1. |
Puritans
04:43
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Seeing themselves, like all do gooders do
Crusaders for good, sorting vice from virtue
From a thousand church pews
The Puritan ghosts haunt us still
From cabinet posts up on capital hill—it flows down
No dancing tonight, no incandescent lights
No gambling allowed, no raw milk from a cow—you might die
Gonna keep you safe (gonna keep you well)
Gonna stop the stuff (we don't like ourselves)
We can legislate (morality)
And incarcerate (for any old thing)
Bully the sheep with laws and virtuous schemes
The end justifies the harshest of means
The guardian class, it seeks to control
What we can do and what we should know—they push down
Protecting us all even from ourselves
Cause only Mother knows how to keep us well—we bow down
Gonna save this place (no wood burning fires)
We'll clean up this town (no sex that’s for hire)
You get no right to die (you must live in pain)
No matter how you try (we will run the game)
Curfews at night, we got drug wars to fight
Food laws galore, until you can't feed the poor
Practice what you preach
Don't you live in the dark age
Churchly arrogance
As your building the next cage
If love is all it takes
Why you filled with so much rage
Is is turn the other cheek
Or branding the next "A"
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2. |
School Daze
04:38
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In schools and children's TV shows
They tell you what to think
You start to be too different
They send you to a shrink
Inventing syndromes and disorders
To label those outside the norm
Feed us drugs and we'll be quiet
In drunken stupors we conform
Teach them to memorize and swallow all the lies
Keep them between the lines and paralyze their minds
Teacher teach them now
What they should believe
Teacher teach them how
To behave like sheep
Teach them to submit
Teach them to obey
Make 'em feel like shit
When they get in the way
There's no students left behind
No skills taught anymore
Always teaching to the test
As we drown in a common core
A textbook is such a beautiful thing
Make it all so simple and so clear
Teaching mythology as fact
And even making facts disappear
Teacher teacher us now
What we should believe
Teacher teach us how
To behave like sheep
Teach us what to think
Teach us what to say
Teach us to submit
Teach us to obey
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3. |
Obey
05:16
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Doctors told me how to behave (told me what to do)
Shock them even if it there in pain (to follow through)
We're here to learn about memories (or authority)
Cause things aren't really what they seem (as you press the key)
Just doing my duty all along
Following orders can't be wrong
All of the ways that we obey
Or simply choose to look away
Herding Jews onto the trains (for the Führer)
Inside the camps, into the flames (keeps us purer)
Always doing just what I'm told (blindly comply)
Doing my job, filling the holes (never question why)
Just doing my duty all along
Following orders can't be wrong
All of the ways that we obey
Or simply choose to look away
Shoot to kill protect yourself (it’s our policy)
Your life's worth more than anyone else (better they that bleed)
I'm here to take your child away (for there own good)
In custody, keeping ‘em safe (it’s understood)
Just doing my duty all along
Following orders can't be wrong
All of the ways that we obey
Or simply choose to look away
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4. |
The Program
05:18
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The program to assimilate
Counts on ignorance and fear
Bow down, new recruits into the faith
Go on, never take a stand
Let go of who you think you are
Welcome, come and join in with the bland
Stone by stone it begins
From a very early age
The programs of thought control
Turn your life into a cage
Stand back, it's useless to resist
They will keep you on your knees
Helping hands can turn into a fist
It's easy, so nice to be led
Just lay down, watch some more TV
Watch out you can die before your dead
Stone by stone it begins
From a very early age
The programs of thought control
Turn your life into a cage
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5. |
Heads or Tails
05:00
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Step right up, the greatest show on earth
With cash in hand, democracy's up for sale
Free to choose so long as it's heads or tails
Of the people
By the people
For the people—just not any people you know
Money to buy marketing and money to fly the jets
