Schombalt was a compilation album. Schombalt is also the greatest name for a Cobalt album ever. Schombalt was comprised of 5 tracks that were part of our ongoing effort that would become This Way Out, 5 tracks taken from live recordings at our shows, and 5 of the tracks off of our previous release, Six.Schombalt is special because it is a transitional work and you can hear the band maturing through the album. It's like watching a sapling in it's first year. It paired with our first tour, by the same name. It was the beginning of the band starting to realistically consider staying together after college and trying to turn this dream into a day job.
-Tracks 1-10 mixed by Leif Shakelford
-Tracks 11-15 mixed by Mike Roth
-Production and engineering by Cobalt
-Album design by Cobalt
-Tracks 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 written by t. fort
-Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14 written by m. hart
As you sit solemn faced,
sonnets scrawled in your book and you’re
Determined to keep chaste,
as me and the boys call you out in the street
You’re heartbroken and hard-nosed with your brim pulled low so your eyes won’t show
And you’re stuck ‘cause you believe that she’s the woman of your dreams (well)
I’ve got news... yeah I’ve got news
she’s far from the best, you could do...
Through all your Rosalyns and your Tybalts,
built for you like bookends
After your star crossed loves, I’ll be your brother
You’ll be my Romeo
And I’ll drag you out to the bars
and I’ll carry your leaden heart
If boys step across that line
don’t flinch a bit you know you’re back is mine
So let your words seek my ear
and stain my collar with your tears
‘Cause when I’m low and at my worst
I’ll look to you to see our roles reversed (well…)
it's like you just found out that life is cash
and you aint got none
the world's gone crazy
convinced that you're the crazy one
from outside looking in it makes you wanna wreck it
and you just found out that life is cash
and you aint got none
i trusted you like a daughter trusts her father
thought you'd recognize the slaughter
and whisk it all away
i thought for sure that the hypocrites would cower
when the people had the power
but not today
go on and lay me down
go on and lay me down
go on and lay me down, down, down
with all the things i left behind
i was a man of faith last night
that we're always moving closer
to the good and the right
but you slammed that door so hard
that i can taste the splinters
thought i was a man of faith
last night
it's like you just found out
it's like you just found out
it's like you just found out
it's like you just found out
and you aint got none
he couldn't figure out quite who he was
but he knew that he could never be the same again.
searched for answers but all he found was "just because"
and a scowl every now and then
so now he's reaching and now he's preaching
like a soldier bleaching the blood off of his hands
and now he's hiding but still confiding in me
and all those plans we had
all that time that i thought i knew you
you were really a million miles away
all that time wish i could've had the wisdom to say
you are your own best thing
they were always together tomorrow couldn't be a moment too soon
she followed him like a sunflower chasing the moon
but now she’s crying at just the notion
of being away from him these next few years
she’s got to cross that bridge someday
all those tides of loneliness and those waves of fears.
it's too bad that my love of life
wasn't quite enough to rub off on her
and it’s a shame that a razor blade
was all she could find to escape the blur
god knows there was never quite enough for me to say
when i knew more than her voice was on the line that night.
i wonder if i had these simple magic words
could i have made every thing all right?
you’re the girl i’ve tried so hard to get off my head
sex hangs off an awkward shell
dull flame hangs in your eyes
red hair i know it’s dyed
amplified electric buzz sets off siren in my head
lash me to my ship now hold the course
if i’d led a different life if i’d settled on door three
then it might have been more than simply vain fantasy
here’s another one of my silly love songs
played on a promiscuous guitar
felt the longing heard the calling turned my back
i’m not sorry but i’m sorry how do i explain
it’s so hard
i’m creeping closer to falling off the edge
heard the verdict posted armed and dangerous
intentions have become circumspect
i’m lyin’ here tryin’ real hard not to touch your breast
lying next to you restless in bed
afraid the wrong move is around the next bend
wanting you close watching myself
trusting us both to hold back from the edge
May and June are gone, and August is comin’
And I have yet to find my summer lovin’
I cast you for the part – you cast me away
Up until this point we’ve focused on what’s fun
So I know the kinds of things that you would really love
And for a while I thought maybe one of them was me
And I have been known to let my romantic
keep reality at bay
But this time my head agrees –
don’t you let her get away
(I just want you to)
See me, the way I see you
Smile the way that I know you would
Hold me, the way I long to hold you
I know I’m kind of biased, but hey, I really think you should
And I know that things with you
could be much simpler than they are
Former love is a commander
that leaves no one in charge
Amid the chaos and confusion,
how could you consider me?
