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The Worst Excuses

by Border Patrol

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    Your chance to own "The Worst Excuses" our March 2020 album release on 140g vinyl!

    Included in the vinyl is an insert with our thanks and the lyrics to the songs!

    Side A
    Little Bit Better
    Come Down Days
    Anxiety
    Michigan's Hand

    Side B
    Charlotte, NC
    Wasted You
    Therapy
    Well, Adjusted

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1.
I had a plan and in my head it was a good one I had a pan and in my head it seemed just fine I’d simply say goodbye to those I love at Christmas And then come home and blow the meat out of my mind When I returned the room was still riddled with rubbish When I returned the room was lonely, as before But somewhere between broken bottles and the mattress I found the will to keep my brains off of the floor A little bit better (still bad) A little bit better (still bad) Days come and go Got nothing to show You still might be better off dead I went to work and tried to focus on the future I went to work and tried to focus on the screen But every task I took on seemed to leave me lower So I browsed the news and drank too much caffeine The more I sat the more my mind made pins and needles The more I sat the more the dread dug in my chest I’d fantasize of all the ways that I would end it From the safety of my swivel chair and desk A little bit better (still bad) A little bit better (still bad) You called your family today Had nothing to say But you didn’t give in to the dread Ba da das I woke up and stared for hours at the ceiling I woke up and stared for hours at the wall I didn’t feel remorse for not wanting to be here I didn’t feel too much of anything at all But there was nothing that could hurt me in that moment And there was nothing for me in the life I knew In that moment something unexpected happened Out of nothing, something grew A little bit better
2.
Mute the alarm To recover from harm I dealt to myself last evening Late to the job The perpetual slob Yes, I’m still drunk. No, there’s no point deceiving Up until dawn The account’s overdrawn Now all my balance is liquid Breakfast this year Has been yesterday’s beer Don’t miss a drop, oh no, Heaven forbid I make the worst excuses For my substance abuses It's not a problem, it's a phase But God I hate these comedown days Hair of the dog Same old stale monologue Forget it, you’re fine, don’t worry Familiar schtick Better lay it on thick I’m certain my vision was always this blurry I make the worst excuses For my substance abuses It's not a problem, it's a phase But God I hate these comedown days Lie to myself about the state of my health And consequence of my choices Stumble along to the end of the song Omit the chorus and ignore the voices
3.
Anxiety 02:37
Everything is a crisis It seems like with each passing year All I gain are more vices To manage my recurring fear I wasted too much time Looking for the perfect rhyme Now I’m just the sum of bad habits, bad hygiene, and beer Everything’s a disaster It’s too overwhelming to try There are holes in the plaster This place is a fucking pig sty I woke up in a cold sweat Dreamt I defaulted on debt I think I’ll be paying it off until after I die I’ve got so much anxiety Of every variety Everything is a nightmare And I don’t know what I can do Gotta make a decision To give up or see it through I’m still trying to decide If I’d like to stay alive And I’m scared to death I’ll find a reason to I’ve got so much anxiety Of every variety There’s no peace No sweet release You know I’m always in your company Anxiety I'm sorry that today I didn't return calls I tried to send a message, my skin started to crawl I'm sorry that I saw you and didn't say hello That morning I was someone who you don't need to know
4.
Michigan’s home to a singular brand A fatalism, on demand Rubber and chrome built a future on sand Forged in an industry’s ember Michigan rose to miraculous heights On automotive appetites But everything goes and on the long nights Those days can be hard to remember It gets under your skin like a broken splinter It’s the chill in your bone come the depth of winter It’s hard livin’ you hardly can stand Such is the nature of Michigan’s hand Michigan owns a particular pain Her fortunes pawned for corporate gain All the unknowns make it hard to maintain And it’s tough to trust anyone’s promise Michigan sobs from the pain in her back Through lungs that ache and joints that crack Factory jobs left her body ransacked But the opiates offer some solace It’s the light you’ve been walking towards getting dimmer It’s rough open water for a weak swimmer It’s hard livin’ you hardly can stand Such is the nature of Michigan’s hand Irony’s dead when you’re bounded by water But pipes lined with lead poisoned Flint’s sons and daughters Less than an hour inland The future looks bleak Our leaders and bosses The cronies who seek To cover their loss In this callous card game they command Bet our lives on the cards in Michigan’s hand No it don’t differentiate saint from sinner Do you pay this month’s rent or buy your kids dinner? Oh, it’s hard livin’ you hardly can stand Such is the nature of Michigan’s hand Such is the nature of Michigan’s hand Such is the nature of Michigan’s hand Such is the nature of Michigan’s hand
5.
Anymore I ignore Anything seven-oh-four Same thing goes For nine-eight-ohs The whole state, I suppose Every hour On the hour Every day without fail I see the number on the cell phone and I let it go to voicemail What’s the point of picking up to tell a robot nothing’s changed? Four times a day from Charlotte, you think by now they’d know I still won’t answer ‘cuz the funds are far too low North Carolina’s calling in the debt I owe Credit’s wrecked Last I checked And they know this I suspect On the line One more fine I’m broke so I resign Every call Southern drawl Every day the same tale I see the number on the cell phone and I let it go to voicemail What’s the point of picking up to tell a robot nothing’s changed? Four times a day from Charlotte, you think by now they’d know I still won’t answer ‘cuz the funds are far too low North Carolina’s calling in the debt I owe I’m not picking up Still don’t have enough There’s nothing I can say There’s nothing I can pay I’m not picking up Still don't have enough There’s nothing I can say There’s nothing I can pay I see the number on the cell phone and I let it go to voicemail What’s the point of picking up to tell a robot nothing’s changed? Four times a day from Charlotte, you think by now they’d know I still won’t answer ‘cuz the funds are far too low North Carolina’s calling in the debt I owe Four times a day from Charlotte, you think by now they’d know North Carolina’s calling in the debt I owe
6.
Wasted You 03:18
Sometimes I smoke to calm my nerves Sometimes I smoke because it’s what my lungs deserve I’ve done exceptionally well Peddling my sadness, getting high off what I sell I’ll blame it on the chemicals Surrender to the tentacles I swear I’ll quit tomorrow but for now there’s time to kill Sometimes I drink to pass the time Sometimes I drink to muddy up a restless mind I have been fashioning a shrine Of empty cans and empty choruses to this vanity of mine I’ll blame it on the alcohol Bad habits, bad cholesterol We’ll never say for certain why I lack the wherewithal I’ll blame it on old Catholic guilt On blood we drank and wine we spilt I’ll say that I was born imperfect And this is just the way I’m built I’ll blame it on society Surrender my sobriety And you can pass the bottle But don’t pass the buck to me Stop glamorizing it Just admit you’re full of shit It’s time to face the truth You poor excuse for wasted youth Stop glamorizing it And just admit you’re full of shit It’s time to face the truth You poor excuse for wasted youth You poor excuse, you’re wasted
7.
Therapy 03:33
Soft rock, soft lamp light Waiting room, weeknight Trying to sort things out between my ears Familiar stranger Stresses the danger Of dwelling on doubt and irrational fear If I never go back to therapy I’m spared the full extent of what is wrong with me I have distanced my friends and family None of this was my intent What is wrong with me? Wrong with me Recumbent red couch Permanent head slouch Posture betrays I’m not sleeping enough I’m sick of whining Obsessing, and pining For days when my body would not call my bluff If I never go back to therapy I’m spared the full extent of what is wrong with me I have distanced my friends and family None of this was my intent What is wrong with me? Wrong with me Wrong with me Wrong with me If you cover the rust, cover the rust With a new coat of paint It will look a lot better But you’ll know it ain’t I can regain your trust, regain your trust And develop restraint But bear in mind I’ll be inclined To find a new complaint I should probably go back to therapy ‘Cuz everyone is sick of putting up with me I'm so sorry, my friends and family None of this was my intent What is wrong with me? Wrong with me Wrong with me Wrong with me
8.
There’s a three for three deal at the party store After tax and deposit it’s four It’s enough to get gone if you want to go But I’m trying not to anymore There’s a bar down the street you can smoke inside Whenever the regulars came I used to be one but I stayed away Now there’s no one there who knows my name So I sulk to myself ‘cuz it seems a loss And drift back to my own abode There’s a fresh patch of asphalt here, looks brand new I had no idea they fixed this road It’s incremental It takes time I’ve had to borrow Some of mine But I’ll face each day just a bit less disgusted And soon I’ll be well, adjusted There’s a house on my block where the lights are out Security signs on the door And they boarded it up but it’s just one house It could be worse, it could be more So I tell myself things can’t be all that bad I kept a roof over my head I held down this job for a couple years And by all accounts I’m still not dead It’s incremental It takes time I’ve had to borrow Some of mine But I’ll face each day just a bit less disgusted And soon I’ll be well, adjusted There's a three for three deal at the party store A three for three deal at the party store A three for three deal at the party store A three for three deal, a three for three deal There’s a black cat who sleeps by my side most nights Head resting between his paws He don’t seem aware of his perceived luck And he doesn’t seem to mind my flaws I glance at my phone as I’m dozing off And see a new message arrive I read her name as I close my eyes And I dream of futures I’ll survive It’s incremental It takes time Please, help yourself to Some of mine When she says she loves me my heart says to trust it She tells me I’m well, adjusted There’s a three for three deal at the party store After tax and deposit it’s four At least that’s what it was the last time I went I don’t go too often anymore