Money to both sides to hedge your bets
Heads they win and tails we lose
Always some one turning the screws
It's what they do not what they say
As they treat us like we're fools
Of the people
By the people
For the people—just not any people you know
Heads they win and tails we lose
It's the chickens and the fox
It's what they do not what they say
Keeps us all in the box
It's always the same—only the names change
It's always a game—pieces rearranged
Of the people
By the people
For the people—just not any people you know
Choose Tweedle-Dee or Tweedle-Dum
Or Tweedle-Pass-The-Buck
Why not flip a coin, we might have better luck
Heads they win and tails we lose
Always some one calling the shots
It's what they do not what they say
Keeps us all in chains and locks
It's always the same—only the names change
It's always a game—pieces rearranged
Doesn't matter—doesn’t matter which one wins
Cause nothing—ever changes in the end
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6. |
Information Crime
09:38
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They say the pen is mightier than the sword
And a picture's worth even more
So a video clip must be the ultimate
Weapon to spread all the bullshit
And the talking heads only confuse
As they spin their tails, sell their point of view
So the way to rule is with a TV show
Cause who needs votes when you supply what people—think they know
With the grease paint on, let the hunt begin
Stay on attack, means justify ends
Play on emotions, feed our fear, beware the unseen beast
None's the wiser when you define truth as lying the least
Moralize and criticize, all reason disappears
Information crimes delivered by Narcissus and the mirror
Well dressed ladies and gentlemen spin stories with no proof
Opinion has become the news, no way to know the truth
We're drowning now in twenty-four hour news
The more we get the less we know, it's the shaming of the true
Say what it takes to bring them down, who cares if it's true
Predators in business suits stir the witches brew
Wag the dog—upload the blog—put lipstick on the pig
Herd the sheep—and tweet the tweet—everything is rigged
Well dressed ladies and gentlemen spin stories with no proof
Opinion has become the news, no way to know the truth
Watch the trick of tail, monkey see, monkey do
Focus groups find perfect words to change our point of view
Propaganda dressed up as news and no one has a clue
Shock jocks are dressed in business suits, they target me and you
We treat them like their were clergyman, believe in all they're saying
They're just TV personalities trying to boost the ratings
The fourth estate has surrendered to the razzle-dazzle of show biz
Cronkite's field is fallow now, and that's the way it is
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7. |
||||
I. Ecstasy
Calling, calling to me, as if from some recurring dream
I cannot ignore, this desperate need, my destiny
All, all of my life, I worked so hard to perfect my skill
And now—now is the time
If it can be done then I will—yes I will
Don't tell me what I cannot do
I know it can be done and I am as I will—as I will
Finally I'm now in motion
Years of planning this devotion
All I need is time
In my mind I have a plan
All is now and here I stand
I step onto the line
I must hold back any fear and not turn away
It will never be again if not here and today
Here I am, come and catch me if you dare
You can’t stop me now suspended high in midair
Powerless they beseech me
Useless threats cannot stop me
Never before and never, ever again
Stepping out I feel the wire start to bend
I smell the day begin
Voices lift on the wind
Most who stared and wondered why and how
Answers should be obvious by now
Wouldn't you if you could
Stand where I have stood
The towers called to me and I have
Given them my answer
Towers were meant for a high wire dancer
II. Agony
Falling, falling down—from above down to the ground
Once again, mankind descends—to the real, original sin
Crime, crime of crimes—darkness from the darkest of times
Drawing, drawing the lines—the blind, leading the blind
Staring at my television screen
Holding back a deep and silent scream
Now it seems that everything has changed
They're out to get us anyway they can
We cannot let this ever happen again
Once again it's back to us or them
There's a chill now on the wind
Will we ever feel safe again?
The end of innocence came out of the sky
Lock the doors, I don't want to die
A security state might be better than a mistake
But then again isn't freedom what we defend?
Once it's gone will it ever come back again?
What price will we pay to guarantee we are safe?
