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What You Hold Near

by Paul Lesinski

/
1.
Well I can see what I gotta get used to Pretty sure things will never be sane The downtrodden got the keys to the car And they’re gonna make us feel their pain Everybody’s got their own information Everybody’s got their own point of view And the one thing we all can agree on Is I know better than you I’m so tired of running So sick of being let down Let the forgotten be found And all the gunners are gunning To burn it all to the ground Let the forgotten be found And now we’re focused on a bright and shiny object Can’t see the giant hammer coming down Things are gonna look a whole lot different When we pull ourselves off the ground I’m so tired I’m putting foil on the windows They’re so wired they’re putting feet on the ground I got a notion that we gotta start moving Slip out the door without a sound I’m so tired of running So sick of being let down Let the forgotten be found And all the drummers are drumming And all the wire’s unwound Let the forgotten be found I can’t pretend this is all an illusion I can’t pretend this is not going down Binge watching the end of evolution Watch the forgotten be found
2.
Ride 03:53
Tell me secrets of your life So I can keep them for all time A desperate footprint in the cloud To share the stories as allowed To share the stories as allowed You walk through double, triple time Where there’s no reason and no rhyme I reach but I can’t touch the line That cuts the border so come ride That cuts the border so come ride Ride with me I’ll set you free I see your future and your past I saw the first, I’ll see the last I’ll tell it straight you’ve got some time So set it all down and come ride So set it down and come ride Ride with me I’ll set you free Tell me secrets of your life So I can keep them for all time A desperate footprint in the cloud To share the stories as allowed To share the stories as allowed Ride with me I’ll set you free
3.
There’s a fine line between what you let ride And what you hold near Stacked up to the ceiling of my mind You’ll never understand unless you climb It’s strange to see the difference you invent Between what I said and what I meant And what you hold near You think you know the answer but you don’t You think you’re gonna fix it but you won’t The answer to the question never asked Is right in front of each of us at last And what you hold near Those of them that matter wouldn’t mind And those of them that mind, they don’t matter When we stop making a weapon of our pride We’ll turn to see the boundaries just shatter Falling...calling... Just say what you need... What you need, what you want What you find, what you get Satellite hangs silently in space Listening for life but there’s no trace Lights are out it’s all a silent roll Dawn to dark, a rock without its soul And what you hold near
4.
Over the pass of time Easy to feel the heavy load Right there before your eyes Rocks and rivers block the road Push it off to the side Walking through water another mile The living is there inside Dying is gone for a little while When the mountain takes a life It’s known to keep it for all time Swallowing up the tide Making your peace with what’s inside Floating between the stars Spinning just like a satellite None of it is the end Bodies behind, the spirit flies So your story’s sold and told Lessened by the buy Measured wide by word and gold Drop the rope and fly Waves come like a train And there’s no way of stopping them The heaviness is your pain So long you don’t see the end Then you’re looking into the sky Something is in your line of sight It’s there and then goodbye Running away or off in flight
5.
The Movie 03:24
You get to a stage Where time wears you down You get to an age Where to win is to stay above ground We wake, we rise We live, we die We love, we learn We smolder and burn Are you too set in your ways to make it all right? Too set in your ways You’re watching the movie You’re the star of the screen Write your lines and improvise Like you mean it Your dreams never died So to make it come live You live out your lies Til the truth flows from inside Are you too set in your ways to make it all right? Too set in your ways
6.
Reaction 03:43
Machines all around me/The crush of technology Life to the prophecy/Promising to set you free Knowing what you really want/All the shit you almost got Like a chain reaction/And there’s no relaxing White noise complacency/Telling you to wait and see Quiet as a dead dog/Vapid as a blue fog Hypervating ecstasy/Coming down for you and me Like a chain reaction/From a vocal fraction Christians at the stadium/Bullpen and palladium Drowning out the white noise/Choosing when there’s no choice Driving like a freight train/Headlong into hurricane Like a chain reaction/A reappeared redaction Firing up a new feud/Working on his attitude Being what you want to be/Seeing what you want to see Supersize construction/Super fly seduction Like a chain reaction/Against a mass inaction Thinking what you won’t say/Dying to live another day Selling off your innocence/Winning with a strong defense Trouble with an upper case/Facing what you gotta face Like a chain reaction/It’s all a chain reaction
7.
Come Around 04:29
