Kansas : Drastic Measures

Symphonic Prog / USA
(1983 - Sony Music / Legacy / Epic Records)
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Lyrics

1. FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE

There's a hole in the wall
With a light shining in
And it's letting me know to get up
It's time to begin

Oh there is nothing to lose
Cause it's already lost
In a runaway world
Of confusion
I'm gonna take it

[Chorus]
That's why I fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
I don't want to lose this flamin' desire
Standing alone
In a crowded room
I can feel a chill in the air
I'm shakin'

I'm miles away
I want to cry out loud
I want to fight till the end
I won't let 'em take me alive

[Chorus]

And you know I'll fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
Cause I'm never gonna lose this flamin' desire


2. EVERYBODY'S MY FRIEND

Someone calls out my name
They ask me how I've been
So what's it like in the big time?
Will you be my friend

Have you met Mick Jagger?
Ringo, George or Paul?
Do you have my number?
Will you give me a call?

4 o'clock in the morning
I hear the telephone ring
It's the voice of a stranger saying
I like the way you sing

[Chorus]
They all want to know
Do you make a lot of money?
They all want to know
Will you change your name?
They all want to know
What's it like to be a rock star?
Everybody wants to know if they can hang around

Everybody's my friend, hello, hello
Everybody's my friend, hello, hello

Everybody wants to have a little piece of the action
Everybody wants to get into the show
Everybody falls in love with the main attraction
Everybody wants to know if they can hang around

Everybody's my friend, hello, hello
Everybody's my friend, hello, hello

Some people they that I'm changing
They say I'm not the same
But they don't understand me
There's so much more to flame

[Chorus]


3. MAINSTREAM

Overkill, have you had your fill
Come to expect it
Off the wall, too short or too tall
System rejects it
Lost the handle, what's it all been for?
Tired of trying, seeing so much more

[Chorus]
It's so predictable and everybody judges by the numbers that you're selling
Just crank 'em out on the assembly line and chart 'em higher (higher, higher)
Just keep it simple boys it's gonna be alright as long as you're inside the
Mainstream, are we moving too far away
Is it worth it if it doesn't pay
The centerline is status quo, it's
Mainstream

If you stay within the tried and true
You'll remain among the chosen few
Survive another year

The market is dead, accounts in the red
Media saturation
We're deep in a rut, the arteries cut
Sensory deprivation
Really loved it, didn't earn a cent
No one's buying your experiment

[Chorus]

For the masses in Consumerland
Give 'em everything that they demand
Survive another year

Corporate mold, packaged and sold, 16 to 30
Jobbers and racks, they're movin' in stacks
Tactics are dirty
We're in business, what else is it for?
Profit motive, welcome to the war

[Chorus]

Just be careful not to rearrange
And don't let 'em catch you getting strange
Survive another year


4. ANDI

Andi won't dance
Andi won't sing
Andi won't play
She sits in her room, hiding away, hiding away

She hasn't a friend
They think she's a boy, they leave her alone
But what they don't know
Andi has dreams, all of her own

Yea, she wants to be a lady
Can anyone see?
That's she's trapped inside a little boy's body
She's waiting
For the dream of her life
To be a lady
That's all she wants to be

[Chorus]
Andi you're not just anyone
Don't be ashamed
Open the door, don't hide away
Your dreams will awaken

Andi you're not just anyone
Don't take the blame
Though you're scared and all alone
You'll be there someday
Oh Andi, you're old enough to know
Don't ask me why
The leaves they fall down from the trees
But in the spring, they come again
Yes, they come again
Oh Andi, don't be afraid
Oh Andi

Andi can you hear me?
Will you come out on your own?

Oh the voice in the distance
Saying don't be afraid, Andi
I will make you somebody
I will make you a lady
The dream of your life
A lady, is what you will be

[Chorus]


5. GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS

Standing in line
At the usual time
With a dollar and a dime
Are you going through the motions?

