Lyrics - “Spread It All Around”

TRACKLIST:

1. Spread It All Around 

Spread it all around, spread it all around
Like there may never be a tomorrow
Spread it all around, spread it all around
Just in case they drop an embargo
Spread it all around, spread it all around
Like the rarest, most precious of cargo
Spread it all around, spread it all around
’Til hate’s got nowhere to go
We won’t let it grow
We’ll lay it so low so it can’t trap us

Spread it all around, spread it all around
Breathe it in, breathe it out like a mantra
Spread it all around, spread it all around
Suck it up like the bliss of a tantra
Spread it all around, spread it all around
Wrap it ‘round, keep it warm like a tanka
Spread it all around, spread it all around
’Til hate’s got nothing to show
Nowhere to go
It’s moving too slow
Now it can’t trap us
Just spinning its wheels
Running its spiels
Dragging its heels
But it can slap us

Don’t thank your lucky stars
Don’t chase those fancy cars
Don’t trace those telltale scars
Just face them, erase them

Don’t spread yourself too thin
Just spread it on until
You’ve spread it on so thick
You know they’re never gonna get their fill
Spread it ‘til it hurst so good
They know it’s gonna be a thrill
Spread it all around, spread it all around

’Til love is all they need
Hope is the seed
Freedom the creed
Don’t let them stop us
Hate’s got nowhere to go
We’ll lay it so low
They can’t coopt us

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars
Jarrett Lesko: Bass
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-March 1996 (Instruments)
+ 2023 (Vocals).

2. Whisper 

Three eyes glowing
Three eyes glowing
Stare out into the gloom

Red light, green light
White heat, white out
No toxic fumes
No sonic boom

Visions of mushroom clouds
Dance through my head
Blown away with a whisper
Not a bang

Evil Darwin, that devil Darwin
Petty little prophet of doom
From Three Mile Island to San Onofre
Surf your way back into the womb

Visions of mushroom clouds
Dance through my head
Blown away with a whisper
Not a bang

Three eyes glowing
Flowers of Einstein in full bloom

Visions of mushroom clouds
Dance through my head
Blown away with a whisper
Not a bang

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars
Jarrett Lesko: Basses
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded June 1996 (Instruments, Vocal)
+ 2023 (Backing Vocals).

3. Walk Away 

There's been the slightest change in plans
We've replaced you
Clean your desk out, leave the keys
Shut the door please

Take a deep breath
Walk away from that slow death
Count your blessings with one finger now

It's a complicated thing
So I’ll be leaving
Wipe that doubt right off your face
Now you've got your own space

Take a deep breath
Walk away from that slow death
Count your blessings
With one finger

Now you have a cry
You have a smoke
You wave goodbye

You watch the world from overpasses
Through pink eyes
And pink-colored glasses
A slow pink Beetle crawling down the road
Parked on a bluff
The sea below you
The bright pink sunset switched to overload

The front door's padlocked, nailed shut
The Bug's impounded
They've even turned the gas mains off
The alarm's been sounded

Take a deep breath
Run away from that slow death
Count your blessings
With two fingers

Now you have a cry
You start a fire
You wave goodbye

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard
Jarrett Lesko: Bass, 12-string Guitar, Guitar Synth
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson and Jarrett Lesko.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-May 1996 & 2021-2023.

4. Shuttered

Shuttered up alone
Scared of your own shadow
Tangled up in ribbons
And tight Medusa curls

Frozen in your tracks
Blood that’s chilled to venom
Fading in your happy face
Your ballerina twirls

Shudders down your spine
Baby you got shadows all the time
Baby you’re just shattered deep inside
Baby don’t you see you’re cold and shuttered, baby
Maybe you’re just shut down

Sure as eggs is eggs
You curry your own favor
Innocence don’t suit you baby
So sickly sweet, you’re stuck

Running hot running cold
You sample every flavor
You’re welcome to the fallout, baby
Can’t save you, you’re star-struck

