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.

died for your sins

by The Avengers

/
1.
teenage rebel lyrics by Penelope Houston/ music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey everywhere I go people stare they put me down but I don't care (they put me down they put me down) my mirror's telling me my face is a mess and all my friends they hate the way i dress Cause I'm a rebel rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, a teenage rebel Well I'm not in school and I hate work I break all their rules and they call me a jerk everybody's trying to tell me how to live my life If I hear it one more time from you baby gonna slit your gut with a knife Cause I'm a rebel rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, a teenage rebel
2.
3.
white nigger lyrics by Penelope Houston/ music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey Well, you don't know what you want working everyday in your restaurant your life is slipping out of control lose your job gonna lose you soul now boy, young and white, so you wanna make it bigger boy, you better watch your step, white nigger When you were young you had such big plans such big ambitions gonna be a good man I say look at you now, oh what a coward living your life but you don't know how to live boy (little boy) young and white, so you try to make it bigger boy, you just don't understand do you white nigger? Work like a devil, work like a dog where does it get you, where do you go oooohhhhh Work for the money, work for the show Work for the people that you don't know I see you driving around in your car pretend you're not what you really are just look in the mirror look in your eyes what you discover will be no surprise something is missing something's wrong you got your money but something's gone something you had right from the start you should have listened to your heart Work like a dog, work like a slave, Work like a devil, and what have you made ohhhhhh no, no, no Work like a dog, work 9-5 working shaking his hand you're staying alive ohhhhhh no, no where you gonna go Work work every day Work your life away and sure it pays but where does it get you, where are you now come on white nigger
4.
5.
I Want In 02:37
I want in lyrics and music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey You've been running 'round Going steady with everyone leave me here alone well, Baby, that's no fun I want in to your head I want in to your heart Don't leave me in the dark 'cause I want in Got millions of boys waiting in a line but they're such bores Baby you're so fine Why don't you let me in I won't mess up a thing I'll be your sugar queen You can be my cock house king I want in to your head I want in to your heart Don't leave me in the dark 'cause I want in You've been running 'round Going steady with everyone I'm left home alone well, Baby, that's no fun I need to stop the pain that's going through my brain you're the only one that can why don't you be my mystery man I want in to your head I want in to your heart Don't leave me in the dark 'cause I want in
6.
crazy homicide lyrics and music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey Nothing in the world can satisfy you but you won't give up and be like the rest nobody cares if you live or die so you join the party called homicide you never get caught 'cause you're too smart invisible boy, you can see in the dark you're an urban guerrilla with no real cause but to tear things down, finish things off What's the point of living a 2-D life you may as well blow up next step is genocide Crazy Homicide, Crazy Homicide (revolution) you got nothing, and nothing to say Crazy Homicide, Crazy Homicide (no solution) don't give yourseves away Nothing in the world can satisfy you but you can't give up and be like the rest nobody cares if you live or die so you join the party called homicide What's the point of living a 2-D life you may as well blow up next stop is suicide Crazy Homicide, Crazy Homicide (revolution) you got nothing, and nothing to say Crazy Homicide, Crazy Homicide (no solution) don't give yourseves away Crazy Homicide, Crazy Homicide (revolution) you got nothing, and nothing to say Crazy Homicide, Crazy Homicide (no solution) don't give yourseves away
7.
the end of the world lyrics by Penelope Houston/ music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey When I wake up in the morning from this dream I'm having going to give everybody the warning I can feel it, I can taste it yeah, the end is near I watch as cities will tumble I smell your rivers burn old men, kneeling and humble nothing left for you to learn, to yearn the end is here And you all hold your breath as you watch the last sun set and your dreams will finally come at the end of the world look down, your shadow's on fire this day will blot out your past no man can hold himself higher with bones of dust to dust I can taste it, now, it's here And you all hold your breath as you watch the last sun set and your dreams will finally come at the end, the end of the world And we all hold our breath as we're standing at the edge and our dreams will finally come at the end, the end of the world
8.
9.
