Salmonella Rex songs

Rebound kicks off the album in true Rex fashion--hard rock with more lyrics than you can shake a stick at. This was the first song recorded and mixed for the album and features all members on their main instruments.

I used to be the man of steel, but it looks like all the power went to my head
The tap is dry, and now I feel as if my hands are made out of lead
Can't see up the mountain 'cause there's clouds at the top
Body's paralyzed, but my eyes won't stop moving round
But it ain't hard to see that the cape lies in tatters
and the feeling is dead as a dream

Don't care if it wears me out
Don't care if I lose my way
Don't care if I miss the birds
I'll take a rebound any day
They can wait
It's only stuff I've seen
Why don't you keep me up late
Why don't you say what you mean

I used to be the main of steel, with an iron resolve and a heart of stone
That time is over now, and I feel my feet turn into rubber and my chest into foam
Gotta keep on--can't let them see that all they
have to do is run and they'll catch up to me in no time
Gotta feed the illusion, and they'll know to stay away
when they hear the sound of my name

So I guess I'll move on, can't stay here forever
People get to talking and you know what they say--
You may like the night, and the night is all right
But to see another night you gotta live through the day
Lay down the cape, stay away from the skies
If you look up it'll burn out your eyes
'Cause the night fades fast, it's not made to last
But the hardest part is watching the stars fade away and away

Watch the stars fade away
Watch the stars fade away

2. The Hills (Finley)

Of all the songs here, The Hills is the oldest, dating back to some time in early 2006. The lineup here is mostly the same as normal, except with Greg playing the 12-string electric heard briefly in the beginning.

Alive and already running
Breathe, you're invincible now
Ambition and I will guide you through all of the tests in your life
We'll point the way
We'll show you how

The dove cries only in mourning
The owl cries only at night
The hills must cover their secrets
What's done is done
What's right is right

The rush comes swirling in sideways
The flood swells up from the bottom
Fight, and you will be conquered
Do nothing, and you'll be forgotten

And when you hear the knocking
And fall down to your knee
You'd better pray, you pray your little red heart out
It won't be me
Pray it ain't me

3. All of This Time (Finley/Plaisance)

Another straight-ahead, high-energy rock song, this time with a more political charge. Fewer keys (recorded on the FatMan this time), but more harmonies, and a bridge.

I got a voice, but I don't know how to use it
I got a choice, but I know I'll only lose it
It doesn't matter what I say
I'm not invited anyway, 'cause to them
I'm just a name

I got a voice, but it's quickly drying out
I try to sing, but I can only shout
Thoughts get tangled up in my hair
Run in circles, and go nowhere but up
And vanish in the air

I can't trust myself, but I believe them even less
Between the world and me, which one is a bigger mess?
Nothing will change, whatever I seem to do
And all of this time, all that I feared was true

What do I do, now that my voice is dead?
Let's get together and bash their puny heads
It's not a problem with authority,
I'm just one of the majority who knows
What a voice is for

And now confirms my fear
As the end draws near,
It's as if I never knew you at all
What can I do?
I never thought I'd outlive you,
But all this time you've been dying before my eyes

4. Isabelle (Garber)

One of the last Salmonella Rex songs to be introduced live, Isabelle sees Josh and Jeff switching instruments. Jeff also sings harmonies on the chorus. Synth sounds are made on the FatMan.

Hey Isabelle
Girl I want to get to know you well
Hey Isabelle
You put me right in my own little hell
I wish I could believe your disarming smile
When you look right up in my eyes
Lately I've been thinking you're on the edge
But hey babe--so am I
Hey Isabelle
What are we gonna do with ourselves
Hey Isabelle
You always kissing but you never tell
When you gonna stop and take a breath
And come back to what you know is right
I say what I know 'cause I know what I say
And I'm ending up high and dry

Hey hey, I just wanna be your star

Hey Isabelle
I'll always be under your sick little spell
Hey Isabelle
I just want to let you know I ain't taking this well
I'm letting it all go straight to my head
And you know how these things go
Sometimes you feel so high up above
And others you feel down below

5. Eyes Ahead (Finley)

Only two members of the band appear on this recording--Greg takes the acoustic guitar and harmonica while Jeff plays the guitar solo. Jeff's twangy sound was accomplished by simultaneously recording an amp and the sound of the strings themselves.

Looking back, I'm not sure anymore
Suddenly, I'm not sure anymore
And though it seemed good at the time,
six hundred fifty down the line
I can't be sure
What I see now I must have missed before
Something here I must have missed before
And I've caught myself dreamin'
up things that used to seem insane
Now they're not so bad

No one means the world to me
Nothing is all I see
Miles and miles of empty all around
So eyes ahead and don't be shy
A nation waits to pass us by
and we'll be out before the day is through

What happened to the one I left behind
What happened to the one I left behind?
Where is he, the one who knew you?
Does he mean nothing to you now?
He ought to know

Could be I've no choice in this at all
Maybe I've no choice in this at all
Look there, the river flowing
Where else could it be going to
besides the sea
But I owe it to myself to make a stand
I owe it to myself to make a stand
What would the world come to
if I did whatever I want to instead
Singing in my head

We'll be out before the day is through
Within a day or two
Before your life is through

6. Moonshine Mary (Garber)

Josh handles rhythm guitar on this tune, while jeff plays leads and bass. The distorted keyboard sound is a Rhodes simulation run through Jeff's guitar amp.

Moonshine Mary sings the blues
Baby baby baby she's watching over you
I been spending a little too much time with you
Oh Moonshine Mary, you got me, and I got you
I got you babe

Moonshine Mary, where have you gone?
I'm only itching for one little drop
All the crazy things, won't you make them stop
Oh Moonshine Mary, what am I supposed to do
What do I do babe

Yeah Moonshine Mary went to town
Some other boy told them she fool around
Well now they only
They only put her down
Oh Moonshine Mary, the only one for me is you
It's only you babe

Yeah Moonshine Mary, take me to your lair
Take me out there, and Mary if you dare
I think I can find a little heaven there
Oh Moonshine Mary, oh Mary Mary
All I need is you

7. Ĉiam Estos la Lun' (Finley)

This was the last song the Rex implemented live, and was only played twice. The synth sound is a software Minimoog emulation, and the vocal sounds are made by singing in Esperanto.

Se la mondo eksplodus per fajr' kaj fort'
Kaj mi flugus rekte al la lun'
Ĉu vi venus kun mi en mia kosmoŝip'
Ĉu ĝi gravus al vi, ĉu ĝi gravus al vi
Se la morgaŭ kiun ni atendis jam longe
Neniam alvenos iel ajn
Ĉu vi dancus kun mi en la estontec'
Ĉu ĝi gravus al vi, ĉu ĝi gravas al vi
Pri io, ke la suno falas
Neniam viziti denove
Nur memoru, ke nia amiko estis li!

Se la tero sub la piedoj
Malaperus kiel falsa fantom'
Ĉu vi forgesus graviton kaj flugus en ĉiel'
Kiel fiŝo ĵetita per ond'
Se okazos, ke ĉiu promes'
Kiun ni kredis dum tuta la viv'
En la manoj mem iĝos polvo
Ĉu ĝi gravus al vi, ĉu ĝi gravas al vi
Ke io de la dolĉa memoro
Restos ĉiam en la menso
Ne forgesu, ke ĉiam estos la lun'!

Se la imago kiun vi sonĝas
ŝanĝas formon antaŭ la vid'
Ĉu vi scios kiam vekiĝi
Kaj forlasi la timon por rid'?
Se la morgaŭ kiun ni atendis jam longe
Neniam alvenos iel ajn
Ĉu vi dancus en necerta estontec'
Ĉu ĝi gravus al vi, ĉu ĝi gravas al vi
Ke io de la dolĉa memoro
Restos ĉiam en la menso
Ne forgesu, ke ĉiam estos la lun'!

8. Space Glove Blues (Garber)

Originally an instrumental, Space Glove Blues became the Rex's bold contribution to ambient space rock. There is no bass guitar on this recording--it's all handled through the low-register organ. Josh plays rhythm guitar, and Jeff plays leads.

I once let myself float away
On the currents of outer space
He told me I wander too far
And stumble right into the dark
He unlocked the door, he gave me the key
And set me loose in my dreams
But he gave me the choice, and I used my voice
To choose the way of the free

9. Sand (Finley)

All instruments here are standard; the keys are almost nonexistent, appearing only as a brief sound effect before the last verse (played on a Juno 106). Jeff plays the intro on a plywood Kramer.

I want to go home
Sneak on the next plane out
Or feign a broken leg or an ulcer
And go retire
I've had enough
I can't look at sand no more
One more dust storm and I'm gonna lose it
And open fire
This time I won't care who's in my way
I've missed on purpose for the last time today

It doesn't take two eyes to even see
That the ship we're on is steadily sinking
Ol' cap's been drinking
(Drinking us all dumb)
The decks are flooding up
And water rushes around every corner
What were they thinking
When they tried to patch a leak with yellow tape
Now not even the crew can escape

In the dream, the flags flew high
As we both said our goodbyes
I would still believe the vision
But for the sand still in my eye

I've seen enough to know I don't belong
Two weeks of training just can't prepare you
For the sound of thunder
(Don't tell me why)
No reason's good enough
And I'm no longer accepting excuses
So take a number
To apologize for what you didn't say
There's a hundred others who all feel the same way

I guess it's true, you can't bury hate in sand
It's not the solid ground of my homeland
At least that's what I hear
And my friends have murder in their eyes
I don't never want to turn the way they are
I'd rather die here
That fight on with my every living breath
And become another angel of death

And in the dream, the flags flew high
As we both said our goodbyes
Someday I'll believe the vision
And wipe the sand out of my eye
So carry on

10. The Loneliest War (Finley)

Arguably the best-known Rex song, The Loneliest War brings it all home. The lineup is again standard, with Jeff contributing some of the harmonies on the chorus.

Feels like I got spiders in my collar
I wear a hat so my ears don't burn
And I can't show my face in public anymore
I got nowhere left to turn
You see I've been carrying this secret
But it's too stupid to confess
And if the sky fell down on me
Would you not think any less?

(Hook up the machine)
And tell me if I speak the truth
(Open up your eyes)
Why do I lie anymore?
(Take a sip of this)
There's no one left to fight beside me
In the loneliest war

So don't take me out to the movies
Don't take me out to the show
Don't take me further than the sidewalk
I got nowhere left to go
Who can say why this whole thing started
Lord knows, I don't remember now
But what's mine is mine, they can't take that away from me
They'll never stop me anyhow