Shudders down your spine
Baby you got shadows all the time
Baby you’re just shattered deep inside
Baby don’t you see you’re cold and shuttered, baby
Maybe you’re just shut down

Anyway you look at it
You’re only seeing red
You’ll never get your house in order
If you hide all your precious things

If this is you while happy
Well then I’d hate to see you sad
You picture yourself all tied in knots
But we know who pulls the strings

Shudders down your spine
Baby you got shadows all the time
Baby you’re just shattered deep inside
Baby don’t you see you’re cold and shuttered, baby
Maybe you’re just shut down

© 1996 Jessie Jacobson

Jessie Jacobson: Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard
Jarrett Lesko: Bass, Backing Vocals
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded September 1996 + 2021 + 2023.

 5. Self-Defense

Can’t see myself in my reflection
Can’t hear my own words leave my lips

Someone somewhere once said something
That stirred some sort of strange sixth sense
Can’t waste your time on self-denial
Can’t live your life in self-defense

Can’t ask the world to revolve ‘round me
Can’t stop it spinning on its way

Someone somewhere once said something
That stirred some sort of strange sixth sense
Can’t waste your time on self-denial
Can’t live your life in self-defense

Could not take the time to reset the system
Or restart my heart
But you just keep on talking
Preach to the converted
And that’s cool

Someone somewhere once said something
That stirred some sort of strange sick sense
Can’t waste your time on self-denial
Can’t live your life in self-defense

Jarrett Lesko: Lead Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Organ
Jessie Jacobson: Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals
Brian Bielski: Drums, Metal Percussion

Produced by Jessie Jacobson and Jarrett Lesko.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded June 1996 + 2023.

 6. My Love Is

My love's a neutron bomb
One blade of grass
My love's a million suns
A piece of ass

My love’s the kind of love
That dare not show its face
My love's a twisted crime
Against the human race

My love's a chemical
A strip of DNA
My love's a magic spell
A wish away

My love's pornography
The bible, all Shakespeare’s plays
My love is abstinence
It's straight, it's bi, it's gay

My love's a cosmic joke
A sad sad song
My love's a line of coke
A blast off a bong

My love is apathy
My love is a whore
A touch of sanity
A blow against all war

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Piano
Jarrett Lesko: Banjolin, 12-String Guitar, Keyboards

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded Early 1996 + 2023.

7. Three Little Words

The dawn cracks
The day breaks
The wind blows
Gravity just sucks

The clouds burst
The sun beats down
This tired old world
Just turns away

Three little words
(Can't take them back)

I’m your second skin
Your reckoning
You lay me out
Then reel me in

You're my evil twin
My mortal sin
My dose of doubt
My heroine

Three little words
(Can't take them back)
Three little words

You're a puppeteer with a supple wrist
Got me wired like a contortionist
You yank the chain, I shudder, twist
You say the words but don't move your lips
A whisper soft ventriloquist

The night falls
The breeze dies
The stars blink
And so did you

Don't leave a prayer
Don't give a damn
In like a lion
Out like a sacrificial lamb

Three little words
(Can't take them back)
Three little words

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars
Jarrett Lesko: Bass
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-May 1996 + 2023.

8. Twilight

When you wish upon a starlet
Explore a foreign galaxy
Makes no difference who she is

You’ll come crashing back to earth
Your little piece of the infinite
The universe around you is shrinking again

Daring to see you for all that you are in twilight
Daring to see through everything you’re not

When you’re spinning out of orbit
Chasing wayward asteroids
Out of space and out of time
Out of breath

Daring to see you for all that you are in twilight
Daring to see through everything you’re not in twilight
Daring to see you for all that you are in twilight
Daring to see through everything you’re not

When you burn out on re-entry
Fearful of transmissions
You need some space
Where no one can hear you scream

Daring to see you for all that you are in twilight
Daring to see through everything you’re not in twilight
Daring to see you for all that you are in twilight
Daring to see through everything you’re not in twilight

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars, Basses, Keyboards
Jarrett Lesko: 12-String Guitar, Guitar Synth
Brian Bielski: Drums, Metal Percussion

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded 1997 + 2020 + 2023.

