We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Rope and Ladder

by Rope and Ladder

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

1.
Overture 04:07
One man’s rise from another man’s death You’re the only light left
2.
Lost Cause 02:15
Whisper what it means to be always cold and hungry Whisper how it feels to be alone with no one Whisper it so soft and sweet, so no one will hear Whisper it so soft and sweet, because it’s a lost cause It’s a lost cause Shout about how we can’t breathe Because there’s disease in our lungs And there is dust in our throats Shout about how we can’t bear to see Our children are starving And there’s nothing we can do about it
3.
I awake, every day, an hour before the sun comes up And I meet with the men To prepare once again For a day we pretend won’t come Oh, to serve and defend To stand with our friends And protect the ones we love And so I, I have seen the sunrise It must be a thousand times But I’ve never seen the light like I see in her eyes I, this whole time, have lived in her moonlight And life just seems so dim Now that I’ve seen it so brilliantly lit Oh, how we could rid of life’s wretchedness If only all could see the colors so vividly We’d see this world how it’s meant to be seen Now I can see everything Now I can see the whole world how it’s meant to be seen The color and the love vividly The warmth of her light shines on me Now I can see everything But what about him? He must have seen what I’ve seen And they’re set to marry in the spring And who am I? To take this man’s light To rob my brother blind And leave my brother blind Speak now, or forever hold your peace Your sword forever in your sheath
4.
Tonight we’ll feast on the elbow grease, and We’ll wash it down with the blood, sweat, and tears Of our representees Who slave on hands and knees And work away the years, just trying to make ends meet Singing, “There has to be an easier way” The royalty dances with finances While their apathy carries the tune Singing, “Capitalize on the capital Eyes wide, eyeing dollar signs” The rich are getting richer And the poor are getting sicker And oh, we’ll watch them wither Oh, we’ll watch them wither away This famine is fake This plague is staged And we don’t have to take this lying down We’re up in arms, we’re going to take those bastards out We have the manpower We have the motive We have the resources We have the element of surprise Those men are backstabbers They’ll sell our souls for gold We are the revolution And this is our call to arms
5.
Forgive me father, for I have sinned in the most elegant fashion A conspiracy smothered in passion, a flaw so tragic it’s as if he were asking for it to be exposed Forgive me father, but with all due respect, I do not seek your approval nor do I fear your wrath This world is a war, and your word is a weapon that’s clenched and clung to their chests Forgive me father, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you made this world so you could watch us burn it to ash And by thy will, my will I confess: one man’s rise from another man’s death I’m the fatigue, I’m the weakness in their knees I’m the inner beg and plea to buckle underneath the weight Forgive me father if I haven’t made myself clear, but as long as hell is any different from this Earth I can’t imagine how it could be worse than here So out of your hands, I’ll take this world, and place it in my own instead If you only listened to me, then this wouldn’t have to be the only option left One man’s rise from another man’s death I’m the fatigue, I’m the weakness in their knees I’m the inner beg and plea to buckle underneath the weight Just wait, they’ll all succumb It’s the allure of a lure, it’s the taste of the bait It’s the view from the top, not the thrill of the chase That will make all of those who kneel loyally at your feet Grasp the floor on which you stand and rip it out from underneath And you’ll fall with no support, because your support now works for me And on two broken legs you’ll try to flee But you won’t know where to run if you don’t know who you’re running from I’m the fatigue, I’m the weakness in their knees I’m the inner beg and plea to buckle underneath the weight Just wait, they’ll all succumb, my kingdom come I’ve been dealing with this shit for way too long I’ve been waiting for my chance to turn the tables on this world I’ve been hearing screaming voices in my head Singing, “Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn, let it burn”
6.
The Invasion 06:36
Our wounds are dressed in their Sunday’s best As if to suggest that the lead is a welcomed, celebrated guest Among our tattered, blackened flesh And we’re wearing our hearts on our sleeves, courtesy of their bayonets A place of penance and regret, independence imminent Renegade militiamen pray over sacrificial bread When the watchmen sound their horns, one came crashing through the doors Ghastly muttered, “We are vastly outnumbered” So archers, take your bows and prepare your bows, it’s the final curtain now The General slowly rose, read his solemn vow: “Til death do us part” Not on my watch, not on my time It’s mine! All mine! All the pieces are falling in line All allegiance crumbles in time All I need is someone inside to fall and it’s mine Why do we fight? This doesn’t have to end with you and yours dead alongside your brethren Because you and I, we’re not so different, nor is the future for which we’re both aspiring Bring power to the poor, serve justice to the king Tell me now, do we not want the same thing? But if what you want is a war, it’s a war you cannot win Without me, or against me, you’ll all die in vain Bring power to the poor, serve justice to the king Tell me now, do we not want the same thing? Do we not want the same thing? Of course it’s not the same But how can we explain to the men that the means we’re between do not yield the same end And the king we were overthrowing is now the one we must defend? And when you tell them why for him they’ll fight and die, do you think they’ll understand? It all seems a bit convenient since you took his daughter’s hand Colonel, what are you suggesting, that somehow all of this was planned? That I sold the revolution for a seat at his right hand? And gave it all away? Something as simple as this shouldn’t be a debate It’s not just our lives that are at stake It’s our children for God’s sake It’s mine! All mine! All the pieces are falling in line All allegiance crumbles in time All I need is someone inside to fall and it’s mine
7.
Price 01:57
