Lyrics to Metroschifter songs

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Persona
(instrumental)



From "Strawberries" (Doghouse, 1999)

Trivia: "Persona" is a Swedish film starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann.

Piddle Looper
(instrumental)



"Fort Saint Metroschifter" (Doghouse, 1995)

Trivia: Named after Chad Castetter's cat.

Prayer of St Francis of Assisi
(F. di Bernadone)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Oh, Divine Master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.



From "Generation Rx" (Doghouse, 1996)

Trivia: St. Francis di Bernadone is the patron saint of animals and ecology. He died in 1222.

Reverse Stick
(instrumental)



From "Metroschifter 4" (Doghouse, 1997)

Trivia: Left handed people allegely have a natural instinctual advantage when playing field hockey because only the left side of the stick can be used to hit the ball.

Scoop
When I see you, I don't touch you.
Don't go near you.
Don't look in your eyes.
So young, so what.
So now I don't smell you.
I don't touch you.
I just feel you in my heart.
One more time I'll turn it over.



From "The Metroschifter Capsule" (Slamdek, 1994)
Demo version from "New Mexico Demos" (Slamdek, 1994)

Trivia: Song was originally written for Scott's previous band Sunspring.

Shit Harvester
I stop, I'm not going in.
Fire, defiance, let's drag everybody in.
Making it bleed, breaking the bone,
it's the only way. Fire.



From "The Metroschifter Capsule" (Slamdek, 1994)
Demo version from "New Mexico Demos" (Slamdek, 1994)

Trivia: Shit Harvester was an alternate name for the band before Metroschifter was selected.

650 Miles
(M. Ronay, A. Katz)
My woman, she came and she left me,
and now I am filled with desire.
The moments she slept there next to me,
now alone I retire.
Now I am north and I can't come back.
You seemed to tell me things that I have already known.
Time allows me to cripple my mind and cave-in my soul.
Far north I have to go. Far north I had to go.
I'm further away than I meant to go.
Now I am north and I can't come back.



From "Number One For a Second" (Doghouse, 1995)
and "Fort Saint Metroschifter" CD (Doghouse, 1995)
Live version from "Let's Get This Party Started" (Initial Limited, 1997)
Acoustic version from "Scott Ritcher" performed by Scott Ritcher (I Can't Believe..., 1999)

Trivia: Written by Matthew Ronay of The Telephone Man with Mandy Katz.

Smart Bomb
(instrumental)



From "Number One For a Second" (Doghouse, 1995)
and "Fort Saint Metroschifter" CD (Doghouse, 1995)

Trivia: The Smart Bomb is used in the Atari game Missile Command to instantaneously destroy all incoming missiles.

Square
Climb a mountain to find out what's in my pockets.
Drive a thousand miles to see what's right behind me.
Connect with someone else to realize that it's you I need.
Throw it all away.
There's a part of going on that I've left behind
and I can't pretend.
I can't look you in the eye and lie and
I can never stop by your house again
and I can't pretend.
My thoughts, my brain, my mind, it's snowed in.
My heart, my love, my God, I've done it again.
There's so many of me in my mind,
I'm a square trying to find out
which one's right for who, and for you.



From "The Metroschifter Capsule" (Slamdek, 1994)
Demo version from "New Mexico Demos" (Slamdek, 1994)

Trivia: A square has four equal sides.

Strung Out on Music
Like a dream
We make it simple
or so it seems.



From "In Native Soil" compilation (Noise Pollution, 1999)

Trivia: Song was recorded in Chris Reinstatler's basement in Cincinnati for a compilation of Louisville music. Sample at the beginning is from an Elvis Presley concert in Las Vegas.

Sweeper
My brakes when slowing squeal.
My mind it always feels
like nothing's ever real for me inside your heart.
Slide– i'm winding down.
Dive– instead of falling down.
My brakes squeak in time
with our hearts and minds are out of line.
Give me anything back.
Anything you hold could be mine. Take.



From "Let's Get This Party Started" (Initial Limited, 1997)

Trivia: Song has never been performed live.

Theme from "Songs for the Brokenhearted"
When I look in your eyes,
I see nothing. Hey.
You're just some girl to me.
Little girl. Hey.
Why can't we just go back
to before this all started
and stop singing songs,
songs for the brokenhearted?



From "Songs for the Brokenhearted" compilation (Glue Factory, 1999)

Trivia: Pat and Chris were unable to record a song in time for this compilation, so Scott wrote a song that followed the exact drum track from "One Cloud in the Sky." Engineer Mike Baker erased all the tracks except the drums and Scott then recorded the new music and vocals for this song in its place on the same master reel.

Third Party
(instrumental)



From "Metroschifter 4" (Doghouse, 1997)

Trivia: Song was left on an answering machine by Dave Cook and was included on the album before the identity of the performer was known.