An act of terror hurts bad enough, still it only lasts for a day
Far worse to live with a fear that will never go away
We've made our choice now, we're all under surveillance
Now we're guilty until we prove that we're not
Freedom under attack by the Patriot Act
A hobbit’s life was so much better
Than this fear of Mordor
Underneath the eye—underneath the eye
There's a shadow now on the land
That we don't even understand
Underneath the eye—underneath the eye
Can you show me the way
How much more must we pay
I've got to find the way
Back to yesterday
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8. |
Big Brother
05:46
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The road to Hell is paved with good intent
But should we really trust the government
To keep their sights on terrorists but not me
In the presence of fear comes the absence of thought
The need to do something no matter the cost
Like passing bills lawmakers don't even read
Few were aware until it snowed
How far this had gone and how deep it goes
Big brother's always watching us—in the name of keeping us safe
Nothing to fear if we've done nothing wrong—at least not for today
It's a trade off they say, nothing comes for free
To be certain safety can be guaranteed We'll have to give up some of our liberty
All of these things to keep us from harm’s way
Watch out as your feeling sound and safe
Protection often turns into tyranny
Operation PRISM and satellites
Metal detectors and camera eyes
Big brother's always watching us—in the name of keeping us safe
Nothing to fear if we've done nothing wrong—at least not for today
We're now going back to the oldest of deeds
Warrantless search and secret police
The cure can be more deadly than the disease
It's not through the loss of human life
That terror's triumphant and wins the fight
It's when in fear we change what makes us free
Contractors feast at the public trough
Once money flows like this, it'll never stop
Big brother's always watching us—in the name of keeping us safe
Nothing to fear if we've done nothing wrong—at least not for today
Big brother's always watching us—in the name of keeping us safe
Nothing to fear if we've done nothing wrong—at least not for today
The inconvenient bill of rights keeps getting in the way
The road to perfect safety, leads to a security state
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9. |
Freedom
04:14
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Freedom’s never truly free
It slips away gradually
Soon as the revolution ends
A new king will rise again
Sheppard’s gotta have sheep to tend
Always for some righteous cause
Curfews and security laws
All they need to take control
Is to let them run the show
Sheppard’s gotta have sheep to tend
Fear is where it will begin
Subjugation where it will end
Law by law they build the cages
One by one they dominate us
Satellites watch from the sky
Cell phones a hand held spy
All we give up is our soul
When Uncle Sam needs to know
Sheppard’s gotta have sheep to tend
Sheppard’s gotta have sheep to tend
FISA just a rubber stamp
A shadow under liberty's lamp
Recording every data stream
Welcome to J. Edgar's wet dream
Sheppard’s gotta have sheep to tend
Sheppard’s gotta have sheep to tend
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10. |
Gates of Hell
06:37
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Laws get created by the social elite
To control other people, enforce their beliefs
Politicians argue who is tougher on crime
They want ever longer sentences, more people doing time
Beware true believers, they'll grind you to dirt
With laws against behaviors, where no one gets hurt
They say what's immoral, they say what's good
Push their agenda ‘till we're trampled under foot
They say what's immoral, they say what's good
Push their agenda ‘till we're trampled under foot
Once they breached the castle it was never the same
Right and wrong seemed to mutate when the Black Robes changed
What starts with the camels nose under the tent
Becomes the destruction of the fourth amendment
They say what's immoral, they say what's good
Push their agenda ‘till we're trampled under foot
They say what's immoral, they say what's good
Push their agenda ‘till we're trampled under foot
So many laws turn everyone into a crook
Selective enforcement, choosing who and not to book
Protect us dear god from the tyranny
From the fears and deeds of the majority
They say what's immoral, they say what's good
Push their agenda ‘till we're trampled under foot
Behaviors and certain relations between consenting adults
Declared to be illegal by the Puritan ghosts
Knocking and announcement slowly goes away
Presumptions of innocence become a charade
Solutions in search of a problem, weapons in search of a war
Police as moral crusaders soldiers of the state
Early in the morning, hope they've got the right address
You know home invasions can be such a deadly mess
The drug war business funds the local police
Get the cash from Uncle Sam and property seized
Stock up the armory, rockets, and drones
A show of force to seize the drugs or dinosaur bones
The lower your income, the more likely you'll do time
For deeds and behaviors that simply should not be a crime
I wanna walk the thin line baby separate good from bad
Body armor and jackboots crash, time to kick some ass
Stop and frisk probable cause warrants mean delay
With a few flash bomb grenades the remedy's on the way
Every stupid law adds fuel to the fire
A wedge between the public and police that they hire
From the gates of Hell our protectors became
A predatory threat that haunts us every day
Every stupid law adds fuel to the fire
A wedge between the public and police that they hire
From the gates of Hell our protectors became
A predatory threat that haunts us every day
Every stupid law adds fuel to the fire
A wedge between the public and police that they hire
What starts so small to protect and to serve
Grows out of control, a wildfire scorching the earth
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