Intro — instrumental] [Driving 4/4, 108 BPM] [Verse 1 — standard 4/4, syncopated rock riff] [Standard diatonic progression] Engine idling under the terrazzo floor Got a brass plate pinned to a cherry door Suit with a crease sharp enough to cut grass Selling a world revolution wrapped in chrome and glass Says he's got a blueprint to scrub the machine Gotta strip out the grease, leave the ledger clean Snake oil sermon in a three-piece sheath Smiling real wide baring platinum teeth [Verse 2 — standard 4/4, tighter rhythm] Headline screaming on the morning feed Gave the middle management today's new creed Signed the charter with a gold fountain pen Then sold the ink back to the voters again Everybody's holding an opinion on a lease Two hundred suits fighting over one piece Got a lobby for the wolf, got a union for the lamb Whichever one pays puts the stamp on the stamp [Pre-Chorus — harmonic tension building] Banners swinging off the marble facade Every little player thinks they're the new god Word salad answers come out through their voice Not a single person hears the answer through the noise [Chorus — SHIFT TO MIXOLYDIAN, full-band lift] Throw your weight on the table, toss your vote in the chute Pick a spot on the floor, put your faith in the suits We're gonna calibrate the world before dawn Long as the balance sheet shows NOTHING went wrong [Gang Vocals — wide stacked harmonies, aggressive unison] Hey! Hey! Everybody's posing for the camera lens Hey! Hey! Counting up the green from their high-dollar friends Put your ballot in the slot, let the corrupt world turn We're just paying for the ride while the whole damn thing burns [Instrumental turnaround] [Verse 3 — RETURN TO STANDARD DIATONIC, heavy syncopated riff] Now the task force meets down in subterranean dark Trying to figure how to put us on a leash in the park One guy reading from a leather-bound chart The other one claiming that he's got a bigger heart Trade two ringside seats for a tax-break clause Penciling a loophole through the middle of the laws If you sign on the line where the red wax dries You can buy yourself a pardon in a velvet disguise [Verse 4 — standard 4/4, swinging hard rock] [Guitar riff escalates] Kingdom built out of shredded checkbook pads Running campaign spots with the slick new ads Five extra minutes on the podium floor Means another six zeroes through the backstage door The soundbites get shorter, the inner circle grows wide And the guy with the tally sheet is taking us for a ride [Pre-Chorus — escalating] Banners swinging off the marble facade Every little player thinks they're the new god Word salad answers come out through their voice Not a single person hears the answer through the noise [Chorus — MIXOLYDIAN, full-band lift] Throw your weight on the rail, throw your vote in the chute Pick a color on the board, put your faith in the suit We're gonna calibrate the world before dawn Long as the balance sheet says nothing went wrong [Gang Vocals — wide stacked harmonies, aggressive unison] Hey! Hey! Everybody's posing for the camera lens Hey! Hey! Counting up the favors from their high-dollar friends Put your quarter in the slot, let the carousel turn We're just paying for the ride while our whole future burns [Instrumental transition] [Bridge — DROP TO HALF-TIME, heavy blues groove] [54 BPM feel, spacious snare, sustained guitars] Hold the rhythm back... let the bassline crawl Look at all the names glorified on the wall They don't care about the posture or party-line code It's just a golden gate crossing a private road [Silence] Tell me who bought the gavel Tell me who bought the bench Who decided which hands get to work the wrench? [Half-time instrumental build] Yeah... The bigger the talk The shorter the speech [Guitar Solo — fast tapping, blues bends, dive bombs] [Final Chorus — RETURN TO FULL-TIME MIXOLYDIAN] Throw your weight on the rail, throw your vote in the chute Pick a circle on the paper, put your faith in the suit We're gonna calibrate the world before dawn Long as the balance sheet hides all that went wrong [Gang Vocals — wide stacked harmonies, aggressive unison] Hey! Hey! Everybody's hiding from the camera lens Hey! Hey! Rolling in the favors from their high-dollar friends Strike the pose, work the floor, make the gallery proud Scream a little louder when their budget gets allowed [Final instrumental break] [Outro — full-band syncopated vamp] Got the crest on the bumper, got the badge on the sleeve Still trying to figure who I'm supposed to believe Heard the whole spiel twenty summers ago Same carnival banker running the same old show [Sudden full-band stop] [Silence]