$39.00
My positive attitude works hard,
works overtime to keep me on its side.
I saw your dress in the store.
It was thirty-nine dollars and didn't have you in it.
It was just a shell.
I'm on a hanger myself.
The way I'm perceived is certainly not what's on the inside.
I touched the dress, felt close to you for a second,
and knew I had to walk away.



From "Fort Saint Metroschifter" (Doghouse, 1995)
Acoustic version from "Scott Ritcher" performed by Scott Ritcher (I Can't Believe..., 1999)

Trivia: The dress mentioned in this song was from Express.

The Torsten Fratzke Story
Scenery always changes when you keep moving
Not enough to stop and stare
into the sun or at the lights
The scenery always changes when you keep moving
It's not enough to sit and stare
into the lights or out the window
Nothing is not enough unless it makes you happy
like the effervescence of constant travel
or meeting new people and not exchanging names.



From "Metroschifter 4" (Doghouse, 1997)

Trivia: Torsten's last name is pronounced Frots-keh.

Under Pressure to Exist
All alone, above everything,
the world has cast me out and the feeling is mutual.
Leaving text behind for a world of colors.
I immerse myself in pictures,
under pressure to exist.
Continually distracted.
The look of every girl on the street.
Under pressure to exist.



From "Encapsulated" performed by MT Rhoades and His Lonesome Woods Band (Doghouse, 2000)
Metroschifter version from "Metroschifter Picture Disk" (Redwood, 1999)

Trivia: Very interesting trivia statement here.

Untitled Hymn for Kentuckiana
(instrumental)



From "Generation Rx" (Doghouse, 1996)

Trivia: Kentuckiana is a word used by local media to describe the Louisville area which includes portions of Kentucky and Indiana. The word is rarely (if ever) used in conversation.

Welcome to Louisville
(instrumental)



From "Generation Rx" (Doghouse, 1996)

Trivia: As a central hub for the United Parcel Service, Louisville is the world's 8th largest cargo port. The company employs 15,000 people in the area.

Whatever's Wrong With Me Is Here To Stay
Can any word I write go unscrutinized?
Are any of these thoughts spoken unrevised?
Something I fight, I may as well fight gravity.
Hope for resolution with a spit of sincerity.
Improbable, impatient, it's all speculation.
Insensitive, unmoved, and underhanded.
Living on nothing but suppressed desires,
like economic or emotional suicide.
I know nothing that you know nothing
that I know only how to resign.
If you were mine, if I had that time,
if I was that kind, I would never
decline.



From "For the Love of Basic Cable" (Foresight, 1994)
and "Fort Saint Metroschifter" CD only (Doghouse, 1995)

Trivia: Written in the van on tour in 1994 in Montana.

What Flavor?
(instrumental)



From "Generation Rx" (Doghouse, 1996)

Trivia: Pat plays all the instruments on this song.

Why Me?
(K. Kristofferson)
Why me, Lord?
What have I ever done
to deserve even one of the blessings I've known?
Why me, Lord?
What did I ever do that was worth love from you,
or the kindness you've shown?
Lord help me, Jesus, I've wasted it,
so help me Jesus, I know what I am.
Now that I know that I've needed you
so help me Jesus, my soul's in your hands.
Try me, Lord, if you think there's a way
that I can repay what I've taken from you.
Maybe, Lord, I can show someone else
what I've been through myself on my way back to you.



From "Generation Rx" (Doghouse, 1996)

Trivia: Kris Kristofferson also wrote "Me and Bobbie McGee."

You Are So Unreal (Unrealistic)
Scoping straight into this
I realize it's crystal clear
of this situation.
Tie your shoes, turn your head,
shut your mouth, I'm leaving now.
This is so amazing.
You make me so angry.
You are so unrealistic.
And for me to admit I feel this way.
So few words to describe
what I mean, it's crystal clear.
Just one more preoccupation.



From "Encapsulated" performed by Refused (Doghouse, 2000)
Acoustic version from "Scott Ritcher" performed by Scott Ritcher (I Can't Believe..., 1999)

Trivia: Jay Robbins of Burning Airlines sings backups on the Promise Ring's version.

06-06-1997 (Der Tag, An Dem Kater Jusa Aus Saarbrücken Vom Balkon Aus Der 5. Etage Sprang, Um Auf Jagd Zu Gehen)
(instrumental)

From "Carbonistas" (Noise Pollution, 2009)

Trivia: In the liner notes of our "Metroschifter 4" we had an offer that allowed fans to buy positions in the thank-you list of one of our future records and/or name oune of our future songs. Ulf Bernard of Saarbrücken, Germany, named this song in honor of his cat.