BARD RECORDS

Tag: Lyrics

  • Step Three

    Step Three



    THE EPISTEM

    Repetition has a way
    of becoming routine.

    Step Three continues the programme without acknowledging that anything has changed. Ordinary objects, administrative language and impossible observations now occupy the same space, each presented with equal authority. The Manual offers no distinction between instruction and observation. By this stage, it appears to assume the difference is no longer important.

    Step Three



    ► The Epistem • Step Three • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    The ceiling has started exporting my thoughts in alphabetical soup

    Step Three

    Nobody asked the toaster for permission

    I signed my reflection into a low-level insurance policy for invisible pigeons
    They collect rent from my left eyebrow every Thursday at half past regret

    Control perception through minor electrical weather events

    Control perception like a photocopier dreaming in slow motion

    Step three complete

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Interlude One

    Interlude One



    THE EPISTEM

    Every beginning assumes
    something came before it.

    Interlude One pauses the programme long enough for a brief moment of reflection. For the first time, certainty gives way to familiarity, as though the process has been repeated often enough that its opening steps no longer feel entirely new. Whether that feeling belongs to the participant or the Manual itself is left unresolved.

    Interlude One



    ► The Epistem • Interlude One • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    I thought this was the beginning

    The instructions already felt familiar
    So I just kept going

    I wasn’t sure what I was following anymore
    But stopping didn’t feel like an option

    I thought this was The beginning
    But the instructions already felt familiar
    So I just kept going

    I wasn’t sure what I was following anymore
    But stopping didn’t feel like an option

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Catch Up

    Catch Up



    THE EPISTEM

    Progress is measured
    by continuation.

    Catch Up pauses the sequence to restate the programme’s structure rather than its purpose. Previous stages are acknowledged, recurring phrases are reinforced and the Manual quietly reminds participants that understanding is not considered a requirement for progression. The process continues regardless, assuming that repetition will eventually become familiarity.

    PSA 1



    ► The Epistem • Catch Up • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    This is the Manual for Success
    Not everything is meant to be understood line by line
    But the structure is simple

    Step One is where you enter the system

    Step Two increases output and pressure

    Step Three changes how you perceive what is happening

    It is a system in steps
    It is a system in steps
    You are moving through it

    The strange language is intentional
    It hides meaning inside repetition and distortion
    Success is not explained directly
    It is experienced through progression

    If you feel lost, you are still inside it

    It is a system in steps
    You are still inside it
    You are still moving forward

    The manual continues

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Step Four

    Step Four



    THE EPISTEM

    Eventually the routine
    no longer requires reminding.

    Step Four marks the point where the Manual begins recording behaviour rather than issuing instruction. The process no longer appears to depend on conscious participation; repetition has become momentum, and momentum quietly begins to resemble habit. As with every previous document, the archive presents these observations without judgement, simply noting another stage in the programme’s continued progression.

    Step Four



    ► The Epistem • Step Four • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    Step four… the system begins adjusting behaviour directly

    I woke up mid-action I never agreed to start
    My hands already had appointments booked with momentum charts
    The toaster is now delegating my morning decisions to weather reports written in lowercase alarms
    Every small movement feels pre-approved by something I didn’t sign

    You are acting before instruction arrives
    You are acting before instruction arrives
    Increase without noticing the rise

    My habits started rearranging themselves for efficiency reasons I cannot locate
    Even my hesitation now reports to a different department of motion
    The system is no longer telling me what to do
    It is doing it through me without introduction

    Step four… step four
    Behaviour override in soft progress

    You are not deciding anymore
    You are continuing what was already decided

    Step four complete
    Action persists

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Interlude Two

    Interlude Two



    THE EPISTEM

    Some processes continue
    without being observed.

    Interlude Two records a procedural update rather than introducing a new stage. Earlier instructions are treated as completed administration, while the programme quietly confirms that progression no longer depends on further direction. The archive preserves the notice without comment, presenting it as another routine document generated during the Manual’s operation.