9. Stampede

Note: No lyrics, vocals are vamped.

Jessie Jacobson: Vocal, Bass, Lead Guitar
Jarrett Lesko: 12-string Guitar
Brian Bielski: Drums
Chris Fudurich: Percussion

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Studio improvisation recorded June 1996
(Vocal, Bass, Drums, Percussion)
with overdubs recorded July 1996 (Guitars).
Mixed by Chris Fudurich (2021).
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.

10. Quicksilver

The earth is crumbling
Though it may take a while
The sky is falling
In trickles and spurts and decay
And I’m just fumbling for a miracle

Quicksilver flash of the mercury
I’m weighing time on a scale
Quicksilver flash of the mercury
Flash of the mercury

The air is thinning
Got no head for the clouds
Someone is calling
Or is it my thoughts played out loud
The room is spinning on its lazy way

Quicksilver flash of the mercury
I’m weighing time on a scale
Quicksilver flash of the mercury

I’m telling you for the very last time
Just got to walk out that door
And stare straight into the light of day
You won't look back anymore

The earth is crumbling
Now it won’t be too long
The sun is fading
Stealing my breath in the haze
And I’m just slipping through the needle’s eye

Quicksilver flash of the mercury
I’m weighing time on a scale
Quicksilver flash of the mercury
Flash of the mercury

Jarrett Lesko: Lead Vocals, Bass, Steel Guitar, Banjo, 12-String Guitar
Jessie Jacobson: Guitars, Backing Vocals
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson and Jarrett Lesko.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-May 1996 + 2021-2023.

11. Bad Day

Bad day for the underdog
Bad day to beat the odds
Bad day for a tarot reading
Bad day for the ancient gods

Bad day for a first impression
Bad day to second guess
Bad day for the third degree
Bad day for forgiveness

Bad day for the birds and bees
And the nuclear family
Bad day just to shoot the breeze
Bad day for you and me

Bad day for philosophy
Bad day for poetry
Bad day for a window seat
Bad day for therapy

Bad day for this state of mind
Bad day for a change of heart
Bad day to come together
Bad day to come apart

Bad day for the birds and bees
And the twenty-first century
Bad day just to shoot the breeze
Bad day for you and me

It’s a very bad day to make a choice
Such a bad day to catch your breath
It’s a terrible day to raise your voice
And there’s no good day for death

Is it the end of the day
Or just the end of days
Or the day of reckoning
And as the earth spins down
And the sky falls out
The night is beckoning

Bad day for the birds and bees
And the nuclear family
Bad day just to shoot the breeze
Bad day for you and me
Bad day for the birds and bees
And the twenty-first century
Bad day just to shoot the breeze
Bad day for you and me

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Jarrett Lesko: Bass
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-May 1996 + 2022-2023.

12. If Love’s Not Enough

If love’s not enough
There’s the vacuum of space
Light years of darkness
It’s a hell of a place
Where hearts turn ash from toxic shame
We’ve got no skin - no skin in this game

If love’s not enough
Then this burden won’t lift
And it’s all just make-believe
Then everything’s makeshift

Where time suspends
Dead air, dead space
No rainbow bridge
No human trace
Life is fleeting
Life is feral
No flesh, no blood
Just cold, still and sterile

We broke the ice
And fell on through
We don’t think twice
It’s what we do

If love’s not enough
Then hate rules instead
If love’s not the lifeline
Then we’re all better off dead
If love’s not enough
Then what will we do
If love’s not the answer
Then nothing else is true
Nothing else is true
Nothing else
Nothing else is true

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Piano, Drum Programming
Jarrett Lesko: Fuzz Bass
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson.
Recorded Late 1995 (Instruments) + 2023 (Vocals).

