Institute of Living, by Two Humans (2025)

1.

i have a bodyit's fucking uselessbecause i have no soulbecause i have no souland you are a birdieyou're mind is uselessyou fly south from the coldyou fly south from the coldi have a body and you have a bodythat i wanna holdthat i wanna know

2.

chase your demonstill you cant see themi think i can see them on the horizonwhat other guy's gonna love you baby?love your motherlove your fatherthey gave you a bed and some toys to play withtaught you to never play with matchessilently sobbing on the bathroom floorhugging the toilet"policia! policia"they dont know youthey dont have toi dont know if ill come to see younobody out here would want to be youI've stopped writingwe've stopped fightingand one day youll catch me for a cigarettewe'll be standing on the sidewalk12 o clock i betyou'll say i should miss youyour friends at school dont miss youfinally a story that can end with a sighand not me looking at ya hangin off of some other guy"can i come over?""oh maybe"YOURE DRIVING ME FUCKING CRAZYand im only showeringcuz i got nothin to doi havent felt cleanin a month or two

3.

And when the speed it hits meI finally feel at hometill I'm going gone.And when you say you want meyou tell me I'm your beaux.I'll just roll over cause I'd probably ratherbe sleeping, baby.Cause you drive me crazy.You interrupt my concentration.I like it.We built a lie on this foundation.I hate it.And now I'm gonna count to threeand you're gonna look at meand we're gonna say goodbyefor the very last time.And I'll say,"I wish we could go back to a time and placewhere we would never meet".And you'll say,"I wonder how your shit-eating grin looks when you have no fucking teeth".So J be nice when you finally see her.What a sub-par use of my shit demeanor. What a complicated way to say, "I care".

4.

i'm only showeringcuz i got nothin to doi havent felt cleanin a month or twoso if you want to we can see this throughi know youve had doubts for a month or twoi just might believethat i have been deceived

5.

i heard your heart break from a second story windowthe sound was music to my earsthere are things about that you claim to knowbut you dont know where i hide my fearsso be freebe sadgo tell your best friends that they make you fuckin madand all the time im feelin lonely i know that you feel lonely toodont makeme confessto the pictures of you i hide in my dresserits nothing scandalous just us having a dancecup of coffee"man i say too much"glass of whiskey"now i fucked it up"when did we decidethat we could not collide?in the summer of 2013im gonna show you what it meansto be freeto be sadi told my best friends"man you make me fucking mad"and all the time im feeling lonelyi know that you feel lonely tooand all the time im feeling lonelyjust know that is because of youi will radiate aliveonly to diethe backseat of my mindis where we will lie

6.

last marchi woke up drunk and hit the road with my familymachine gun wolf and methat weekyou called me up and said"im not who im supposed to be"and thats just fine with meill spend my summertrying to love you out of house and homeand ill spend my winterwatching rust collecton this pile of once white bonesbaby lay your head on my chestim sorry that im such a messits just ive been drinking since i woke upand thought of youi had a dream that i crashed my carand about a new girl i adoreand yeahshes got a little of meand a little of youive met new onesthey dont like me muchim too tallim awkwardim too talltoo fuckin awkward

7.

locked up all my memoriesi guess im still hung upabout what could likely bethe current state of usand our lovea love so sweet it makes me sickso sick that i throw upcould you dog ear my prologueand put me on a shelf?replace me with poetrythats sung by someone elseplease put me with comedyi like laughing and smilingi deserve more than justa dusty spot next to kerouactheres one thing thatyou may not getis that i am never coming back

8.

Rusty pile of iron things.My hat hair falling in my face.Another missed phone call.I can almost hear your voice so guttural. So claustrophobic.The room feels small.And in the morning I know you'll calland say, "Honey isn't it a little earlyto be drinking wine?""These days I do all I can to pass the time".So with every broken bottle and with every mistake I will make I'll leave a million broken hearts here in my wake.

9.

well i guess its just semantics after all thats tearing us apart, that invades my head and heart. that makes me say and do things that i dont really want to. your perfect new york drawl (xo) you're always dressed up for the fall (xo) you match my lack of courage with too much alcohol (xo) you say you've got some knowledge to give. i say "i dont even know where you live or where you're from or where you'd like to see yourself end up" you'll say that "i was born between new york and boston a hospital not far from the corner of washington street" go smoke your 100 packs a day so when you end up back you can say you "just wanted to see the place you were born"

10.

You just want whats best for usbut us isn't "us"remember we went belly up?Sometimes enough is just enough.Heard your new guys using.Misuse, abuse, a little bit of boozing:a recipe to make you kiss the cook.I could write my lonely tunebut I can't write a song for you because happiness is much to hard to sing.So I'll just sit here trapped alonedon't call or text my telephone.The less I know the less I feel the pain.I love my married mother,my three sisters, two baby brothers.The best love of my life is truly free.Whatever you think I'm missingyou're wrong as rain, yeah I've been liftedup from the ground, no longer a spirit,I no longer say things when I don't mean it.

11.

You said my footsteps sound different.You heard me coming home last night.You wanted to talk about something and I just wanted to fight.You said that I need a haircut.And I said that you could use a shave.We haven't been talking latelybut which one will be the first to cave?And I got a letter from mommy.She said, "Jason it is time you grew up".But I won't.I'm still drinking at the Hotel Lobbyand writing that I don't give a fuck.You said my footsteps sound awfulas I trudged my way to the top of the stairs.Your Hallmark apology's not thoughtful.It just shows that you came unprepared.You came unprepared.And I got a letter from Mommy.She said, "Jason it is time you grew up".

12.

A worn out rusty iron hide; it was a perfect shade of white.And now the weather gets it.I shrug my shoulders cause I don't really mind.And in the morning when you wake up you'll feel different but just on the inside.I'm halfway to homestead.And I hope to see you there.I might drown in my own self-confidence.I don't want to die like this.And, no, I won't behave.I will not feel the same as I used to.That person you knew, no he hasn't gone away.He just chose not to stay.A, B, C and 1, 2, 3,Oh my darling just listen to reason please.I don't know what has happened to me.Could have been all the fights could have been all thewhiskey.The only one who cares.The only one who's there.She'll hold your hair back when you get upset.Darling, come here quick.My bottle's made me sick,Put me in a deep dark pitI'll never leave.I'm halfway to homesteadand I'm glad I found you there.I won't drown in my own self-confidenceI don't want to die like this.

released April 20, 2014

Two Humans is John Rule III, Lucas Borgstedt, and Kevin O'Donnell.

All songs written by John Rule III.

Produced & mixed by Kevin O'Donnell.

Engineered by Kevin O'Donnell, Craig Mills and Cameron Boucher.