First Four Minutes Lyrics

Happy birthday, Brett

Lay down, what's wrong?

You're sounding too refreshed to come undone, so just play along

Look, I'm prepared to part with my possessions, make the ultimate exception

Tear the entrance down, go underground until nothing works

Nothing is forever—let me leave

Happy birthday, Brett

Write aimlessly

You'll wander past the edge of incomplete and then fall asleep

Look, I was out too long to be exhausted

Stood up too slowly to be nauseous

If it was the knife I needed I think I'd be self aware and stay unconscious

Seize control of the dream, resurrected routine, deconstruct the machine until nothing works

Nothing is forever—let me leave

Our past, a curiosity

The forest floor is in retreat

Just let me suffer enough to recover a melody

Nothing is forever—let me leave

Our past unravels elaborately

A wealth of knowledge just out of reach

Let me suffer enough to recover a melody

It goes:

Nothing is forever

When the music ends, you made some friends

You did your share

You're almost there

Happy birthday, Brett

Lay down, be calm

Are you ready to accept there's something wrong, or just move along?

Look, I'm prepared to talk through my misgivings

Roll the tape from the beginning

Attempt to redefine a quiet life as one worth truly living

But you must come alone

Stop taking notes, please listen to me closely

I cast a spell upon the mirror

I dreamt the end was drawing nearer

I brought this shame upon my family

No, please don't cross me—I'll disappear

Conjuring a strange reluctance

I'm sentimental, I'm losing focus

The weightless thoughts of the kid who cannot reminisce out of fear of being noticed

All at once, a disruption

An earthquake, a suffering

I realize I'm nothing and nothing works

Ten years older, where do I begin?

Returning to my parent's basement, holding hands beneath the blankets

Passing secrets through the train tracks

Who's tripping? Who's ballroom dancing?

We were cursed—it was perfect

We were both convinced that darkness is a path to permanence

Made special by isolation, the panic merging with vacation

You left me too many books to read and walked into the ocean

I held my breath and filled the bathtub until it overflowed

It overflowed, so I declared emergency

You drew that sunset beautifully

The band was breaking up, there was too much noise to justify

So I drove back and forth across that bridge, though I was terrified

Eventually it just seemed practical to share a bed, to share a life

Ten years older, where do I begin?

We renounced our useless innocence

It's Christmas Eve service on acid, from crooked rain to skipping classes

Then it's home again, a responsible threat

Repainting the walls before paying the rent

Soft safety net has lost its effect

Drink to distraction, a passionate mess

Across the town, needed proof, so fireworks fell on that tin roof

There was no naked crowd, apocalypse now

We communicate in excuses

I was still spinning around the artwork and album

Board up the doors and record like a thousand lies that allow for desperate nostalgia

We wrote them together, it never occurred to me

Nothing is forever and opposites are heavy

Once the basement was locked, the apartment was empty

Oh no, a different coast now

The unemployable joke of a household

It didn't matter, we laughed in the face of inaction

Free at last to greet the groundswell

Instead of settling down in accessible hell, we divided our guilt

Man, it never occurred to me

Nothing is forever and there are consequences

When the worry wears off, you return to your senses

Oh yeah, we're faceless neighbors

A problematic comparison plagues us

As jealously haunts the garage where a fire was formed

This house wasn't robbed of its charm, it was torched

We attract some stares in a crisis of character

Barely embarrassed, it never occurred to me

Nothing is forever, features slowly fading

A connection convenient can be separated

We're spiritless bodies impressively staging apologies

Honestly, never occurred to me

Nothing is forever, no one is truly crazy

We are small, we are wasting our lives hesitating

It's over, it's been over for years

I did the work and now I'm finally here

All at once, it occurs to me:

Nothing is forever

No one is necessary

No reason to give up

No reason to keep going

Happy birthday, fall asleep

Okay, let's sing:

Happy birthday, fall asleep

Slip into uncertainty

We're all somewhat lost

We've got to trust each other

We're allowed to change

Nothing is forever