1. |
Consolamentum
03:56
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I slide inside my skin
rattling bones and boiling spit
tell me there's nothing to it
tell me there's nothing to it
if my soul was angelic
would you find me less pathetic?
would you take me as I am?
would I burn for all my sins?
consolare me
domine, et aufere
meum peccatum corpus
consolare me
consolare me
domine, et aufere
meum peccatum corpus
consolare me
lead me to the surface
and there make me perfect
I fight against my skin
scraping the fat and boiling it
tell me I'm making it right
tell me I'm still trapped inside
if I wasn't on fire
would I be happy or just a liar?
would you take me as I am?
would the fire stake your claim?
consolare me
domine, et aufere
meum peccatum corpus
consolare me
consolare me
domine, et aufere
meum peccatum corpus
consolare me
lead me to the surface
and there make me perfect
free me
save me
comfort me
hurt me
just be who you say you are
free me
save me
hold me
know me
then let me leave my heart
consolare me
domine, et aufere
meum peccatum corpus
consolare me
consolare me
domine, et aufere
meum peccatum corpus
consolare me
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2. |
Rose Sky
04:15
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under a rose sky...
I never went to see a movie in theaters
I was scared of everything
but now my shadow's scarier
than any monster onscreen
though I hate the people on tv
the west virginia house always made me feel safe
and I'm sorry, nana, for the way we'd always misbehave
it was just too fast
and I'm scared to look back
'cause every burst of life left a mark upon my heart
you should leave the marks alone
but I don't
and my heart can only take so much before it falls apart
dandelion clouds all laid on the track
stupid children never thinking they'll be truly sad
I just want my rose sky back
I just want it back, all the glory that I ha
homeschool playdates; intended friends I never made
watching, waiting, for a chance to make my name
it all falls through the cracks
I just want my rose sky back
play pretend, of back then
you can wear the fancy dress
we can fake that our parents are perfect
if we're worth it
remember all the years; I promise that it's worth it
how did I fall so far?
how did I fall so far?
it was just too fast
and I'm scared to look back
'cause every burst of life left a mark upon my heart
you should leave the marks alone
but I don't
and my heart can only take so much before it falls apart
dandelion clouds all laid on the track
stupid children never thinking they'll be truly sad
I just want my rose sky back
I just want it back, all the glory that I had
homeschool playdates; intended friends I never made
watching, waiting, for a chance to make my name
it all falls through the cracks
I just want my rose sky back
three lawns and the wonder bread sign
one missed chance and four new lives
life came at me fast
play it back, please play it back
then it all fell through the cracks
play it back, play it back
play it back, play it back
dandelion clouds all laid on the track
stupid children never thinking they'll be truly sad
I just want my rose sky back
I just want it back, all the glory that I had
homeschool playdates; intended friends I never made
watching, waiting, for a chance to make my name
it all falls through the cracks
I just want my rose sky back
play it back, play it back
you're fading to rose-colored glass
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3. |
Writer's Block
04:12
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I feel like I'm going mad
everything I try to say trapped inside my skull
and if you want to know me now
I'll tell you to listen to the space between the words
to the whispers that I don't say
if you tell me that you heard
does it mean that I am okay?
I thought that I was okay
what do I wanna say?
what do I wanna make of myself?
all I do is wait
when I just wanna let it out
tell me I've got a gift
tell me I'm doing fine
you can't hear my thoughts
you can't hear me try
you can't hear me try
you can't hear me try
I don't know who I would be
if I ever ran out of words
but it's a ledge I'm always clutching at
a black hole I am pulled towards
and thinking is hardly easier without words
what do I wanna say?
what do I wanna make of myself?
all I do is wait
when I just wanna let it out
tell me I've got a gift
tell me I'm doing fine
you can't hear my thoughts
you can't hear me try
you can't hear me try
I feel like I'm going mad
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4. |
Andrew
03:19
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(are they slow-moving, chief?
yeah they're dead, they're... all messed up.
well, uh, in time would you say you oughta be able to wrap this up in 24 hours?)
I never look for angels
but they always seem to find me
the first thing that I thought when I first saw your face
was that you looked like a friend in need
if you had known
would you have shown
some sign that it was right?
you showed me so much of myself
and I'll be grateful for that sight
all my life
but I hate you for crowding up my mind
oh, Andrew, I think about you every month
it's been two years and counting
but we could've had a shot
would it be different if I had said my piece?
said, "oh, Andrew, you're the man for me, you're the man for me"
oh, Andrew, it makes me boil in my bones
the fact I could've had you and now we'll never know
but then you looked so happy curled up next to her lap
I thought "if I really love him I won't go breaking that"
if you had known
would you have shown
some sign that I was right?
she was my friend too
I couldn't hate her for my life
but now I'm stuck with dreams
that ask why I didn't fight
and you fade in the back
'cause I haven't seen you for a while
oh, Andrew, I think about you every month
it's been two years and counting
but we could've had a shot
would it be different if I had said my piece?
said, "oh, Andrew, you're the man for me"
you're the man for me, a masterpiece, too good to be...
