Royal Ruckus > Summer of the Cicadas > Track 16
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Intro
Max.One says “blink,” and his daughter has grown up. He says it again, and more of his life has gone by.
“The Pressure is On (Showdown)” opens Act II with the breakup behind us and the clock still running. It was the first song I wrote for *The Lone Gunmen*, at Spoken Nerd’s house in Nashville. Annex and Mike made the music; Spoken Nerd and Max.One join me on the verses.
We’re all headed toward death. My verse wants to get moving while there’s time. Max.One follows a whole life through those little blinks, including the years he thought he’d make up to his wife later.
Mike sings the chorus. Even on the solo half, we’re doing this together.
Videos
Behind the Cicada Ruckus (commentary)
All services · Bandcamp album · Apple Music · Spotify
Lyrics
Chunjay, Verse 1:
It all began in the west, now I live in the east
I’ve sealed the son to my chest to the day that I’m deceased
Each one, teach one, prepare for the feast
Got my gun and a vest and last rites from a priest
That’ll be the day, that’ll be the day I die
The pressure is on to say those last goodbyes
‘Cause you and I fool we got the same destination
But our use of the tools affects its consummation
Gotta get off the couch, an’ get my life moving
Not a grinch or a grouch, that’s a lifetime of losing
Grim Reaper is a creeper we all got an appointment
To lay back become sleepers and swallow the ointment
‘Til that final day I’ll be holding nothing back
All the way to the front all the way to the attack
I might make a mess but go home an’ get clean
Never acquiesce until I turn in my lien
Flatline, Chorus:
Throw your hands to the sky when you ask, “Why?”
Every man’s born as one, and as one he dies
Into the wind and then you’re gone
The pressure is on, the pressure is on
Spoken Nerd, Verse 2:
All this time you would have questioned my allegiance
Like leaving indecent legions in need of a seedling
You were the anti-hero, equipt with low ceilings
That leave us both feeling under pressure with no breathing
We keep dreaming, but we’re up against sleep demons
Who keep creeping, the lone gunman with a piece pleading
My tea steeping, these feet defeat treason
I seek with deep reason, my Jesus piece gleaming
I leave my people keeping the salt of the earth seasoning
The feeble attempts weaken
We need to feed the healing
We need to keep kneading
‘Cause love is like a rod that I’m reeling
Somebody’s sloppily leaving
Pop Rockadopolis sweeten
I spend a lot of these evenings
On some sort of lottery dealings
Where they charge me for being an antithesis of appeasement
But I’m not trying to please them…or seize them
Max.One, Verse 3:
First day of school I played it cool, friends I made a few
Hated a couple people too but can’t stay in a bubble true
So I avoided cliques like a dolphin in a stew
(blink)
Witnessing the birth of my first child
In awe of my wife and this tiny girl’s smile
(blink)
Four more babies still no more ladies
Standing firm in my convictions
[Chunjay: You’re such a good Christian!]
(blink)
First child is with child… man, this is wild
Just a few bars back I saw her first smile
Now she’s out there in the dark world unprepared for the coming miles
(blink)
Being proud I never cheated on her’s like being proud I never beat her
Really? those are my accomplishments?
Sounds like basic common sense!
Instead I regret the time spent traveling all over
Should have been finding time to hold her, comfort her and rub her head
(blink)
A widower, alone, hurt, grown & insecure
Never more unsure wondering why she had to go didn’t she know
The time away would be made up for once we’d gone gray…
And bald, wearing Depends, wrinkly, et cetera…
Credits
Music: Annex, Flatline
Lyrics and Vocals: Chunjay, Spoken Nerd, Max.One of Sackcloth Fashion
Additional Vocals: Flatline
Album-wide credits
Additional Credits
Production: Flatline, Chunjay
Mixing, Engineering, Co-Production, Mastering, Additional Scratches, Everything but the Kitchen Sink: DJ Sean P at TWLVS in Fort Worth, Texas
Vocal Production/Consultation: Krum
Pre-Mixing: Flatline, Chunjay, Krum, Shedlyn/Chris Felix, Annex, Grizzly Beatz, David Mathewes
Background Vocals: Flatline, DJ Sean P, Chunjay, and Friends
Executive Producer: Chunjay
Lyrics and music copyright 2017 Neopolis Media in partnership with Invisible Library Records. All rights reserved. M. Walker & J. Bennett Artist rights (BMI).
Guest/co-writer FYI: Music: Annex, Flatline Lyrics and Vocals: Chunjay, Spoken Nerd, Max.One of Sackcloth Fashion Additional Vocals: Flatline These source credits are attribution information, not a lyric-scope blocker; they do not specify legal ownership shares.
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