"Surface Pressure" lyrics
Amanda Palmer, Jherek Bischoff & The Black Quartet Lyrics
(originally by Jessica Darrow)
I'm the strong one, I'm not nervous
I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is
I move mountains, I move churches
And I glow, 'cause I know what my worth is
I don't ask how hard the work is
I've got a rough, indestructible surface
Diamonds and platinum, I find 'em, I flatten 'em
I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanded, but
Under the surface
I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus
Under the surface
Was Hercules ever like, "Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus"?
Under the surface
I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service
A flaw or a crack, the straw in the stack
That breaks the camel's back
What breaks the camel's back? It's
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip, that'll never stop, whoa-oh
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, your sister's older
Give her all the heavy things that you can't shoulder
Who am I if I can't run with the ball?
If I fall to
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go, whoa-oh
Pressure little tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger
See if she can hang on a little longer
Who am I if I can't carry it all?
If I falter
Under the surface
I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry somethin' is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn't swerve when it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface
I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?
Line up the dominoes, a light wind blows
You try to stop it tumbling, but on and on it goes
But wait, if I could shake, the crushing weight
Of expectations, would that free some room up for joy
Or relaxation, or simple pleasure?
Instead, we measure this growing pressure
It keeps growing, keep going, 'cause all we know is
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa-oh
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt and
See if she can handle every family burden
Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks
No mistakes, just
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go, whoa-oh
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister and never wonder
If the same pressure would've pulled you under
Who am I if I don't have what it takes?
No cracks, no breaks
No mistakes, no pressure
I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is
I move mountains, I move churches
And I glow, 'cause I know what my worth is
I don't ask how hard the work is
I've got a rough, indestructible surface
Diamonds and platinum, I find 'em, I flatten 'em
I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanded, but
Under the surface
I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus
Under the surface
Was Hercules ever like, "Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus"?
Under the surface
I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service
A flaw or a crack, the straw in the stack
That breaks the camel's back
What breaks the camel's back? It's
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip, that'll never stop, whoa-oh
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, your sister's older
Give her all the heavy things that you can't shoulder
Who am I if I can't run with the ball?
If I fall to
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go, whoa-oh
Pressure little tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger
See if she can hang on a little longer
Who am I if I can't carry it all?
If I falter
Under the surface
I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry somethin' is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn't swerve when it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface
I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?
Line up the dominoes, a light wind blows
You try to stop it tumbling, but on and on it goes
But wait, if I could shake, the crushing weight
Of expectations, would that free some room up for joy
Or relaxation, or simple pleasure?
Instead, we measure this growing pressure
It keeps growing, keep going, 'cause all we know is
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa-oh
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt and
See if she can handle every family burden
Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks
No mistakes, just
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go, whoa-oh
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa-oh-oh-oh
Give it to your sister and never wonder
If the same pressure would've pulled you under
Who am I if I don't have what it takes?
No cracks, no breaks
No mistakes, no pressure