the american in me lyrics by Penelope Houston/ music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey It's the American in me that makes me watch the blood running out of the bullethole in his head. It's the American in me that makes me watch TV see on the news, listen what the man said. He said "Ask not what you can do for your country what's your country been doing to you Ask not what you can do for your country what's your country been doing to your mind?" It's the American in me says it an honor to die in a war that's just a politicians lie It's the American in me that makes me watch TV see how they burn the SLA They say "Ask not what you can do for your country what's your country been doing to you Ask not what you can do for your country what's your country been doing to your mind?" In the USA! In the USA! In the USA! It's the American in me that makes me watch the blood running out of the bullethole in his head. It's the American in me that never wonders why Kennedy was murdered by the FBI (said)
10.
Get Up! (Spoken Intro) (free) 00:15
11.
open your eyes lyrics by Penelope Houston/ music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey At first I thought you were dead but now I see you're on of the rest they drugged you with musak and TV sedation you're one of the blank generation Open your eyes, open your eyes You don't see what's going on Come on, open your eyes, open your eyes you watch TV to find out what's right and wrong, yeah Open your eyes well, they tell you lies and you sing along Open your eyes to what you respected Open your eyes you can reject it I want to upset you, want to make you think but you eat all their shit it makes your breath stink gonna get a job and join a fucking union that way, you know, nothing's gonna happen Open your eyes, open your eyes You don't see what's going on Come on, open your eyes, open your eyes you watch TV to find out what's right and wrong, yeah Open your eyes well, they tell you lies and you sing along Open your eyes to what you respected Open your eyes and you can reject it Like lemmings you run towards destruction you can't see the stream of corruption oh I see you've been blind you better make up your mind Open your eyes, open your eyes You don't see what's going on Come on, open your eyes, open your eyes you watch TV to find out what's right and wrong, yeah Open your eyes well, they tell you lies and you sing along Open your eyes to what you respected Open your eyes and you can reject it Oh, open your eyes Oh, open your eyes
12.
car crash lyrics by Penelope Houston/ music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey Sitting at home all alone I hear a voice on the telephone telling me that you're dead you wrecked your car, you lost your head dreamt you had a car crash, now you're dead on the road with your head smashed well I heard the news, can't be true look what happened to you whoa oh no no no no whoa oh no no no no whoa oh no no no no Why did you leave me, where did you go? knew this would happen and I told you so, but you didn't listen to what I said look at you baby, you lost your head I dreamt you had a car crash dead on the road with your head smashed heard the news, can't be how could you have done this to me? whoa oh no no no no whoa oh no no no no whoa oh no no no no Gone, gone, gone you left me Sitting at home all alone I hear a voice on the telephone telling me that you're dead man, you lost your head whoa oh no no no no whoa oh no no no no you're dead you left me whoa oh no no no no you're gone now whoa oh no no no no
13.
14.
Fuck You 02:15
fuck you lyrics and music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey maybe the world's a mess but baby I like your dress been seeing you around hear you're the best in town I want to fuck you, fuck you, fuck you fuck you
15.
16.
17.
desperation lyrics and music by P. Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey Gotta get out of here there's nothing for me here nothing to do, nowhere to go no words to say, no thoughts to think Oh, I'm leaving the pressure's building up on me the air is really thick, can't breathe I'm leaving I'm running, I'm running out of time out of breath, out of desperation Now you see me, now you don't can't stay here much longer the situation I've been making for myself can't take it, not you I'm running I'm running catch my freedom now you'll see, I won't be here for long I gotta get out out from under you what are you trying to make me do? I'm running, I'm running gotta get out gotta catch my freedom I'm running, running I'm running out of desperation gotta get out catch my freedom gotta get where I can breathe I'm running, running out of desperation
18.
19.
we are the one lyrics and music by Penelope Houston, G. Ingraham, D. O'Brien, J. Wilsey we are the leaders of tomorrow we are the one to have the fun we want control we want the power not gonna stop until it comes we are not Jesus Christ we are not fascist pigs we are not capitalist industrialists we are not communists we are the one we will build a better tomorrow the youth of today will be the tool american children built for survival fate is our destiny and we shall rule we are not Jesus Christ we are not fascist pigs we are not capitalist industrialists we are not communists we are the one I am the one who shows you the future I am the one who buries the past a new species rise up from the ruins I am the one that was made to last we are not Jesus Christ we are not fascist pigs we are not capitalist industrialists we are not communists we are the one
20.