about

"The Worst Excuses" is a record about getting better one day at a time. It's about excuses and fears - rational and otherwise. It's about choices and change - deliberate and desperate. It's been tremendously personal to put together and it's dedicated to each and every one of you who choose to wake up every morning and do the damn thing.

credits

released March 28, 2020

All songs by Border Patrol, 2020.

Dave Toennies - Acoustic guitar, vox
Cody Howard - Banjo, mandolin, vox
Nick Angelini - Keys
Adam Thomson - Drums
Larry Thompson - Bass
Willa Rae Adamo - Vox

All songs and lyrics written by Dave Toennies. All songs arranged by Border Patrol.

Recorded at Riggi Media International Inc. in Tecumseh, ON. Engineered and produced by Larry Thompson at "NAME" in Windsor, ON. Mastered by João Carvalho at João Carvalho Mastering in Toronto, ON.

Border Patrol would like to thank Tom Lucier, Arts Council Heritage Fund Windsor, Travis Albright, Ramiro Romero, Derek Impens, Noah Kaminksy, ..... "AND MORE"

We also would like to thank our partners, Kayla Zikic, Yvonne Khadra, "AND MORE"

as well as all of our friends, family members, and fans who have supported us over the years. Without you, this wouldn't be possible.

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Border Patrol Detroit, Michigan

Border Patrol is a lyrically driven folk-rock group from Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. Blending elements of traditional bluegrass and folk with punk and indie expression, they feature vocal harmonies and surprisingly upbeat melodies about our impending doom and the monotonies of every day life and love in this modern age. ... more

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