The Ballad Of The Costa Concordia

"The Ballad Of The Costa Concordia" is the 10th track from Teens Of Denial.

The song compares will's failure to adjust to his adult life to the Costa Concordia disaster, after all, "How was I supposed to know how to steer this ship?"

the song interpolates lyrics from dido's "White Flag"

## Lyrics

[Verse 1]

I used to like the mornings

I’d survived another night

I’d walk to breakfast through the garden

See the flowers stretching in the sunlight

Now I wake up in the mornings

And all the kindness is drained out of me

I spend hours just wincing

And trying to regain some sense of peace

[Chorus]

If only I could sustain my anger

Feel it grow stronger and stronger

It sharpens to a point and sheds my skin

Shakes off the weight of my sins

And takes me to heaven

[Verse 2]

I stay up late every night

Out of some general protest

But with no one to tell you to come to bed

It’s not really a contest

And maybe you think

I’ll learn from my mistake

But not this time

It’s just gonna break me

[Chorus]

If only I could sustain my anger

Feel it grow stronger and stronger

It sharpens to a point and sheds my skin

Shakes off the weight of my sins

And takes me to heaven

[Bridge]

And if I’ve lost you for good

Could there have been any other way?

Was the water filling up for years

Or did I wreck it all in a day?

I’m going to bed now

I’ve sunk into my sorrows

And it’ll take three hundred million dollars

To get me up tomorrow

I won’t go down with this ship

I will put my hands up and surrender

There will be no more flags above my door

I have lost, and I always will be

[Breakdown]

It was an expensive mistake

It was an expensive mistake

My horse broke his back to get me here

I have his blood on my hands for no reason

But what was I supposed to do?

How was I supposed to know how to use a tube amp?

How was I supposed to know how to drive a van?

How was I supposed to know how to ride a bike without hurting myself?

How was I supposed to know how to make dinner for myself?

How was I supposed to know how to hold a job?

How was I supposed to remember to grab my backpack after I set it down to play basketball?

And how was I supposed to know how to not get drunk every

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and — why not — Sunday?

(How was I supposed to know how to steer this ship?)

How was I supposed to know how to steer this ship?

How the hell was I supposed to steer this ship?

It was an expensive mistake

You can’t say you’re sorry and it’s over

I was given a body that is falling apart

My house is falling apart

And I was given a mind that can't control itself

(And what about the pain I’m in right now?)

And I was given a ship that can't steer itself

(And what about a vacation?)

And what about a vacation to feel good?

My horse broke his back and left me here

And how was I supposed to know?

And God won’t forgive me

And you won’t forgive me

Not unless I open up my heart

And how am I supposed to do that

When I go to this same room every night

And sleep in the same bed every night?

The same fucking bed

With the red comforter with the white stripes

And the yellow ceiling light that makes me feel like I’m dying

This sea is too familiar

How many nights have I drowned here?

How many times have I drowned?

(How many times have I drowned?)

[Chorus]

I give up

I give up

[Verse 3]

Let us take you back to where we came in

We were united, an undivided nation

We got divided, it was something inside us

And it was not us

We were so naive, we were just like animals

Told what to believe by the beasts who took control

We wanted control too, but that was normal

'Cause our life was one of survival

The decisions we've made, if you can call it deciding

With your life on the line, it'd be social suicide to change your mind

So we got mad and we split the scene

Now we download all of our shit for free

It's the new economy, we have nothing to offer and we sleep on trash

[Chorus]

I give up

I give up

[Verse 4]

Let us take you back to where you came in

A man clinging to the cliff of revelation

So scared of what he would find, he started crying

"It was not me"

Stopped at the borderline, they stripped his disguise

So he read a book that won a Pulitzer prize

It was about death, it didn't help

He saw himself in it

And he was disturbed at the conclusions that it led to

But he couldn't say what because the author was dead too

And so though he made fun of us

He has now become one of us

[Chorus]

I give up

I give up

I give up

I give up

I give up

I give up

I give up

[Outro]

And you wake up trembling

From a dream where I swam into the river

I reach out and hold you in my arms

I love you, I love you, I love you