Time, don’t let it catch you sitting down Life won’t wait while you’re just spinning ‘round Like you’re crazy if you do the same old thing And think you’re gonna change, just come around round round So you see the faces through the glass Lines unwind all the time that’s passed Why, you’re crazy, spend so much time looking back Miss what’s coming fast, just come around round round Just come around round round So long ago you used to dream of what would pass So another night another Empty Glass Way back in the day you couldn’t wait Until the future was the past, just come around round round Just come around round round Well, we’re all together yet alone I can’t believe it but our hearts are full of stone I fall upon my knees it cuts me to the bone You take just what you need You become just what you feed Your heart and soul Well, it took so long to find yourself Time to put those heavy weights back on the shelf Turn the key and burn some fossil fuel that’s what you do Just yours and you, just come around round round Just come around round round Turn the key now don’t you see, your truth will set you free Just come around round round
8.
Put It Down 03:23
So… you’ve been counting up the years, yeah You know, it’s hard to swallow all your fears, yeah But you should have put it down Yeah you should have put it down oh no So… how’d they get into your mind, yeah Did you wind around the dial? Did you stumble to a smile oh no He’s everybody’s sweetheart But did he sell his soul just to play the part And you would never testify That your savior’s built on lies Well you should have put it down Yeah you could have put it down oh no Is he burning while he sings? See the wax upon his wings… Did you take a final fall? Did you overcome it all? Did you see it through the mask? Did you ever care to ask? Did you follow packs of lies? Did it make you all the wise? Through a thousand hand shook deals Never one of them was real Are you sleeping through the night? Are you giving up the fight? When your life is up in flames Now who’re you gonna blame? Well you should have put it down See the fire jump the line Must have missed on all the signs Well you could have put it down
9.
Echo Time 06:49
Sit you down, sit you down, sit you down Don’t be paranoid Look around, up and down Don’t you think that we had a choice? Every day bit by bit all that I knew was taken away …every day So settle down sit you down Watch things swing the other way Not alone, not alone It’s the curse of technology Everyone’s just the same Every one of them just like me So we let our guard down Soon enough it’s all echo time I believe what I want to believe Is that such a crime? Heading out to the country Where I know that I’ll be good Disconnected but for all my family And all that’s good While the oceans are filling with glitter Well, I’ll be fine I can throw any blame any way Except if it’s mine
10.
Hey man - say what you will Come out and play man Come get your fill And when you feel it It’s not like you’d steal it You better brace for the bill Well now you’re saying You got what you need Got what you asked for To make them all see But when your healing Ah when it comes with the dealin Ah well, you reap what you feed So now I’m asking Where will go go? When it’s all over And it’s the end of the show ‘Cause when the sun goes down Down on the remains of your town Well only then will you know Well, so hey man Thanks for the change Ah well, so say man Such a great show on a stage Well while we’re watching the show Behind the curtain you know They put us all in a cage
11.
Well I can see what I gotta get used to Pretty sure things will never be sane The downtrodden got the keys to the car And they’re gonna make us feel their pain Everybody’s got their own information Everybody’s got their own point of view And the one thing we all can agree on Is I know better than you I’m so tired of running So sick of being let down Let the forgotten be found And all the gunners are gunning To burn it all to the ground Let the forgotten be found And now we’re focused on a bright and shiny object Can’t see the giant hammer coming down Things are gonna look a whole lot different When we pull ourselves off the ground I’m so tired I’m putting foil on the windows They’re so wired they’re putting feet on the ground I got a notion that we gotta start moving Slip out the door without a sound I’m so tired of running So sick of being let down Let the forgotten be found And all the drummers are drumming And all the wire’s unwound Let the forgotten be found I can’t pretend this is all an illusion I can’t pretend this is not going down Binge watching the end of evolution Watch the forgotten be found

about

We are living through unsettling times.
 
And even though these songs were written and recorded over the past two years, I think they resonate with what is happening today in the world. I chose to call the album What You Hold Near because at the core of things, we draw strength from our families, friends and those people and things we choose to hold nearest to our hearts.
 
In difficult times, music has always powered me through. I hope it is not too presumptuous to suggest that these songs can offer opportunities to escape, reflect or to just rock out to.
 
Thanks to my bandmates David Kendall and Mike Budd, who brought these songs to life. Thanks to those who I hold near, especially my beautiful wife and children. May we all emerge on the other side stronger and wiser.
 
Paul Lesinski
July 2020

credits

released July 17, 2020

Paul Lesinski - vocals, guitar, keyboards
Mike Budd - bass
David Kendall - drums, vocals

Dustin Lanker - all keyboards on Come Around
Jack Schunk - horns on Sold and Told

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about

Paul Lesinski

Paul’s music is a fusion of genres, blending the raw power of classic rock with hints of progressive rock that captivates listeners and takes them on a sonic journey.

Lyrically, Paul reflects the era and concerns of his audience, whether reveling in the opportunity to be the best version of yourself, to lamenting the fractured state of political and social connection.
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