(hey, Chad, put that thing all away in the fire, we don't want it getting up again!)
you're the man for me
you're the man for me
a masterpiece too far to see
a man too far to even dream
you're the man
you're the man for me
you're the man
oh, Andrew, I think about you every month
it's been two years and counting
but we could've had a shot
would it be different if I had said my piece?
said, "oh, Andrew, you're the man for me"
said "oh, Andrew, you're the man for me"
oh, Andrew, you're the man for me
you're the man for me, a masterpiece
too good to go beyond a dream
of late nights in washington dc
(well, uh, in time would you say you oughta be able to wrap this up in 24 hours?
well, we don't really know. we know we'll be into it most of the night, probably into the early morning.)
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5. |
Drive Away
04:07
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white noise on the upswing
I can see ghosts
you don’t have to believe me
I know I've lied to you before
citrine yellow under powder blue
they'll start coming coming for me soon
shades of rose left way too quickly
all we can make out is seen too dimly
in the morning
I'm not coming home in the morning
you can see me at the park when you pass by
in the morning
I’m not coming home in the morning
I'm not coming home, pass by
and I’m just gonna drive drive away
searching for the sun before it’s too late
you don’t have to come with me, it’s okay
I just need to drive drive away
yeah I just need to drive drive away
saved all of this for a rainy day
and if you can’t see me that’s okay
I'll be reeling far, far away
punch me in the teeth
I like the way it feels
visceral in this blue dream
I like the way it makes me feel real
violent eyes and angry teeth
take it all to the kitchen sink (and leave it)
violent hands and angry words
and yet I only feel worse
in the morning
I'll wave hi if I see you near
I'll be gone and you’ll be here
that's all, I hope I'm clear
in the morning
I’m just gonna drive drive away
searching for the sun before it’s too late
you don’t have to come with me, it’s okay
I just need to drive drive away
yeah I just need to drive drive away
saved all of this for a rainy day
and if you can’t see me that’s okay
I'll be reeling far, far away
I’m just gonna drive drive away
searching for the endless before it’s too late
if you can’t see me that’s okay
I'll be sleeping dead dead awake
yeah I just need to drive drive away
saved all of this for a rainy day
and if you can’t see me that’s okay
I'll be reeling far, far away
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6. |
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heavy like the arms of the sea
I floated heavy in your arms like the sea
I know it burns under your skin too
the salt underneath the wound
I keep it locked away
suffice it safe to say
that I'm going under again
tell me when they're ready for me
for all I say that I want to be free
you'd think I'd be ready to leave
I miss when I tried to see eye to eye
I'll meet you when the sun drops out of the sky
meet you when the sun drops out of the sky
under the water, your eyes fade to black
you say you like it like that
I don't like it it like that
I want to be everything
but it's so safe in the arms of the sea
don't take that away from me
I keep it locked away
suffice it safe to say
that I'm going under again
tell me when they're ready for me
for all I say that I want to be free
you'd think I'd be ready to leave
I miss when I tried to see eye to eye
I'll meet you when the sun drops out of the sky
meet you in the sun
so heavy that I fell down to the center of the earth
heavy in your arms like the arms of the sea
I'm going under again
tell me when they're ready for me
for all I say that I want to be free
you'd think I'd be ready to leave
I miss when I tried to see eye to eye
I'll meet you when the sun drops out of the sky
meet you when the sun drops out of the sky
oh, when the sun drops out of the sky
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7. |
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the last thing that was ever on my mind
was making drama that I could then write
but now I'm almost seventeen and my new friends are wild
I wish that I had made more stories as a child
I don't have the repertoire that most of them would
I don't have all the late nights that they all seem to
it's hard to make friends when you were homeschooled
but the inside of my mind will get tedious for you
I remember so much, and so little that's of use
ballet class and summer camps, nothing interesting to you
'cause all you want is chaos, and honestly me too
kisses in the backseat and my first love's cheap perfume
but how can I get that when I never went to school?
I don't have the repertoire that most of them would
I don't have all the late nights that they all seem to
it's hard to make friends when you were homeschooled
but the inside of my mind will get tedious for you
I swear it's so boring for you
everything that I wanna know
will you tell me about it?
everything that I wanna know
is it too much to ask that
I find the stories that I never meant to miss?
everything that I never knew
is coming for my neck
I don't have the repertoire that most of them would
I don't have all the late nights that they all seem to
it's hard to make friends when you were homeschooled
but the inside of my mind will get tedious for you
I remember that one night in washington dc
we stayed out walking past 3am
maybe I should write about that
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8. |
No Longer Earthlings
03:16
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I fight to lose while you expect to win
it's not half as fun as you'd think
I fight to lose while you just grin and grin
I'd do it all again in a heartbeat
making friends and enemies and now I'm sick of talking
you can ask me to believe, but I won't just keep walking
oh I'm so lonely, oh God I've been so lonely
all the days of my life and after and before
when we're no longer earthlings
I'll come alive in earnest
I've never thought to wonder
what it's like not wanting more
do you also want much more?
