CATALYTIC CONVERTER WITH WI-FI [Intro] Look up… Smile for the bird. [Verse 1] They planted little eyeballs On a pole beside the road, Taking pictures of the people, Sending everything they know. Called it safety, called it smart, Said the lens would never lie— But there’s gold behind the glass And copper running through its spine. Now the bird needs body armor Just to watch me driving by. [Pre-Chorus] Funny how the watcher gets nervous when it’s seen, Funny how the eye needs a cage around the machine. [Chorus] Put a camera on the camera, Put a lockbox on the eye. There’s a hundred-fifty dollars In that snitch-box by the highway. Copper in its belly, Little gold behind the light— It’s a catalytic converter With a password and Wi-Fi. Watch the watcher, guard the guard, Charge the public twice as hard. Put a camera on the camera And call it keeping us safe tonight. [Verse 2] Hardened steel and motion sensors, GPS and warning lights. If somebody gets too curious, It reports them overnight. If the first one sees the roadway, Then the second guards the first— And a third one’s in the budget When the paranoia bursts. They say, “Don’t photograph the camera,” While it photographs the town. Surveillance is called “safety” Long as the lens is looking down. [Chorus] Put a camera on the camera, Put a lockbox on the eye. There’s a hundred-fifty dollars In that snitch-box by the highway. Copper in its belly, Little gold behind the light— It’s a catalytic converter With a password and Wi-Fi. Watch the watcher, guard the guard, Charge the public twice as hard. Put a camera on the camera And call it keeping us safe tonight. [Bridge] Forward-Looking Observation Captures Knowledge every day. Every plate becomes a number, Every number drives away. No warrant in the windshield, No permission in the street— Just another roadside ledger Counting everybody’s feet. [Breakdown] If I track the box—suspicious. If the box tracks me—efficient. If I hide my face—evasive. If they hide the files—proprietary. Protect the copper! Protect the gold! Protect the secrets That the camera holds! Armor the watcher! Lock up the eye! Then send the whole damn neighborhood Straight into the cloud tonight! [Final Chorus] Put a camera on the camera, Put a lockbox on the eye. There’s a hundred-fifty dollars In that snitch-box by the highway. Copper in its belly, Little gold behind the light— It’s a catalytic converter With a password and Wi-Fi. Watch the watcher, guard the guard, Charge the public twice as hard. Put a camera on the camera— Then tell us freedom’s doing fine. [Outro] Smile for the bird… It’s afraid of you too.