13. Done

I think you're in denial
Lost in a vacant smile
I may be gone awhile
But don't touch that dial

They tell me you're the method to my madness
They seem to think you're my idea of fun
They tell me you're the antidote to my insanity
So stick a fork in me, I think I'm done

I’m sucking wind, I’m blowing smoke, slouching southward
Expand, recede and collapse into my own skin
But you my friend I think were born at forty-five
And I’m still younger than you’ve ever been

They tell me you're the method to my madness
They seem to think you're my idea of fun
They tell me you're the antidote to my insanity
So stick a fork in me, I think I'm done

Need flesh inside my belly
Want booze upon my breath
To turn my legs to jelly
And catch a whiff of death

They tell me you're the method to my madness
They seem to think you're my idea of fun
They tell me you're the antidote to my insanity
So stick your fork in me, I think I'm done

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard, Loops

Produced & engineered by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Recorded 1997.

14. Where Are You Going?

Where are you going?
Where have you been?

We pass from one plane to the next
Pass through the gates and altered states
Passing through the terminal
And the interminable waits

Where are you going?
Where have you been?

A place apart from all we’ve known
A space in time to call our own
But everything’s in disrepair
If you’re not there

Where are you going?
Where have you been?

I feel like I’ve fallen
Out of my own life
Can’t hold on
Or crawl back in
Now you are gone

I stumble blind
In my own fashion
No compass left
To my compassion

Where are you going?
Where have you been?
What was the question?
Why should I care?

© Music: Jessie Jacobson-Jarrett Lesko-Sam Graf-
Brian Bielski-Mike Murray-Chris Fudurich (1995)
Lyrics & Melody: Jessie Jacobson (1995, 2020)

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars
Jarrett Lesko: Bass
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded June 1995 (Instruments) + 2023 (Vocals).

15. Big Bad World

You work yourself up
You put yourself down
You’re in so very deep
You’re sure you’re going to drown
This big old world - your big bad world
The wheels come off your big old world again
So tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up until then

You lit the wrong fuse
You sparked the wrong flame
You had to smother it
In silence and in shame
This big old world - your big bad world
The wheels come off your big old world again
So tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up until then

You grew so tired of waiting
Just frustrating your tall-tale mind
Forgot how to smile
Hip-deep in denial
Stuck all the while
In I Me Land

You seem to be so lost
Got all your signals crossed
’Til you were lined and faded
Folded like a map
You had a fertile imagination
The milk of human kindness
Curdled in your lap
This big old world - your big bad world
The wheels come off your big old world
Tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up until then
So tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up until then
So tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up
So tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up
So tell yourself one more damn lie
And let them fill the hole up until then

Jessie Jacobson: Vocals, Guitars, Organ
Jarrett Lesko: Bass
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-March 1996 (Instruments)
& 2023 (Vocals).

16. Morbid Curiosity

Standing by the Coke machine
You reek of tar and turpentine
Decoding all the magazines
And waiting for a countersign

You text yourself upon the mobile
Check the voice mail’s working right
And listen to the wake-up calls
You leave yourself most every night

Got morbid curiosity
For better life through chemistry
There’s one solution but no cure
Just wait to see for sure

You stand and wait for trains that won’t come
Blowing smoke rings in the dark
Howling at the man in the moon
You contemplate each cruel remark

Don’t waste your time on idle thoughts
Though sometimes they’ll come crawling through
You feel as though you’re coming close
To searching for a point of view

Got morbid curiosity
For better life through chemistry
There’s one solution but no cure
Just wait to see for sure

Free and clear
Free at last
Free from fear
And the past

Innocence is wasted on the young
I’m old and in the way
But now I’m in my second childhood
And there will be some hell to pay

I channel the whole galaxy
The universe, can’t get my fill
Just one small patience wearing thin
For one more tiny pale blue pill

Got morbid curiosity
For better life through chemistry
There’s one solution but no cure
What else could be so pure

Got morbid curiosity
For better life through chemistry
There’s one solution but no cure
What else could be
What else could be
What else could be so pure

Jarrett Lesko: Lead Vocals, Guitars
Jessie Jacobson: Bass, 12-String Guitar, Backing Vocals
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson and Jarrett Lesko.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded September-October 1996 (Instruments)
+ 2023 (Vocals).