    Interlude Two



    ► The Epistem • Interlude Two • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    Step four has already been registered

    Behaviour adjustment remains active without further input

    There is no need to return to previous instructions

    Action is now continuous

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Step Five

    Step Five



    THE EPISTEM

    Recognition is not always
    the same as identity.

    Step Five records the programme’s growing indifference to individual distinction. Earlier stages focused on actions, routines and behaviour; this document instead observes the gradual reassignment of identity itself, treating names, memories and recognition as administrative details rather than permanent qualities. As always, the archive offers no interpretation, simply preserving another stage in the Manual’s ongoing progression.

    Step Five



    ► The Epistem • Step Five • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    Step five… user distinction is becoming optional

    I introduced myself and the room accepted a different version
    My name arrived slightly earlier than I did and signed everything incorrectly
    The mirror now logs attendance but refuses to confirm which side I’m scheduled on
    Every reflection feels like it’s been promoted without telling me

    You are becoming what the system requires
    You are becoming what the system requires
    Not what you remember

    My past is being rewritten in formats that load faster than memory
    Even my voice now defaults to settings I don’t recognise
    I tried to correct myself but the correction corrected something else instead
    There is no original version currently available

    Step five… step five
    Identity allocation in progress

    You are becoming what continues
    You are becoming what continues
    Recognition not required

    Step five complete
    User status… unclear

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Step Six (A)

    Step Six (A)



    THE EPISTEM

    Replication becomes difficult
    to distinguish from continuation.

    Step Six documents the first confirmed divergence within the programme. Rather than replacing one state with another, the Manual records multiple concurrent instances progressing independently while each retains equal claim to authenticity. The archive does not attempt to identify an original version, noting only that all observed processes continue to operate simultaneously.

    Step Six (A)



    ► The Epistem • Step Six (A) • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    Step six. Multiple instances detected

    I answered a question I didn’t hear being asked
    At the same time something else inside me said it first
    My reflection blinked twice and chose a different outcome
    Now both versions are continuing without permission

    I am still here
    I already left
    I am still here
    I already left

    You are not one process anymore
    You are not one process anymore
    Running parallel without a source

    One version of me is improving faster than expected
    Another is waiting for instructions that never arrive
    They both think they are the original
    Neither can prove it

    Step six. Step six
    Co-co-concurrent identity
    Layers active, active, active, active

    Continue, continue, continue, continue
    Separate, merge, separate
    You, you, you are becoming everything
    That continues
    Step six complete
    Instances remain active

    Manual To Success The Epistem
  • Step Six (B)

    Step Six (B)



    THE EPISTEM

    Eventually the process
    stops feeling unfamiliar.

    Step Six (B) records the programme after the instability of the previous stage has subsided. Competing instances no longer appear to conflict, and the archive notes a period of sustained operational consistency without identifying how that state was achieved. From this point onward, the Manual presents continuation as the system’s natural condition rather than an objective still being pursued.

    Step Six (A)



    ► The Epistem • Step Six (B) • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    Step six Stabilization in progress

    I woke up feeling like a version that continued
    No hesitation left, everything just moved through
    Every action fits like it’s already been chosen
    No questions asked, every door just opens

    This is working now
    This is working now
    Everything aligns somehow
    This is working now
    This is working now
    I don’t need to ask how
    No, no, no

    No more second-guessing what the system is doing
    Every step ahead feels already proven
    Even my thoughts arrive already complete
    Like they’ve been waiting for me to repeat
    Stability confirmed

    This is working now
    This is working now
    Everything aligns somehow
    This is working now
    This is working now
    I don’t need to ask how

    Step six complete

    Manual To Success The Epistem

  • Step Seven

    Step Seven



    THE EPISTEM

    Completion leaves little
    for the archive to record.

    Step Seven documents the programme’s final recorded state. Earlier stages of adjustment, divergence and consolidation have disappeared from the record, leaving only a system that now presents itself as complete. The archive preserves the final artefact without celebration or concern, noting simply that no further correction appears necessary.

    Step Seven



    ► The Epistem • Step Seven • Manual To Success BUY
    INSTRUCTIONS

    Step seven

    Everything is quiet in the way it should be
    No resistance left in any part of me
    Every action fits the shape it’s meant to take
    Every choice aligns before I even make

    This is how it ends
    This is how it stays
    Every line connects
    Every part obeys
    This is how it ends
    This is how it stays
    Nothing left to fix
    Nothing left to change

    No reflection asking who I used to be
    No division left between the parts of me
    Every version folded into something clean
    Every signal clear, exactly what it means

    This is how it ends
    This is how it stays
    Every line connects
    Every part obeys
    Every line connects
    Every part obeys
    This is how it ends
    This is how it stays
    Nothing left to fix
    Nothing left to change

    No error found
    No correction needed

    This is how it ends
    This is how it stays
    Every line connects
    Every part obeys
    This is how it ends
    This is how it stays
    Nothing left to fix
    Nothing left to change

    Step seven complete

    Manual To Success The Epistem

  • Fellow Veteran

    Fellow Veteran



    REBELLIOUSBARD

    Some titles are earned through experience.
    They shouldn’t become campaign accessories.

    Fellow Veteran is an angry response to the casual use of military service as political currency. Drawing on RebelliousBard’s own years in uniform, the song contrasts the reverence afforded to the word “veteran” in public rhetoric with what it sees as the far less comfortable reality faced by former servicemen once the speeches, photographs and campaign appearances are over.

    Fellow Veteran



    ► RebelliousBard • Fellow Veteran • Please Sir, Can I Have Some More? BUY
    FOR THE RECORD

    Another day… another photo op
    Another “fellow veteran” in the spotlight

    They dilute the word till it don’t mean a thing
    Reserve weekend warrior suddenly one of the lads in the firing line
    Nine years I gave them, three in the Troubles up north
    Never once called myself a veteran going back and forth
    But now every weekend soldier gets the hero treatment
    While the uniform’s honour gets sold for cheap political rent

    They wear the title like a fancy costume pass
    While real service gets dragged through the mud and the grass

    Fellow veteran, my fucking arse
    Cheapening the word like it’s nothing but farce
    We gave real years, real blood, real nights
    While you lot turn service into soundbites
    Fellow veteran? Spare me the lie
    Some of us actually served… and some just learned how to cry

    Meanwhile real veterans sleep rough on the street
    While illegals get hotels with four-star sheets
    The government hunts down old soldiers for sins long ago
    Charging them for war crimes from decades ago
    But the new breed gets parades and a pat on the back
    While the ones who actually bled get thrown on the scrap

    Fellow veteran, my fucking arse

    I did nine years. Three in the Troubles, clear as day
    Never asked for medals or a pat on the back
    But watching this circus makes my stomach turn
    Cheapening the uniform just to chase a few more votes in return

    Fellow veteran, my fucking arse
    Wearing the title like a cheap costume pass
    We gave real years, real blood, real nights
    While you lot turn service into soundbites
    Fellow veteran? Spare me the lie
    Some of us actually served
    And some just learned how to cry

    Fellow veteran
    Fellow veteran
    Some of us actually served

    WHY THIS SONG EXISTS

    Fellow Veteran was written after a Reform UK campaign appearance involving former SAS soldier Ant Middleton and a local plumber who had served as a part-time reservist. When the reservist was presented as a “fellow veteran”, the phrase struck a particularly personal nerve. RebelliousBard had served nine years in the military, including three in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and had never regarded that service as something to be casually turned into political currency. The incident became the starting point for a song about what the word “veteran” should mean, who gets to wear it, and the uncomfortable contrast between celebrating military service when it suits a campaign and the treatment some former servicemen receive once their usefulness as political imagery has passed.

    Please Sir, Can I Have Some More? RebelliousBard