Words to Live By: A look at some of Chump's Lyrics

"Integrity is not something you get in a box
 Integrity is not a badge you wear on your chest
 Integrity is not something you drink from a flask
 Integrity… is not a tangible package.
 But it's the price you pay for making it today."

To many people these words would come across as an excerpt from a textbook introduction, or in someone's commencement speech. But rock music fans from Charleston, South Carolina have come to expect such lyrics from the power-packed original songs of Chump.

The sound has been described as a cross between Alice Cooper and the Ramones; AC/DC meets the Buzzcocks; one step beyond the Smithereens in loudness, with all the lyrical seriousness. While none of these descriptions quite fits, it does point the direction to the grandeur that is Chump. And if it points in the direction of the stage, all the better, because this is a band to be experienced live. In the tradition of such power trios as Cream and ZZ Top, Chump is an energetic, uncannily full-sounding three-piece band.

These pages present a few hints of Chump's lyrics. If you think these words sound pretty serious, wait until you hear the music. If the impossibly catchy hooks don't grab you the first time around, it's just a matter of time before you'll be enamored with the band's forthright approach.

Passion. Conviction. Integrity. It's all there in Chump's sound. Give them a listen, and read the words. Absorb the Chump experience. Chump on this: Chump or be chumped.

Chump: Some Sample Lyrics
Addicted to Sex Jaded Money Rid Of You
Caffeinism Keep Walkin' Mr. Know-It-All Too Big
Drunk Kill Willy Much Happiness 25°
Integrity Living in Squalor Pretty Little Head What You Say



ADDICTED TO SEX
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999;
Millennium Mix available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

Addicted to sex
is what they say
It scares me to death
when they talk that way

Now I've got a problem
to that I'm resigned
If I don't get help
I'll go out of my mind.

I'm the first to admit I need rehab
but not because of pills or coke
I drink a little bit, mostly on weekends
It's been 10 years or more since I've smoked dope

I walk around, pumped-up and ready
women meet me but don't know what to think
I go through condoms like New Year's confetti
all I wanna do is fuck like a mink

Addicted to sex, addicted to sex
The more I resist, the hotter I get
Addicted to sex, addicted to sex
The worst part of all is I have
no regrets.

I just want a hole to cum in
I just want to get my rocks off
I'll do anything with a heartbeat
I'll do anything with a pulse.


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CAFFEINISM
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

A pot of coffee in the morning
A box of Kit Kats for a snack
A six of Jolt in the afternoon
Started the attack

My boss complains that I'm cranky
and irritable at work
I'm paranoid that he'll fire me
and it makes my tension worse

I got a headache so bad that it throbs in my teeth
It gets even worse when I take Nutrasweet
My eyes bug out like I'm a frog in a creek
I ate so much caffeine that I won't sleep for a week!

There's no physician who can help me
I'm palpitating in my brain
Another coffee won't kill me
but it'll help drive me insane

A vat of coffee in the morning
a case of Mountain Dew at night
Just can't change so I'll give in
caffeine has won the fight!


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DRUNK
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

Yes I drink
but I can stop anytime
that I want
but just not now
'Cause that guy
sitting there at the end of the bar
just offered to buy the next round.
Why do you
feel compelled to run from me
when I'm drunk?
Are you just scared
that I might decide to bat you around
or yank out a tuft of your hair?

First I get witty
then I get silly
then I get sloppy then
downright messy
then I get nasty
then I get vicious
then I think I black out.

I don't know
why my boss fired me
but I know
I don't need help
I suppose
he sees his own bad traits
and projects them on somebody else.


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INTEGRITY
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999;
Radio edit available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

What was the cost? How much did you pay?
Your innocence is lost, do you feel betrayed?

Gotta pay your dues, gotta pass the test.
Abuse or amuse -- which suits you the best?

Integrity is not something you get in a box
Integrity is not a badge you wear on your chest
Integrity is not something you drink from a flask
Integrity is not a tangible package
But it's the price you pay
it's just the price you pay
it's the price you pay for making it today.

You pay a pound of flesh to get an ounce of cure
you feel good right now but you can't get any more.

Time goes slowly on, the present turns to past
your youth is gone -- it wasn't meant to last.


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JADED
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

You say life sucks
I say, no duh
I'm in a rut
Big deal, so what?

My job sucks, ain't that a drag? (I'm jaded)
Boss treats me like half a fag (frustrated)

You think I stink
Well have another
fuckin' drink
I cut my hair
Act like I don't care

I don't fit, don't give a shit (I'm jaded)
I'm so pissed-off I could spit (frustrated)

Here I stand with empty hands (I'm jaded)
Makes me feel like half a man (frustrated)


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KEEP WALKIN'
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

You're the kind I'd love to leave behind me
And you're the kind I'd like to see Fall flat on your face
And I don't need anyone to remind me
It was you who put me in this place.

So if you see me out on the street
Don't cross my path, don't look my way
I've got nothing to say to you
The best thing you could do is keep walkin' on.

Been spendin' too much time down in the valley.
Spending too much time down at the bottom of the hill.
Did you think I'd forget so quickly
it was you who tried to break my will.

So if you see me out on the street,
forget my face, forget my name.
If it's all the same to you,
the best thing you could do is keep walkin' on.


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KILL WILLY
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

Willy broke my coffee cup – I killed him
Willy broke my coffee cup – I killed him
Willy broke my coffee cup – I shot that fuck.

I'm responsible for my actions, but society's to blame
I never meant to kill him but the guy got me insane
I try to do for others, it keeps my karma clean
but with a character like Willy I just had to make a scene

The guy was such a scumbag always put his workers down
every chance he'd get he'd just rub 'em in the ground
I hated his guts and I'm glad that he's dead
You treat people like dirt and you deserve what you get

Willy broke my coffee cup – I killed him
Willy broke my coffee cup – I killed him
Willy broke my coffee cup – I shot that fuck.

He made life miserable for those around him
a black cloud of hate just seemed to surround him
I told him that we needed milk, he broke my cup
That's when I decided that I'd had enough!

Gimme a gun, gimme a gun, gimme a gun
Gimme a gun, gimme a gun, gimme a gun
Gimme a gun, gimme a gun, gimme a gun – Mike!
Gimme a gun, gimme a gun, gimme a gun

Alone with my anger I confronted the bastard
my heart grew and my blood pumped it faster
I aimed and fired and blew him away


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LIVING IN SQUALOR
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

The garbage on my lawn
is hidden by the two-foot weeds.
The holes gouged in my walls
Are half the size of the ones in the roof.
My car is up on blocks
to keep it above the rotting debris
I had to shut its doors
when vermin started living in the back seat.

Times are hard and I'm livin' in
Squalor
Money's tight and I'm livin' in
Squalor

My basement's pretty neat
backed-up sewage only three feet deep
But better hold your nose as you walk down
or your last few meals might start swimming around

My carpet's full of ants
that eat the crumbs I've been keeping there
and my whole bathroom floor
is yellow from me missing the bowl.

I'm a slob – can't get my life together, can't get a job
I'm a dreg – don't earn a dime, but I'm too lazy to beg
But I don't care – my life's too cozy in this ripped easy chair!

Fur balls from my cat
hide the stains on the living room couch
I change his litter box
the second or third week of the month

Times are hard and I'm livin' in
Squalor
Money's tight and I'm livin' in
Squalor
I'm a CHUMP so I'm livin' in
Squalor


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MONEY
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

Money is the root of all evil
And money can corrupt the best of people
It can buy me clothes or diamond rings
Gets me almost anything
But money Can't buy me justice

Whoever said that money can't buy me love?
And whoever said that money can't buy much happiness?
It can buy me all those things and more
Gets me through almost any door
But money can't buy me justice
So my money
It ain't worth nothing at all

Money draws the lines of friendship
Money rewrites all the rules
There's killers walking out on the street
Think they've got the system beat
But money can't buy me justice
So my money
It ain't worth nothing at all


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MR. KNOW-IT-ALL
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

Look around, something's on its way
Shut your mouth, never any good you say
Tell a lie, gotta justify your case
Ignorance, your life is such a waste

You think you're smarter than anyone else
You're the one above all blame
You've done it all, like it or not
And everything's gotta be your way, Mr. Know-It-All

All for one, you're never one for all
You're too good, work is not your call
On my nerves, the stupid things you do
Hypocrisy is your unwritten rule

Watch your back, there are dues to pay
What comes around, goes around some day
Glassy eyed, lost in outer space
And in the end, you'll lose the human race.

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MUCH HAPPINESS
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

You ask me if I love you, Well don't make me laugh
I sit and think about you and it stirs up my wrath
I gave and gave and gave it's true, I wore myself out
I made myself a slave for you, you rented me out

Through the years there's been some tears
That's to be expected
But behind the tears there was no cheer
I felt hurt and rejected.
Our whole time together, you haven't given me

Much happiness /Much happiness
Much happiness /Much happiness
I think of you and just get sick
I find myself frustrated over what's gone wrong
It seems you just lost sight of what was going on
The nearness of our breakup brings a sigh of relief
But you don't know it's over, think that still love runs deep

Through the years you never heard me
you would never even listen
But now you're forced to see the truth
watch as I scream "Goodbye"
The reason that I'm going is you haven't given me
Much happiness /Much happiness
Much happiness /Much happiness
I think of you and just get sick


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PRETTY LITTLE HEAD
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

Daddy's wallet opens lots of doors for you
but when he's not around you just don't know what to do
He got you a great job complete with all of life's perks
Including your own office where you act like you work
But you just sit
and use the phone
or brush your hair

Your absolutely empty head is spinning around
the aftermath of all those quarts of vodka you downed
You crawl in every morning nearly two hours late
then bore us with the details of the prior night's date
and then you sit
and order lunch
and stuff your face

Are there any thoughts in your pretty little head?
Is your big dilemma who you'll get in bed?
When you have the chance to earn you'll take instead
negating any stress that might invade your little head.
Do you every wonder why they think you're a flake?
For everything you do right there are five mistakes
the helpless little girl routine is too much to take
when payday rolls around and we all see what you make.

Who'll make the payments on your brand new car?
And who'll pick up your hefty tab at the bar?
Who covers up for all your errors at work
and takes up the slack for all the jobs that you shirk?
Who'll pay your rent now that you're six months behind?
Don't let it worry your pretty little mind!!

Daddy's little girl is all you'll ever be
he dotes on you so much that it's revolting to see
The only likely purpose in your meaningless life
is to find a sugar daddy and be his wife
so you can sit
and watch TV
and get real fat.


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RID OF YOU
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

You were the one who made my whole life miserable
To listen to you one would think I'm insufferable
No matter what I did for you it wasn't enough
To get along with you is more than just rough

I'm not complaining 'cause I'm rid of you
I'm not complaining 'cause you're out of my life
and if I had the chance to pay you back for all your cruelty
I just don't know if I would waste my breath
I just don't know if I would strain myself
I'm happier than I've ever been before
and it's because I'm rid of you.

You'd tell my friends that I was mean to you and the dog
The web of lies that you wove was thicker than fog
To get your way you'd often play two ends against one
When this caused trouble you would act like it was in fun

I'm not complaining 'cause I'm rid of you
My childhood's dead but all my dreams are alive
And if you ask me if I feel remorse for leaving you behind
I'd have to say you had too much of a chance
You tried to ruin my life and kill my romance
You thought my life should just revolve around you
But now I am rid of you.

You say that life with me was a waste of your time; it was a bigger waste of mine
You tell people that I walked out on you, but that is just a lie
Still I don't care how the story is told as long as it ends the right way

I hope you'll learn that you can't win every ploy
Your plots and schemes will only serve to annoy
My life is better without you on my back
And I am glad to be rid of you.


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TOO BIG
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

Hey you, you're too big for your britches
You get me hot, and then your attitude switches
You like to tease me of that there's no doubt
You get me all worked up and then won't put out

Too big for your britches / Too big for your britches

Hey you, you don't blow me anymore
When we first met, you'd go down just like a whore
You'd walk the streets earning money to burn
But now you won't turn those tricks you learned

Too big for your britches / Too big for your britches

You're on your knees, but you don't wanna suck
You spread your legs, but you don't wanna fuck
Too big for your britches / Too big for your britches


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25°
(Available on Viagraculture, ©1999)

25 degrees, wind chill factor minus
12 it's been 17 days since you locked me in Hell.
It wasn't quite as hot as they said it would be.
Maybe you left me in purgatory.

Vodka seemed the way to melt the ice you left behind,
it didn't ease the pain but it helped to cloud my mind.
You said we had love, but if that were true,
how could you turn around and tell me to forget you?

You can't start a fire and then let it burn
Then hope to put it out with no damage.
How can I forget everything that I've learned?
It's hard enough to stop now that we've begun.


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WHAT YOU SAY
(Available on Blue Steel Baby, ©2001)

You want to make everyone happy
Without responsibility
You overdo it you've had enough
On days like this, you gotta have that stuff

What you say
It ain't the same thing as what you said
Said the other day
What you say
It changes everyday
What you said
Don't mean a damn thing.

So now you say, you hate this place
You want to move away
Soon as you're gone, you're gonna forget it
Maybe you'd better stay.


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