it’s taking larger doses now to make us feel alive/
while we’re on the edge of something much more real

don’t leave me to my emptiness/ this grayscale silhouette
this senseless repetition of our days/ this counterfeit

give me the real thing not this watered down or in between
I want the real thing not this middle ground/ I want the sight unseen

addicted to this present tense/ these dollars make no sense
we chase the wind this gold can’t validate our existence

shadow shadow where’s your substance
where’s your shine/ shadow shadow i want the substance of this time

2005 - David Zach

Behind the Song:
"'Real Thing' is a song that burned inside of me for a while. We sometimes end up taking larger and larger doses of whatever it is that we think will make us feel alive – never realizing that we're on the threshold of something more real than this world that's been pulled over our eyes. The last thing any of us are looking for is a diluted existence – the shadow and not the substance. But I find myself chasing the wind. I catch myself actually believing that success can bring happiness - that accomplishment can complete me – that gold or plastic can validate my existence. But all these things are untrue. These things - gold, accomplishment, success, picket fences – are just a shadow of something much more real - a kingdom that can't be inherited with this flesh and blood - a kingdom that can't be bought or sold. This song, like many other songs on this album, is a protest against the value system of our society. I was told in a sociology class in college that it is a proven study that the more a society has, the happier that society is. I'm not buying it." - David Zach (Remedy Drive)