Everybody has their... Everybody has their demons Everybody has their doubts Everybody has their reasons Everybody needs an out Everybody has their needs, and Their needs are never satisfied Everybody has their price Everything that we believe in Is built upon unstable ground Can’t you feel the bedrock shaking? Can’t you feel it crashing down? Everything that we believe in Is subject to be compromised Everybody has their price Everybody has their price So what’s yours? So what’s your soul worth?
8.
I’ve been infected by a vile venom This skepticism has crept inside of me And it’s rendered useless my ability To trust a single soul other than me Oh, they all are after more than their doctrine suggests Don’t believe a word they’re feeding you, they’re poisonous They’re all lies caramelized to taste so sweet, sugar coated fabrications and deceit Your blood is gold and the knife is just a tap And the riches out will flow of the incisions in your back They’ll braid my veins and stack my bones They’ll make rope and a ladder They’ll climb up and over, they’ll climb up and over Don’t believe a word they’re feeding you, they’re poisonous They’re all lies caramelized to taste so sweet, sugar coated fabrications and deceit Your blood is gold and the knife is just a tap And the riches out will flow of the incisions in your back My love, my bride, I’ve never been so terrified I see deceit in their eyes, I see the greed in their smiles And all we know, for all we know could be a lie It could all be a lie, it could all be a lie You’re the only truth I’ve ever known You’re the only seal that’s never broken The only skin that’s never scarred The only rule that hasn’t bent You’re the purest of intents You illuminate as bright as a light can get But this world is dark and cold And you’re blinding and burning it Don’t let them put you out You’re the only light left
9.
The king, his bed Sheets red, no breath My sword, his flesh My God, I’m next Framed, betrayed I’ll be tried, hanged Alone, aghast A back blow, a whiplash Now I’m condemned To either death or a life of A fugitive with nothing left except a glimmer of light Light grows, footsteps My God, I’m next Oh God, it’s her Horror, she turns away No please, wait! I can explain, I can explain, I can explain! Your father was slain in my name And it’s clear that this all was arranged Someone we trust is trying to murder us Someone we love has left us to die And when he’s found They’ll all think they’ve figured it out That I was behind it all My God, I’m next I know a place Where we can hide away I know a place that’s safe
10.
Safehouse 01:16
11.
We’ve got to go, they’re coming, they must have known that we were here And if they get a hold of us they’re going to have our heads, we’ve been exposed My darling, our death is approaching and it’s all my fault, but there must be a way out I’m watching my life flash before me and all I see is you I can’t believe I kept you tethered as I drowned, I pulled you down But it can’t be too late now, think, Goddamnit! There must be a way out The boat has been sunk, the horse has been slain, the forest is on fire, they set it ablaze The swell of their footsteps and the calls for my head Play a song of insurrection of a mob of angry men He’ll pay for his treason, he’ll burn for his sins He stole our trust and leveraged us to overthrow the king Oh, God, hear my prayer, as I make one dying wish Forgive, please, my betrayer, he knows not of what he did And take my wife into your light and hold her in your arms and tell her that I’m sorry My dear, I am so sorry Oh, how could they have known? Because the only one I told is You Don’t tell me that you knew all along Don’t tell me it was you all along Don’t tell me that you knew all along Don’t tell me it was you We have you surrounded, you’re finished, give up Your soul has been summoned, your flesh and your blood will nurture our pasture, will water our crop Your time here is over, you’ll answer to God I’ll answer to God? No! He’ll answer to me What God of mercy sighs and idles by while I scream?
12.
The Queen 02:56
Too careful to let me live Too coward to let me die So here, instead, I lie Somewhere in between By order of The Queen
13.
Dust 08:53
I built my faith from ground up, I laid every stone I stood on it through storm and wind to see if it could hold I built my whole life all by the sweat of my face I hand-picked every brick that I laid I built the trust and reverence of man with bloodshed and bare hands I stood alongside them so we could lean on our shoulders and hold each other up When the winds and waves got rough I built my whole love out of everything I had left I gave her everything I had left Everything I had, everything I was, holds nothing in size to what I would become With my faith, friends, life, and love building me up But all I’ve made and am made of It all collapsed to ash at once It’s gone It’s dust It’s all dust It’s all it ever was I tried to build a better man, but I was piling sand ashore a rising tide And all I could do was watch it wash away, a little every day I was never up to me to decide, no matter how you fortify You live, you love, you die All you get to leave behind are all your ashes in a pile It’s gone, it’s dust, it’s all dust, it’s all it ever was If it’s all dust, my body and blood God and a heaven above, and unconditional love Then this is all dust My pain and my pride, these walls which confine And all I’ll need is time, time is all I have I will see to my rise, I will hunt what is mine, and I will take it all back!

about

Rope and Ladder is the title of the band and rock opera created by Jay Clark, with his writing partner Ryan Dolen.

The project has been more than 10 years in the making⁠—in that time, Jay and Ryan pieced together a narrative of epic scope steeped in intrigues of war, love, and betrayal.

The album balances delicate piano melodies and classical string voices against distorted guitars and heavy drums, all of which drives the palpable and building tension that accompanies the rising stakes of the plotline.

credits

released February 7, 2020

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Rope and Ladder Boston, Massachusetts

Rope and Ladder is the band and rock opera created by Jay Clark and Ryan Dolen.

The project has been more than 10 years in the making⁠—in that time, Jay and Ryan pieced together a narrative of epic scope steeped in intrigues of war, love, and betrayal.

The album balances delicate piano against distorted guitars, driving the palpable tension that accompanies the rising stakes of the plotline.
... more

contact / help

Contact Rope and Ladder

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Rope and Ladder, you may also like: