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LEARN (1985)

1. Backstab
2. When I Think
3. Gray
4. The Pain
5. Learn
6. Complain, Complain
7. The Price We Pay
8. [Notes]

BACKSTAB

Every single time I turn my back
I seem to come under your word attack

Maybe if you'd stop stabbing, you'd learn
Than you wouldn't receive it in return
It seems like every thing you say
Changes every other fucking day

And it doesn't seem to matter to you
If anything you say is true

Backstab

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WHEN I THINK

My experience is slim, and my knowledge is small
Sometimes I think I know nothing at all
And I reason, "If I know so little, who am I to say
Why the world is, and why it is this way?"

But then I think, I look really hard
I try to find
What I know
I look deep down inside my head
I search to find
What I know

I know I want to be free
I know I want to live
I know I want the truth
I know I must give
I know to be free
I know I have chosen a light
It may not be anyone else's
But I still search for what is right
That's what I know

And that's what I know and I know...

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GRAY

Not everything in life will be so easily divided
Into black and white, then quickly decided
The world is not a simple math problem
No thought and five seconds all that takes to solve it

It's the color of truth
The color is gray

A little extra thought
And a look to both sides
Maybe we finally figure out
What's really fuckin' right

It's propaganda if it gives you the black and the white
Like who are your friends and who you must fight
The idealism of my youth has been darkened by the truth
And I have come to the day, I've realized
A lot of my life is gray
It's gray

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THE PAIN

Can we really feel it?
The screaming pain
Of the tortured millions
With forgotten names
All of our trials, worries and fear
Seem so petty when compared to theirs

And yet my pain feels real enough

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LEARN

I look at what has changed
In a way, it's just the same
This still means something to me
And I try to make my ideals reality

I'm gonna learn

Was all that we said and we sung
Just silly adolescent fantasies?
Well, maybe some of them were
But I know that I still believe

Yeah, I believe

And what has happened to the rest?
They've drifted away, was it for the best?
And what will happen when it's our turn?
We'll look at their mistakes and learn

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COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN

Life's so hard and you have it rough
Your mother's so mean and it's all so tough
But you gotta remember it's not yet that bad
You gotta remember what you have

Complain and whine
Scream and shout
But do you really know what you're talking about?

We know you have problems
'Cause we have them too
You have to search around to see
What's really killing you
Look around you
And see where you stand
Look at the situation and try
To understand

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THE PRICE WE PAY

The tumors, the illness and the growths
Those things are our price
An economy of careless industry
It's how we make a living but it's killing me

The price that we pay
Is it too high?

What is the price
Of your acceptance?
To be contorted scarred and burned
What do you know? Have I learned

For every single choice we make entails a sacrifice
And for that, we must pay some sort of price
But when the price is always pollution and pain
Do you know what you're doing? To me it seems insane

Is the price too high?
Yes

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[NOTES]

Christopher Jones-vocals
Pete Chramiec-guitars
Dylan Roy-bass
Nick Barbato-drums

Backing vocals by Verbal Assault and Ian MacKaye

All lyrics by Jones
All music by Verbal Assault

Recorded at Inner Ear Studios November 30, 1985
Produced by Verbal Assault and Ian MacKaye
Engineered by Don Zientara

A big special thanks to the people who made this record possible:
Kevin & Positive Force, Ian, Don, Carolyn, Marky and Pete's Dad!
Also: Doug Caron (Pied Piper Productions)

There have been many people though these years who have provided invaluable assistance to us, and to the scene. You all know who you are, and you also know that our sincere love and thanks go with you.

Most of all, we would like to thank those who come to the shows, buy records and fanzines, encourage the bands and just get involved. None of this is possible without you.

Keep pushing, questioning and communicating. That's what it's all about.

-Verbal Assault

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