Do you wear the latest style?
Can you guarantee a smile?
Won't you stop and talk awhile?
Are you going through the motions

[Chorus]
And is your day just a reflection of the day before?
Don't you ever stop and wonder if there's something more?
Do you really mean to tell me that you're satisfied?
Are you for real or are you going through the motions?

Heresay, theresay
Everything is fine
Are you running out of time?
Going through the motions

Some things never change
Easy chair, nine to five
Get ahead, stay alive
Are you going through the motions

[Chorus]

Stop and take a look around you
Don't say it isn't there
People going through the motions
Everywhere

I know it isn't easy
It gets tougher every day
But we keep going through the motions
Anyway

Going through the motions


6. GET RICH

Columbus sailed the ocean blue
To see what he would fine
With visions of another world
They said he'd lost his mind

But when he told them of the land he'd found
A land so rich with gold
To get the treasures on the other side
They left the lad of old to

[Chorus]
Get rich now
Get rich now
Get rich now
Get rich now

Napoleon thought that he could be
The ruler of it all
The things he wanted were so very big
But he was very small

They spread the word throughout the land
That he would soon be king
But his greed and pride got in the way
And he lost everything to

[Chorus]

Oh the president and the generals
Are getting ready for a war
The only thing that they don't know
Is what they're fighting for

They shine their suits of armor
And they tell us to prepare
While they take wealth and freedom
And just leave us standing there

Get rich now


7. DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE AWAY

You can take away the money
Take away the flame
Take away the things that I possess

You can take all my dreams away
The things that I need to survive
You can have it all

[Chorus]
Don't ever, don't ever take your love away
Don't ever, don't ever take your love away
Don't ever, don't ever take your love away
Don't, take your love away
Don't

The years are passing by me
Like a fast train that's here and gone
It's gone
Where they go, I just don't know

But I don't care
'Cause there's something 'round the bend
And it's waiting there for me
So don't ever take it away

'Cause nothing means a thing unless you're here
To live without your love's my only fear
I just want to let you know
I can't make it on my own

[Chorus]

Never before have I needed something so bad
I never thought I'd be willing to give up so much
The way that I feel when I look in your eyes, I want you
So don't take away what I need more than anything else

Don't take your love away


8. END OF THE AGE

When the light dies down and you blood runs cold
Then you know what you fear most is growing old
The clock winds down and the bells will toll
For the dawn that follows may require your soul

[Chorus]
Through the narrows there are few who pass
Only the chosen enter in
Seek your calling while it may be found
For the sand in the hourglass is falling
We hang in the balance one by one
Turn from you ways the voice is calling
And fear the end of the age

Now the evil deed never goes unseen
And the wisdom of your wise men is unclean
For the pride of life and the lust for gain
Is a sickness of the heart, the Mark of Cain

[Chorus]

Sword and shield, the right hand of power's
Protecting us, directing us
He'll reveal the glory that's only His own
With a fire in the sky

When the mountains fall and the heavens roar
Then the reign of man will end forevermore
And the fools who believed in their empty ways
Will be witness to a world that's set ablaze


9. INCIDENT ON A BRIDGE

It began in the underground, with visions of light and sound
The music revealing the deepest passion
Around us a river raged, still I knew that the scene was staged
Awaiting the consequence, I don't believe in accidents

[Chorus]
It's all too real, all these things we feel
As the years go by, things intensify
And I know, for each life there is a reason
And I know, for each time there is a season
Now the bridge leads on, to a brighter dawn
It's waiting for me

We were tied by a bond of fate, in our hearts we could feel the weight
Carried along by the winds of fortune
The outcome was never known, and our purpose was never shown.
'Til everything fell in place, the words on the wall we could not erase

[Chorus]

Each piece is arranged, the puzzle's complete
Victory's taste is so bittersweet
No regrets for the time that was lost
For it all comes out in the end
And the prize is worth all the tears that it cost
For the stairway you ascend

Drawing us near
It's where we belong

The world has a lot to give, but it's worthless if you don't live
And life only comes from the one who made it
When I look back and see the plan, when I retrace the race we ran
The course was so clear and true, each bridge that we crossed led me straight to you

[Chorus]

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