17. Something Tells You

When you’re outside looking in
Not at home in your own skin
You know these feelings all too well
You want to crawl back in your shell
But you don’t know where to begin

Something tells you to get out
Something tells you it’s not safe
Something tells you there’s no doubt
Something tells you - something tells you
Something tells you it’s no dream
Sometimes it just makes you want to scream
Some things are not what they seem
Something tells you - something tells you

When there’s ghosts inside your head
And this world’s left you for dead
When the spirits find you
And they get behind you
And you become yourself instead

Something tells you there’s a choice
Somehow you know it’s all true
Some way you will find your voice
Something tells you - something tells you
Something tells you it’s no dream
Sometimes it just makes you want to scream
Some things are not what they seem
Something tells you - something tells you

While you lurk in closets hiding from the day
With the skeletons that once led you astray
When the mirror told you lies
Time to cast off that disguise
Time to find another way

Something tells you there’s a choice
Somehow you know it’s all true
Some way you will find your voice
Something tells you - something tells you
Something tells you it’s no dream
Sometimes it just makes you want to scream
Some things are not what they seem
Something tells you - something tells you

Jessie Jacobson: Lead Vocals, Guitars
Jarrett Lesko: Bass, Slide Guitar, Vocals
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded February-May 1996 (Instruments)
+ 2023 (Vocals).

18. What More Do You Want ? (1996 Version)

When the tears have run dry
And there's just white lies under grey skies
And the sun disappears
As it burns black holes in your blue eyes
It gets dark, it gets cold
And there's nowhere else to turn
It gets tired, it gets old
And you know we'll never learn

Well, how can I hold you when I don't have the strength?
How can you keep me at arm's length?

What more do you want?
What more do you want from me?

When these thoughts swarm like flies
Forming dark clouds on the horizon
And you won't recognize
Signs of hope you can keep your eyes on
So it's dark, so it's cold
So there's nowhere else to turn
It gets tired, it gets old
Left without a bridge to burn

Well, how can I hold you when I don't have the strength?
How can you keep me at arm's length?

What more do you want?
What more do you want from me?

Got two ears, got two eyes, got two lips
Got two arms, got two hands, got ten fingertips
Got two legs, got two thighs, got two hips
Got two arms, got two hands, got ten fingertips
Design, desire, I know it's there (I can feel)
Design, desire, I don't know where but (I can feel)
Design, desire, so much to share (I can feel)
Design, desire, I know you care, because (I can feel)

How can I hurt you, when you can't feel the pain?
This love is driving me insane

What more do you want?
What more do you want from me?

© Music: Jarrett Lesko-Brian Bielski-
Jessie Jacobson-David Miller (February-March 1988)
Lyrics & Melody: Jessie Jacobson (March 1988)

Jarrett Lesko: Lead Vocal, Bass, Slide Guitar
Jessie Jacobson: Guitars, Backing Vocals
Brian Bielski: Drums

Produced by Jessie Jacobson and Jarrett Lesko.
Mixed by Michael James.
Engineers: Chris Fudurich, Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko.
Recorded late 1995-1996 (Instruments) + 2023 (Vocals).

Spread It All Around features 18 songs recorded during Second Language’s final few months together and left unfinished when the band split (for the second time) in mid-1996. The band resumed playing together in recent years and decided to complete the album in 2023.

Produced by Jessie Jacobson with Jarrett Lesko.
Mixed by Michael James and Jessie Jacobson (2023-2024).

Available for downloads, streaming and on CD in 2024.

Learn more about the history of Second Language

Lyrics - “Spread It All Around”

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