[Intro] [Instrumental] [Verse 1] Step past the lights, past the painted grin, there's a game up front that says "prove you're a man." Hand over your dollar, take the hammer, swing - the bell don't ring for anyone but him. [Pre-Chorus] He's telling you soft is the reason you're broke, telling you rage is the only real currency. Sells you the picture of a king on a throne - funny how the only crown that's real is his. [Chorus] Ring the bell, ring the bell, he swears you're not a man till you swing hard enough to tell. But the spring's been loose since the day it was built - nobody wins this, we just carry the guilt. He goes home richer every single night, we go home harder, looking for a fight. [Instrumental Break] [Verse 2] Watch the boys in line start sizing each other, counting who hit hardest, who's still standing tall. Used to just want proof they weren't small - now they're calling each other "weak" just to prove it at all. [Bridge] I used to think the hammer was the answer, thought if I swung hard enough, I'd be let in. But the game was never built for me to win it - it was built to sell me the swinging. [Instrumental Break] [Chorus] Ring the bell? Not tonight - I've seen the spring, I know the trick of the light. You can keep the stage, keep the crown, keep the game, I'm done paying to feel small in your name. He'll go home richer, same as every night - but I'm not going home looking for a fight. [Outro] [Instrumental]
