to stay the way they are a choice made by society.

how can we sit back and let them control our lives?  we try to get our voices heard but they won't compromise.  our futures have been decided by those watching from above, exploiting the public for the money that they love.

growing up as a child he was always very bright but his families financial constraints kept university out of sight.  a waste of talent, a waste of time, a restriction that shouldn't be.  they just keep rising tuition costs so much for equal opportunity.

and now it's time to find a job and look through the want ads.  nothing more than minimum wage a future set to be just like his dad's.  there's no escape from this cycle and that's the way they want it to be because someone has to be a slave in their capitalist economy.



family traits

nineteen years ago your feelings of inner hatred gradually began to grow.  socially you were fine but guilt stricken angst can be repressed for only a time.  cowering in your room, avoiding the sight of your mother beaten black and blue.  for everytime he raised his hand you were programmed on what you thought was how to be a man.

violence in our homes, everyday, it's the only way that he learns to hide his fear by drinking twenty beer.  he gets home and makes a fist, he calls his wife a "bitch", will he learn to refrain?  his wife bleeding in.

and now you're all grown up.  power, authority, the father you try to show up.  your life is filled with stress, big company pressure is breathing down your neck.  your wife's a "stupid whore".  you slap her across the face as you kick her to the floor.  when will you fucking learn?  your violent actions do nothing to stop your inner hurt.



nazijock

you're a homophobe but they're just different than you.  you're superior to women so you tell them what to do.  you say that other races are all a bunch of waste but take a good look at you, you're a fucking disgrace.

what if we were all the same?
wouldn't this world be fucking lame.
time to end hate like we know we should.
smash the nazis for once and for good.

you rape innocent women when they don't like you.  you fight with everybody who doesn't agree with you.  you think you're fucking cool but you're just a jerk.  nazijocks get out of here your thinking will never work.



untitled

fuck you, i will never forget you.
fuck you, i will never forgive you.

defiant fist punches the air where hatred and control once stood.  how could this have happened?  what did i do?  he just never understood the meaning of no.

the pain was of me,
i think of it everyday.
now i'm scarred,
you knew it was wrong.
how much can i take?
you won't get away.
i will persevere
because i am strong.

he watches me with malevolent eyes, through the faces of strangers, through the touch of those that i love.  and i cannot escape him but i wipe these tears from my eyes.



assimilation nation

this is an assimilation nation,
one that takes away our rights.
where profits are ahead of people
and those people have to be the same.

think of the lubicon and the land they shared,
their recourses they used to survive.
and when oil was discovered there
the government stole it for their gain.

traditions are destroyed in the face of capitalism
and the people are governed by institutionalized racism,
where were the promises of freedom
and the assurance of safety and land?

this is an assimilation nation,
one that destroys language and ceremony.
and where the young are brainwashed
with needles of oppression.

think of the religiously controlled residential schools
and the pain of families ripped apart.
the children's lost identities
and entered cycles of abuse.

this spirit moves me,
my body brings me down.



a humane ending?

violated, intimidated, mutilated, suffocated.  exploitation, degradation, separation, castration.  incarcerated, humiliated, rejected, decapitated.  a humane ending?