And I know the me you’ve known was kind of a mess
But I’m mostly put together now –
just a few loose threads
Wondering what we could weave
if we just closed our eyes
And I’m sorry for these plans
that I made without permission
And I’m sorry for the way
that you must act with me now
But I had to stop calculating,
contemplating
what you would say (if I said)
hey now you’ve come so far
guess you're wondering where you are
and what’s left to see
hey now you’ve come so far
guess you’re wondering who you are
and who you meant to be
cuz i remember when you used to play guitar
way back in high school
and i remember the girls used to scream and call
cuz you were so cool
and you swore you’d leave here
but all the roads just led back home
and you shied away from the neon and chrome
and you knew you’d find love
and you knew that it would all work out
but this is not the life that you dreamed about
so you’ll just write it off as a hopeless dream
and you wont even give it a try
and you can’t even look out the window
cuz you’re so scared that
your whole life’s passing you by
but you were gonna be on the radio
and all the magazines
and you were gonna be the prophet
for your generation of beauty queens
and they’d all line up just to see you
and they’d all leave fulfilled.
for two hours on a Saturday night you’d give them
just a little bit of heaven just a little bit distilled
but fear and doubt come creeping in the night
and it’s so much simpler when you’re living their little lie
i cannot say that a fallen dream is much of a sin
but now you introduce yourself, you say, “hello my name is might have been”
so now you come to me
with all your cards out on the table
they didn’t seem like much
but they were all that you were dealt
then it’s all so clear like a great fog lifting
when all bets were off you took the easy way out
I haven't felt this way for such a long time
At this point, in this room, there are more stairs to climb.
These feelings like echoes, but each with a new pulse
Like the one I feel beat beside me.
Fortune best not deny me.
Why do I feel guilty, now that you're finally mine?
And why do I feel guilty to let my heart out on the line?
Again…
Can't let myself get too busy not getting hurt.
Reckless abandon tugs like a hungry child at my shirt.
Not easy to ignore all those tears that I cried,
But it's not 'Here we go again,' it's 'Let's enjoy the ride.'
So why am I so afraid, now that you're finally mine?
And why am I so afraid to let my heart out on the line?
Again… Again…
Maybe all I need to know
and all I need to understand
Is that you're lying next to me,
and your heart is in my hands.
I whisper a sweet melody
into your slumbering ear.
A warm and timeless lullaby
just to remind you that I'm here.
Oh for that music in my soul
that plays whenever you're around.
It's just you and it's just me,
and the rest just fades into the background.
Your warm breath on my skin,
your sweet lips tasting mine.
Just a little longer please,
we're running out of time.
So why am I so lucky, now that you're finally mine?
And why am I so lucky to put my heart out on the line?
To you… To you…
And there is nowhere that I would rather be
Than right here with you sleeping right next to me.
And as I ponder this sweet dream of you
I realize there is no one that I would rather sing to.
your secret attacks on her self esteem
selling lipstick and cover-up to my beauty queen
lying to her saying she's overweight
while it's you getting fat on a man-made template
and don't you feel dirty when you get turned on
because you're less than a lady and played like a pawn
and i keep praying that you'll stay after the dawn
remember your face even when you're long gone
sweet girl, you're so beautiful to me
can i take you home
at least call you on the phone
you're raised as a child until puberty hits
then old men with grease under their fingertips
pedophiles staring your body to bits
even the young boys are no longer kids
no wonder to me you're depressed and afraid
am i the first to notice your barricade
hold it against me, i'll hold you against me
doing my best to come to your aid
am I good enough for you
your first kiss less than intimate
rough without thinking but i'll contemplate
i'll wait for you to be ready for this
til it's you giving me your first kiss
and i'd do it all for you
again if you asked me to
and i'd do it all for you
again if you asked me to
i walk in and the whole house reeks
you’ve been painting your room again
but while one coat is drying new colors invade
and now you’re frantically trying
just to match all the shades
when i ask you what it is that you seek
your reply is in colors and numbers and men
but i say they're just little boys being taught what to do
they're just playing with their toys
and the last one was you
and the room is a nightmare, and the furniture's stained
but i can still make out on the doorframe
the pencil marks that we made
so if your next coat covers those
timelines of height and age baby please understand
you better break out the turpentine
and get that shit off your hands
so now you step back
you take a look
and it's like a mosaic
and each piece is a pain
and it all looks so familiar to me because
i was there every time that it rained
so don't get caught up in all that shakespearian drama
so much ado about nothing comedic at best
cuz i have been here forever
and i've shown you you're better
so just take it as you like it
and get rid of the rest
and remember it's simple things that that keep us alive
and those even simpler
that bring bright color to the walls
to the walls of the rooms
that we lock ourselves in
in hopes to survive
every breath until death as eternity calls
your mouth is as big as mine
and it's full of the sweetest things
with that boundless heart, you tear me apart