I fight to lose because there's no hope for me
aside from a bus ride out of town
I fight to lose because if I tried to win
I might just be the happiest man around
you can get me to believe, but I won't just keep walking
just because I look happy doesn't mean I want to be smiling
oh I'm so lonely, oh God I've been so lonely
all the days of my life and after and before
when we're no longer earthlings
I'll come alive in earnest
I've never thought to wonder
what it's like not wanting more
do you also want much more?
and I have nothing to say to you that I ain't already said
you made this bed, you lie in it, I just wanna raise my head
and God Himself said to me "son, you're just sick in the head"
I'd rather be right off this world, in the black and in the red
oh I'm so lonely, oh God I've been so lonely
all the days of my life and all the nights before
when we're no longer earthlings
I'll come alive in earnest
I've never thought to wonder
what it's like not wanting more
oh I'm so lonely, oh god I've been so lonely
all the days of my life and all the nights before
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9. |
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you know that I've always wanted to be
somebody better than everybody else
and just 'cause I'm the only person who can kill with a touch
doesn't mean I can't get fed up too
(back before I said I'd give up everything for you)
finding out more about loving you more
days after days of you
my shining knight after night
my only truth
soft and gentle like the breeze that you sent your love straight to me...
(3, 2, 1, no scratch that, 5, 6, 7, 8)
new introduction to the life I see
who was gonna tell me that life is sweet?
how about a joke from the angel of death?
he got tired of death, so now he's just your favorite old grandpa
and now the joke is that he'll never die
what's the point in life if there are no reasons to fly?
or cry?
finding out more about loving you more
days after days of you
my shining knight after night
my only truth
metamorphosis I am enchanted now
he always played the deck of cards like I was some dumb cow
but, you see, when they decided that he won too much
they kicked him off the earth and made him howl
and the lesson of the story is never trust an artist
when they say that they'll be fine
he did that and look at where it got him
right back under cupid's grind
finding out more about loving you more
days after days of you
(look at where it got him)
my shining knight after night
my only truth
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10. |
Gone
03:12
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gone, gone, gone, gone
I won't open my eyes
until you're gone, gone, gone
talk to each other
don't talk at me
that's how we'll all get along
'cause when it's time to discover
the insides of another
well, sharks are better than me
(and better than you too)
gone, gone, gone, gone
I won't open my eyes
until you're gone, gone, gone
and it's too real, too quick
do you want me to tell the truth?
"what's up?"
"oh, nothing"
well, who could be interested in you?
don't ask me if I want to be your friend
I only come to parties for the cake
it's not that I don't like you, it's just that
you're a bit too real for my taste
but I don't wanna let it go
once you know what I know, though, you'll be
gone, gone, gone, gone
I won't open my eyes
until you're gone, gone, gone
and it's too real, too quick
do you want me to tell the truth?
"what's up?"
"oh, nothing"
well, who could be interested in you?
I hope you have fun tomorrow
I'll be playing with something borrowed
and then I'll be gone
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11. |
Lighthouses
03:11
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can you feel the afterlife?
perfect, falling-leaf bliss
all the flowers in my garden died
'cause I don't know what I missed
and the lighthouse said, "you've been gone some time"
in tune with the waves below
now I just wish that I felt alive
but my lighthouses are covered in snow
I don't know what I have to say
you'll take it and leave mist
all the flowers in my garden grayed
when I told them about the abyss
and the lighthouse said, "you've been gone some time"
the ocean waves crashed below
now I just wish that I felt alive
but my lighthouses are covered in snow
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Romanus Boston, Massachusetts
I make a somewhat messy chimera of bedroom pop/chamber pop/alternative/folktronica. Hope it makes you feel something. I also make music with my sibling under the name Charlemagne's Angels, check us out!
Romanus recommends:
her ethereal and yet earthy voice, the muted piano, and the soft beats put one in mind of a woodland sprite wandering through a dark forest. this is dark and sad music, yet somehow soothing anyway.
go to album
this album's smooth combination of crisp synthpop textures with analog sounds and piles of reverb-rich vocals stunned me. I was bopping while transcending into space; so much fun!
go to albumIf you like Romanus, you may also like:
And so sinks the sun on a burning sea
by Misophone
The UK-based alternative band's compilation of previously released songs is available for the first time on vinyl.
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Korean artist Jay Knife uses ukelele, vocal loops, and an iPad to translate her personal experiences into honest, heartfelt pop music.
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featured on Bandcamp Radio May 28, 2019
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Suburbia Space Program
by Wolf Collage
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 23, 2013
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