(Verse 1) Alarm clock screaming at 6:15 Same cracked ceiling, same old dream Coffee tastes like burnt-up hope Boss says “smile more” while we barely cope Everybody’s selling some version of gold Meanwhile rent keeps eating our souls Billboards promise a better life Just sign here on the dotted line (Pre-Chorus) And the whole machine keeps turning While the wires all spark and burn (Chorus) We wear paper crowns Acting like kings in a cardboard town Building castles that the rain tears down Still we shout like we’ll live forever Paper crowns Fake diamonds and hand-me-downs Trying to laugh while the world melts down But maybe that’s what makes us clever (Verse 2) Newsfeed chaos glowing blue Another disaster before breakfast news Everybody’s angry, nobody sleeps Scrolling through the wreckage endlessly Kids with guitars under highway signs Making loud noise just to feel alive No one’s rich but the songs are free Maybe that’s enough for people like me (Pre-Chorus) Cause the whole machine keeps shaking And the cracks are finally breaking (Chorus) We wear paper crowns Acting like kings in a cardboard town Building castles that the rain tears down Still we shout like we’ll live forever Paper crowns Fake diamonds and hand-me-downs Trying to laugh while the world melts down But maybe that’s what makes us clever (Bridge) Oh-oh Nothing here was built to last Oh-oh So we dance inside the crash If the lights go out tonight We’ll still sing into the black (Final Chorus) With our paper crowns Standing tall when the sirens sound Turning lost into something loud Like we were never meant to surrender Paper crowns Yeah we’re fragile but we’re not backing down Even ashes leave a mark somehow And that might be enough forever (Outro) Paper crowns… Paper crowns… Still shining in the dark somehow.