you make me feel like a naked king
oh your bed is inviting, but your wink is seducing
i'm a rock, but you seem to have found that
since you've been wearing my clothes,
you've been wearing me down
You make a point to keep me in check
you knock me on to my toes
plant your teeth on my shoulder, i get tingles all over
i come back with my breath on your neck
oh your bed is inviting, but your wink is seducing
i'm a rock, but you seem to have found
i can't seem to resist you
in that watery gown
you're honest and brutal,
but it's sweet when you're blunt
so should i dare death defy and try to pull some stunt
the hunt is on and the chase is wild
but i'll treat you soft and sweet like a child
s'pose you'll plead you were not aware
you assumed i played with all the girls' hair
how you care for me is flattering
and how i care for you gives you little wings
if this were an emo song this’d probably be the part
where I absolutely fall apart
i got over you a year ago
and i’m movin’ on but i’m movin’ slow
i’m not sorry i’ve got no regrets
my eyes drip like broken faucets
keep me up and keep my pillow wet,
haunted by thoughts that i can’t forget
kept your letters and i kept your stuff
you said it’s over but i’m callin’ your bluff
(lay your hands in mine)
if this were an emo song this’d probably be the part
where I absolutely fall apart
and the strings come in and the trumpets too
and we all bask in the gathering gloom
(if you’da listened you’d’ve heard)
now take a deep breath kid take the stage
give misery to fans against the cage
(they’ll hang on every word)
grab your glimpse of a boy choked up
with his woman gone and copious bad luck
(it’s more than you deserve)
but i’m no tenor with my pants too tight
thick black glasses and skinny thighs
i don’t need your sympathy
so back off y’all don’t try to comfort me
i’m keepin’ pace with a field of stars
I been chasin’ dawn in my fast car
sparse tears come i could not predict
against my will the derelict
but i’ve got my rock yes i’ve been marooned
on this island here for many moons
with a steely will see my jaw defined,
i’ll clench my teeth and a turn a blind eye
i’m waging war on the way i feel
i’ve put my shoulder to the wheel
i’m trying to go quietly
sneaking slowly from the field
oh the hunter and the thief
are one in the same, now
and i hate him cuz he beats me
at playing my game
cuz i play catch and release
and he plays for keeps, now
and his notion of you
is in captivity
and you fell for him
like a hungry dove
and now you believe this
is really what you want
but the sun will rise
and you'll roll out of bed
and you won't find me
with a hanging head
oh i'd love to see you free
but you love to be deceived, now
cuz you're wild like the sea
and a mare looking to breed
oh you hunter and you thief
how you haunt me in my sleep
like a specter of my fate
had i gone a different way, now
Run fast run far oh ho don’t know who you are
Stay quick stay clean oh ho I don’t know what you mean
Make sure you look both ways oh ho everyone is crazed
Envy filled with green oh ho it’s a mean machine
Hey amigo saddle up and ride
It’s time to retreat you know this battle’s suicide
You’re call to decide
but you know this game is lost and won
You nursed those bottles dry
now you stink of gin and bourbon
Fuck your pride and the life you thought you fin’ly had
Your punch drunk trippin’
leanin’ crashin’ back against the wall
You been taken played like a deck of cards
So lay your hand down call their bluff and take it all.
Quick dry let fly oh ho did you ever wonder why?
Don’t slip your grip oh ho don’t you give me no lip
Get paid get laid oh ho all for the love of the game
Swing fast swing hard oh ho you versus Scotland Yard.
It’s dark a spark oh ho Romeo it’s the lark
Give in to sin oh ho my child you are forgiven
Brush back the lack of tears let ‘em roll off your back
To end pretend oh ho bang bang your dead
once upon a time in a storybook
that i’ve begun to compile
i saved your pictures in my mind
collecting dust for a while
your feelings you know i would have spared
if i’d only known how
but good love don’t come a-callin’ every day
so i guess we’re paying for her now
but i will sit and wait for a brighter season
and i will not admit to any deep heart’s treason
but i still cannot find a reason
for the things that i’ve done wrong
and you always suspected that you cared a little more
and now bear a darker shade of blue
but don’t you worry girl don’t you worry now
we’ve made a mess of me too
i know i must have bruised you pretty bad
and i’ve got these scarlet wounds myself
but even as i stand here breathless and bleeding
it’s so hard to just give up and put it all up on the shelf
i do not believe that we will ever return
to the road where we once were
but i promised myself i would not drive too fast,
or adjust my rear view mirror
snow melts now falls away
lain down on what seemed a perfect day
he don’t know what lies in store
but he don’t care anymore
saw green trees turned to fire
striking down his old empire
pyre went up smoke came down
an ashy film rests on his crown
i don’t need to be blind to see
the words written down are about me
and i confess it with great pain
trusting you know how to tame
these wild stallions and desire for fame
kings and queens he could once behold
made mythic now by stories told
cold shoulder is all he’s got
friendship he’s been left with naught
with relinquished fear and vanquished hope
he’s climbing up the slippery slope
end of his rope is comin’ soon
suggesting now impending doom
leaderless without his crew
he’s investing all his fears in you
the manuscript of his life
at a garage sale went for 2.99
there are always strings attached
to his fingertips but he can’t seem to catch
the vibe he once knew to be right
daydreams of his name in lights