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Threat Detector

by Chris Harris

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1.
In the darkness, I can see a flashing light a single diode, blinking red It's there to tell me everything is running right and reassure me I'm not dead Insists that I am safe without a single thought Reassurance these days can do nothing of the sort Everything I touch feels like it's likely to explode My fight or flight reflex is stuck on overload Safety and comfort are both feelings long since gone My threat detector is continuously on Every time the phone rings, I know it'll be a scam The Internet is down, or postage due How did all these people even find out who I am? And why do they believe I'll think they're true? Inbox bursts its seams from all the junk mail that I get Deleting them will give me RSI Investment opportunities, a well-endowed brunette and a virus-laden invoice from Dubai...
2.
Layers 05:48
We all hide things in our appearance From good or bad and all points in between We may not notice perseverance Not all disabilities can be seen That person you think has it easy You might find out doesn't at all Peel back a layer and expose the pain Pull back another, there's strife and strain Things we won't show to our closest friends Can't see below where the surface ends... Exterior calm and collected We don't reveal what tumult lies beneath A darkness that's never suspected A sunny disposition hides the grief Don't you think that we'd grasp every chance of happiness, given we could? Instead we feel that circumstance means we simply tell people we're good
3.
4.
Numbers Game 04:40
1 They 1 play 2 roulette 3 Don't forget 5 it's your money that 8 they're using when they raise the stakes 13 They've rigged the game for those insane profits that they make 1 Watch 1 your 2 numbers 3 See them rise 5 They can also fall 8 It's not magic, it's statistics 13 Don't be tragic; ditch the mystics or you'll lose it all 1 No 1 bread 2 is left 3 on the shelves 5 They just help themselves 8 The line they take: "let them eat cake" 1 We're 1 poor 2 Same game 3 as before: 5 They keep taking more 8 Each time we make the same mistake
5.
Unrelenting 04:43
Some days I'm bright and breezy and full of the joys of spring Some days it all seems so easy, I'm tempted to dance and sing Some days I cruise through in neutral; those days aren't what this song's about Instead it's when days get so brutal you just want to scream and shout They're like those people who go on and on though they have nothing to say and leave you wondering where your sanity's gone I wish they'd just go away. Seriously. Just give it a rest. Some days just turn up, unexpected: get out of bed, and there they are They just refuse to be rejected, ignoring all the hints I've dropped so far Some days are full of bluff and bluster telling you they want to be your friend It doesn't take them long to lose their lustre, leave you feeling that they'll never end It's not that patience is a thing I'm lacking and where goodwill is concerned, I know my stuff but my veneer of tolerance is cracking. Quite simply, I have had enough The days the cause the greatest sorrow, the ones that really make me grieve Are those that reappear tomorrow, 'cause they don't know when to leave
6.
7.
The best advice I've been given (and believe me, it's not failed me yet) is "Never argue with idiots on the Internet." If you're ever caught, the depressing fact is you'll never run short of chances to practice So full of themselves and their "ideas" and clearly desiring a fight Why let the argument drag on for years? I just smile and tell them they're right. You can't change the way that they're thinking (for thinking's a thing they don't do) If you try it will drive you to drinking 'cause they can't work a chain of thought through Head-desking will give you concussion It's pointless to fly in a rage Responding just prolongs discussion; It's simpler to never engage
8.
Instability 03:35
Crazy weather extreme heat in the nightclub on the street out of options out of time for politicians this is fine Disasters just an opportunity to make a healthy profit off the poor The rich will walk away with all that they can take The rest of us all know the score Ignoring what the public thinks Arctic melting Rising tide They still have ice for all their drinks They won't fix what they denied Watch from orbit while it burns They're not the ones It will affect I think it's time we made them learn to treat the planet with respect
9.
You might be a fascist if you read the Daily Mail or still think voting "leave" worked out okay or if your first solution when your legal cases fail is to make sure no one else can have have their say Beginning every sentence with the words "I'm sorry but..." Has fast become a sign that someone's mind is tightly shut You idolise your leader Yet to him, you're just a slave You live in chains, yet you won't wear a mask Your idea of the world is one that should be in a grave You bet I'm going to take your views to task You might be a fascist if you think offensive views are simply "standing up to tell the truth" But all your information comes from television news that's not a source that's known for showing proof You need to recognise that all the things you seek Are indications that, inside, you know that you are weak You might be a fascist if you think you're out of work 'cause immigrants have stolen what you do and not at all to do with your ability to shirk the slightest trust that's ever placed on you
10.
I'll wake up tomorrow and it will not take me long to realise I'm making the same errors that today turned out so wrong Why is it I seem to never learn from my mistakes? A flaw inside my character, or have I simply not got what it takes? I'm at the point I know what happens rather well Can't find the way out of this strange, recursive hell They say the biggest hurdle is deciding to begin That's not the problem that I've got I can't determine if the loop I'm in is one that's infinite or not Personal development has long gone by the board but simple repetition is a luxury that I cannot afford I realise that it is novelty I seek But when I contemplate achieving it it leaves me feeling weak...
11.
Confuzzled 04:53
I'm not a happy office worker It's not surprising when I read: "Sure, psychopaths are heartless bastards, but isn't that just what a business needs?" When work gets serious, the cause remains the same: the person running things thinks its some sort of game Bring in all the shiny MBAs you can afford You'll soon see all your revenues decrease I've had enough of being taken off the board It's time this pawn was left in peace They think we should be working harder so "shouting at us" just the course to take How do they get such glowing reputations when all their skills in management are fake? Tearing down what we spent decades building watching as the firm goes down the pan Don't be confused by how they stay successful; they leave before the shit has hit the fan
12.
13.
From every programme on the television, every article we read, every story on the radio we take exactly what we need We don't like a challenge To the way we see the world We pay more attention to the things that we expect and if your theory does not match our patterns, we think it's incorrect When we're exposed to information that we do not already know and it does not meet expectations, then that data has to go If you're not open to experiment, and what's unknown makes you afraid You'll go through life with an impediment It's not how learning should be played. Back in the Stone Age, it was useful it taught us what we need to fear Now too often it is turned against us, closing us down to new ideas
14.
I see my hero Boris just took scientists to task I bet he's gone and made them all irate He's finally announced that I don't have to wear a mask It's folks like him wot makes this country great (This is what we deal with) I'm galivanting out here in the open Although a massive thunderstorm is near Prime Minister says I don't need protection Prime Minister says there's nothing to fear Two fingers up to Starmer and his brothers I'll show these Covid nay-sayers what for Don't care if wearing masks is helping others 'cos selfishness is not against the law (It seems that folk are only happy when it all goes horribly wrong) And so I thought I'd go out for a ramble A storm cloud lurks directly overhead I'm sure that with my life I do not gamble if Boris says no chance I'll end up dead

about

A selection of songs written in July 2021 for the Fifty/Ninety songgwriting challenge, all recorded in my home studio.

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released August 5, 2021

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Chris Harris Bristol, UK

I'm still trying to get the music I record to sound like the version I can hear in my head. To do this I've ended up playing every instrument I can get my hands on. These days, I'm closer to "That Sound" than I used to be, but the journey continues.

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