about

(from 1998)
A few years ago a small label called Really Fast from Sweden released a single with two Avengers songs taken from a tape that Danny Furious had. I remembered the day we recorded it at Iguana rehearsal hall with a stereo mic (which we thought was pretty advanced!) I recognized Teenage Rebel but the other song Friends Of Mine was totally new to me, even though it was clear that I was singing it and had written the lyrics. And it sounded pretty good. How many songs never made it to tape? How many lost to memory? I started collecting live shows to see what was out there.

My hopes in releasing this album were to bring to light some of the lost Avengers songs and give give a feeling of the wildness of the live shows.

What you're holding in your hands is mostly an archival set of field recordings. and we have the tapers and traders to thank for it's existence. Without them many performances and even whole songs would have disappeared without a trace. I had no idea that these recordings were out there floating around in the world and that with the internet and hours of word-of-mouth research they could be tracked down. Teenage Rebel, Friends Of Mine and The Good The Bad And The Kowalskis were from the Iguana rehearsal. The early version of White Nigger was demoed at Wally Heider Studios and is quite different from the one Steve Jones produced on the Avengers EP from 1979. It reminds me of how late I would wait to finish writing the lyrics before a recording session (once on the bus on the way there). Crazy Homicide, I Want In and The End Of The World were songs I did have lyrics for and really were finished, but only could be found on muddy live sets. Greg was excited about the idea of recording them and since Danny was in Sweden and Jimmy was incommunicado we put together the Scavengers with Joel Reader and Danny Panic (of The Plus Ones). Probably my favorite moment on this album is Greg's lead on The End Of The World which he remembered note for note for 20 years ago! We hope the purists will forgive us (or fuck 'em). The 2nd half of the recording is cut together from 5 of about 15 different live shows that I collected from the collectors. I don't remember a whole lot about them as I had a formula of three gin and tonics before hitting the stage, but I'm pretty sure the performer that played before us which I critiqued in Fools Or Hippies was a scruffy bearded hippie banging pots and pans. He later became the artist known as Zev. From listening to the live tapes I have to admit that harranging the audience was part and parcel of a Avengers show. People seemed to like it. If these songs sound blurry, ferocious, impassioned and slightly out of control, then they'll give you a little taste of what it was like at the Mabuhay Gardens in 1978. Wish you'd been there.

credits

released April 10, 1999

The Avengers are:
Penelope Houston: vocals
Greg Ingraham: guitar
Danny Furious: drums
Jimmy Wilsey: bass

tracks 5, 6 +7 recorded by the ScAvengers 1998
Penelope and Greg, with Joel Reader: bass, Danny Panic: drums

Produced by Penelope Houston and Kevin Army
all songs written by Houston/Ingraham/O'Brien/Wilsey
Mastered by John Golden
Cover design by Patrick Roques
Photos by Marcus Leatherdale

Tracks recording info:
1, 2, +4 at Iguana Rehearsal Studios by Joey Swails 1978
3 at Wally Heider Studios 1978
5-7 at Roof Brothers by Kevin Army 1998
8-12 live at the Mabuhay by James Manniello 1978
13+14 live at the Keystone Berkeley 1977
15-17 live in Santa Cruz 1978
18 live at the Keystone Palo Alto by Jerry Harrison 1977
19 live at the Whiskey a-go-go 1978

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Penelope Houston Oakland, California

shows

contact / help

Contact Penelope Houston

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like died for your sins, you may also like: