Get all 7 The Submensas releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Rock Against Reality, Death is a Beach, Wearing Asbestos, Anarchy Love, Honesty is the Best Policy, Dead Shit in the Sky - Live 2020, and Trading Cards of Glory.
1. |
Submensas Song
03:02
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THE SUBMENSAS SONG
You know, I never saw a war
Nor a casualty,
Yet I know what rubble is
and what a corpse must be . . .
(I read it in the paper somewhere!)
Now, isn’t that stupid?
It’s just so stupid.
I ask God, are we Stupid?
We’re Submensas
We’re Submensas
We’re only Submensas.
Twisting spasms in orgies go
Round and round the dance floors so
I don’t know up, I don’t know down
I just crease my mouth and frown
(I hope it doesn’t freeze that way!)
Now, isn’t that stupid?
It’s just so stupid.
I ask God are we stupid . . .
We’re Submensas
We’re Submensas
We’re just
Submensas
You know I wanna run away with you!
I want to patch the world together with glue!
I want to do it, but I can’t see
Why I can’t believe in me . . .
(And that’s the way it feels
sometimes in the rain,
in the dark,
or when I’m all alone.)
Now, isn’t that stupid?
It’s oh, so stupid
I ask God, are we stupid?
We’re Submensas
Under the Lord
Under the altar
Under the table
Of control
We’re trapped
We’re trapped
There’s just one word:
inferior.
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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2. |
Death is a Beach
02:46
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DEATH IS A BEACH
They lift their legs high
To avoid the rip tide
But the going is slow
And when they look back
They see the huge wave
They see the rip tide
Descending and drenching
And sucking them in
And leaving them shiver —
Splintered generations
Roar past their heads
And in their eyes
And they start itching
Itching over and over
Little teensy slivers
Wind their way inside
And clog their tubes . . .
As they pick
and choose.
And so
Majestic
Black stream
Seizure
Starts
To clean
Their bones
And they’re
Too tired
Too tired
for the
playground
And so
They lay down
They lay down.
In the coral reefs
Full of cultural barnacles
With the layers peeling
With their life exposed
And they look back
And they see the huge wave
They see the rip tide
They see the rip -
tide.
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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3. |
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HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
Rain, Rain, Rain
The rain washed me down
The drain swallowed me up
I’m getting sucked through this sewer of life
And it’s a tunnel of love.
Flame, Flame, Flame
The bridge caught on fire
Now I can’t return
I look for a sign
while I watch it burn -
Blame, Blame, Blame
Was I talking to you?
Are you talking to me?
Nobody’s listening;
There’s only one way to be . . .
Honesty . . . is the best policy. (repeat as necessary)
Don’t // let // them tell you
That love’s too good to be true.
Because I know and I’ve tried
and I know and I’ve tried
And I know that
love is true.
Now, it may be too good,
It may be too good for you.
But love is true
And honesty is the best policy —
Culture wars! (Honesty!)
Climate Change! (Honesty!)
Military-Industrial Complex! (Honesty!)
Propaganda! (Honesty!)
Fake news! (Honesty!)
Plastic Seas! (Honesty!)
Human rights! (Honesty!)
Everything! (Honesty!)
Take it home
When you’re all alone
Store it in a cache,
A secret stash
that will always last.
Honesty —
Take it home
When you’re all alone
Put it in a stash
It will always last
It’s all we got
It’s all we have
You can’t stop the rain
You can’t tame the flames
You can’t break the hate
But let there be no debate.
Honesty is the best policy.
(C) Damon Norko 2020
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4. |
Wearing Asbestos
04:53
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WEARING ASBESTOS
On Main Street, I was roasted,
In the ghetto I was toasted-
In suburbia, I got fried-
When I heard somebody lie-
It's an eruption of corruption
A conflagration of debasement
An explosion of corrosion
. . . and I forgot to avert my eyes!
In the subway, I got seared,
When a woman screamed in my ear-
At the Olympics, I was scorched
When the terrorists stole the torch-
Tortured eruptions of corruption
Conflagrations of debasement
Explosions of corrosion
. . . don't forget to avert your eyes-
Or you'll go blind!
I see a young boy, getting beaten-
I see a psycho getting treatment,
I see dystopia -I see no justice-
You are all wearing asbestos.
Wearing asbestos, wearing asbestos -
Does your asbestos itch?
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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5. |
Barbed Wire
02:34
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BARBED WIRE
O, scar-faced earth, we embrace thee,
You, too, have been changed by our history,
We drill a hole in your virgin skin,
We need a place to put our waste in.
We adorn it with our ugly tinsel,
That knotted wire that designates Hell-
O, wear our puny baubles well,
We need your face for our insidious jail!
Amidst the turmoil of a boiling war,
The stern-faced heroes aren't human no more,
Barbed wire creeps all along the ground,
Watching the people as they all fall down,
Fooled by another of the useless lies,
"These barbed wire walls will protect our lives!"
Those barbed wire walls are a clever disguise-
They hide the stupid reasons why the people die!
America has a hidden site
Where secret workers are at work all night
Making machines of awesome destruction,
Barbed wire rules this grave construction-
Barbed wire, bright and shiny new-
Barbed wire keeps those secrets from you-
Keeps you warm, keeps you quiet
Keeps you fed so you won't riot-
Keeps you happy, well and clean-
Keeps you stupid, if you know what I mean-
It's not war, it's slavery-
Barbed wire rules your destiny-
Cut the wires.
The Border Wall, that scar of scars
Splits the world between two stars,
Warm pools of blood they glistened still
From every guard-tower free kill-
The missiles in their silos lay
Waiting for that fateful day . . .
Those barbed wire walls
They built for you
Are stealing the world
Away from you!
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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6. |
Rock Against Reality
03:56
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ROCK AGAINST REALITY
Reality is like a National Park,
That everyone's trying to carve into one's own backyard,
And the Popes of every playground are hawking tiny rocks:
Splinters of the mega-fortress of 20th Century Fox . . .
Fifty million Rambos are gnawing at the seam,
Gulping Armageddon caviar, having strange dreams,
Of faces, faces, everywhere, like crosses-
And crosses, crosses, everywhere like faces-
Rock, rock, rock against reality!
I saw an ancient tampon, but it wasn't
It was a dead snake's head, it was red
And I saw the cosmetic cosmo of a sperm-drenched condom
Consumed by roaches as the worshipers watched-
Rock, rock, rock against reality!
I'm so thirsty, I'm dreaming of [current poster icon]
A gigantic erection engulfing their posters-
And I plunged into the void, and I fell asleep when I came,
And I woke up, smashed, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon!
Rock, rock, rock against reality!
First you were a skyscraper, reaching for the stars-
Then you became a hood ornament on the front of many cars.
Hey! Get your maidenhead out of my mausoleum!
You're breaking your hymen all over my altar!
Rock, rock, rock against reality!
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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7. |
Godzilla's Gift of Life
02:01
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GODZILLA'S GIFT OF LIFE
Godzilla is alive and well
And dressed like a born-again Christian
Therefore, I've been through heaven
And been through hell,
and I've been through
things like Christmas
I've have the good and bad,
But he's the best that I've ever had.
The tinsel is all around,
The monster's in the corner
Of our old, crusty eyes
That squint
just like
Clint Eastwood
And we get real lonely, and we get real sad
And we keep on living in the distant past.
We've had Pink Floyd, we've had Punk Rock,
And we've shared thousand beat veins,
But the arteries of artistic expression
Are clogged with fatty antibodies . . .
I want to slash them, I want to rip them wide open
And fuck my very own tears
But it wouldn't do much good,
Because I'm under Godzilla's foot.
Yet the struggle keeps me alive.
(C) Damon Norko 1987, 2020
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8. |
Virgin Junkie in America
03:09
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VIRGIN JUNKIE IN AMERICA
The virgin junkie pawed through the ashes of the past
In the mega-mausoleum, she is sinking down
Down, down, down, to her knobby knees
You can hear her thirsty pleas, thirsty pleas-
Her man is coming for his scooby-due
The naked steel is a'ripping through leather
And the pain in the loins with the pink glue oozing
He goes soft, and he can hear her prayer:
Won't you please? Won't you please -
She sucks phlegm from gnarled , ancient Indians!
Doing rain dances on televisions,
Washing out their eyes, man, with Heaven's popped hymen;
You can hear her, you can hear her crying-
Won't you please? Won't you please-Addict me.
I have seen her fleeing from those martian ulcers,
Her karmic debts are sealed in saline seams,
Only a hole in the head still open,
Like a secret attic, addicted to breezes-
And while trying to insulate her head,
She fell in love with fiberglass
Just like the candy they feed the children
in Disneyland.
And the children grow fat, and bloat the borders,
And the borders are burning everywhere;
I can see her crinkle and twist
As we expand.
So give it up, now.
Give it up you Gummy Sacrificial Lamb!
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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9. |
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GROW SUICIDALLY BEAUTIFUL
You're the one I'm thinking of
Because you deny all love
Fragment of ice age chill in head
Emotions melt and we're annointed
Grow. Grow. Grow,
Your're the one I'm thinking of
Because you deny all love
Segment epics and study them
Squeezing beauty in slinky revolutions
Grow. Grow. Grow,
Grow suicidally beautiful
You're the one I'm thinking of
Now a cool expert on love
Either death tolls or wedding bells
Clutch in the dark leaves behind marks
Grow. Grow. Grow,
Grow suicidally beautiful.
Ok, Ok. Ok, Ok.
Ok. Grow.
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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10. |
Anarchy Love
04:39
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ANARCHY LOVE
We were swinging round and round
We were partners, nowhere bound
And now I can’t remember when it last was . . .
It was oh, so long ago . . .
Every two or three lives
We run into each other
And we lie awake together
Feeling dawn . . . a decade away.
We were wandering in the rain
We were living day to day.
We escaped those lonely cloudbursts
For a stomping storm parade
My pillow smells like oceans
And I’m tired of emotions
And so I bow and let myself go
Giving way . . . to anarchy
Anarchy love
Too much history has
Conspired against me and
Now it’s time, now it’s time for
Now it’s time
for me to be free
You know I want something
You can tell by the way I sing
I want that kind of love that
That songs can never bring
Anarchy love
Anarchy love,
Talking about freedom
Freedom and love
It’s anarchy . . .
(C) Damon Norko 1983, 2020
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11. |
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I LEFT MY HEART IN GARBAGE
I stepped out of my house
I looked down upon the sidewalk
And I saw . . . trash. Garbage.
Everywhere I look
I see that same stuff-
I look in the sky above,
I see the choking gray clouds
Above the city . . . it's garbage.
Garbage, garbage, garbage-
I even know
Deep, deep down in my brain
There's garbage.
You can't get away from it,
It's all around us-
On the top of a mountain in the
Amazon rain forest,
You'll find garbage.
Garbage.
Garbage North,
Garbage South,
Garbage in my nose
Garbage in my mouth
Garbage up my ass
Garbage in my ears
Garbage accumulated all these years-
Whatever happened to yesterday's dreams?
Why aren't you what you seem?
Look real pretty nice and cute
Talking garbage like f**king puke-
Garbage-
Garbage East,
Garbage West
Garbage in my girl-
Garbage in my bed-
Garbage in my lungs
Garbage in my head-
Garbage makes me dead.
I hate all the pretty sounds
Fit for garbage dumping sounds
Garage garbage makes me cope
And some stupid garbage dope-
Garbage-
Everything is beautiful*
In it's own way
Life is full of summer nights
And winter days
There are none so blind*
As those who cannot see
We must changes our minds
And let our hearts be free
Sing it children
Sing it in the garbage.
You can't escape it,
Not when it's in your head-
This garbage
Makes me dead.
Dead.
(c) Damon Norko 1984, 2020
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12. |
Go Away From Baltimore
11:50
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GO AWAY FROM BALTIMORE
1. I woke up this morning,
and everything’s changed.
I look around at all of the people
and they’re not the same.
They’re hollow eyes look past me
Nobody says “excuse me”
It’s like I’m not even there
But now I am aware . . .
I’m beginning to see.
I’m beginning to see.
2. I woke up this morning
And forgot my name
I search all over social media
But I’ve been erased.
I thought it must be me.
Maybe I’m losing my mind
But the more I see things change
The more I begin to believe
That it’s not me.
It’s everyone else.
Want to know what I know?
ok, here we go …
3. There are no people in Lexington Market.
There are no people at the Inner Harbor.
There are no people in City Hall
There’s no one left at all.
And no one wins the lottery
And no one picks up the trash.
And there’s no one in the parks
especially after dark.
4. They’ve been replaced!
You can see it in their face — look at their eyes ….
5. And the planes fly over the stadiums
And the air is coded red
And the newspapers are all gone
And the whole place smells like bread
And the subway lines run nowhere
And I can’t find a job anywhere
And there’s brand new townhouses everywhere:
Who lives there?
6. They’ve been replaced!
You can see it in their face-
see their eyes? Full of lies!
A conspiracy.
7. I am not sure
how much longer I have
When you know what it is that they do,
they call you a threat.
So before they come for me
before I disappear
I have a warning for you
that you’d better hear,
that you’d better believe.
O, please. Believe.
8 You have to go
You have to leave
Go away
Stay away
Go away from Baltimore.
There’s no time for fooling around any more.
It’s your life (repeat)
9. Don’t worry about your home
Don’t worry about your car
Don’t worry about your job
Don’t worry about being paid
It’s your life
Don’t forward your mail
Stop going to the the bars
There’s no time for fooling around
Don’t even try to get laid
It’s your life
10. Don’t worry about your dog
Don’t worry about your cat
They’ve already been replaced
You can be sure of that —
Throw out your credit cards
Get rid of all your keys
Make sure to cover your eyes
Don’t ever let them see —
You’d better believe
Oh please, believe!
11. There’s no time for fooling around anymore.
You have to go
You have to leave
Go away
Stay away
Go away from Baltimore.
Repeat verse 1 & 2
12. What’s in the planes?
What’s in the drains?
What’s in the water?
I think it’s someone’s daughter:
A victim of the slaughter.
I guess someone forgot her.
Don’t you see?
That could be you
Or it could be me.
13. go away/stay away/fade away
14. I woke up this morning,
and everything’s changed.
I look around at a brand new city.
with a brand new name.
(C) Damon Norko 2020
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The Submensas Baltimore, Maryland
A Damon Norko lyric-fueled rock band that inhabited the Baltimore-Washington area from 1983-93. UPDATE: The Submensas have recently reformed and are playing gigs and have recorded their first album in 30 years!
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