Somebody Holds the Key

gothic gangster rock, barbershop, industrial

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V6-MINI

[Verse 1 | half-spoken, sparse, organ drone, synth-bass, lonely room]
They built you a cage out of comfort and ease
And sold you the cushions to kneel on your knees
Some rooms were built to remember who came
Some men vote like they've heard their name
A secret is a rope you never have to show
No bribe, no trail, no paper, so how would you know?
Funny how the loudest men go quiet on the day
The story gets a trim, the headline takes a bow
The editor remembers who signs the checks now 
(redacted!)

[Pre-Chorus | rising organ, rolling toms]
Count the inches of the rope
Count the pixels of your hope
Count who got the dollar
Count who wears the collar
(out numbered.)
(out numbered!)
a hundred thousand to one
Get up brother in aaaarms, we gotta go save the farms.

[Chorus | full band, distorted power chords, organ swell, huge gang vocal shouts]
(Somebody did this!)
Somebody holds the key
(Somebody did this!)
And called it liberty
It wasn't the weather, it wasn't the stars
Somebody welded these iron bars
(Somebody did this!)

[Verse 2 | stripped back, heavy bass groove, sarcastic delivery]
New money lands up top first, takes years to reach your door
By then the price has moved again, your raise is from before
trickle down a coded lie
By the men who fly
on the Epstein Express
(little black book full of money and pride)
(get on the plane there's kids inside)
(redacted, redacted, redacted...)
Four hands on the beef - four hands on the feed

A patent on the rain and they export all the grain and they tell us we'll get paid but they drag out all out pain
Can't save the seed, can't fix the tractor, 
Control the food, you covered every factor
One firm- bought the voice in every car- and on every phone
Same playlist, same host, same tone

Too big to fail, homie, you buy that crock?

They cap the mouth while they mine us out,
turn our sane minds into craven hives
made the home a place to flout

[Pre-Chorus | building, rapid kick, feedback guitar]
You can't prove it. That's the product.

[organ solo shifts erily between major and minor keys. in a fascinating opera.]

[Organ solo is joined by Saxopone and 808]

[Verse 3 | half-time, brooding bass, organ drone, rising mechanical pressure]
No boots on the pavement, no glass on the street
Just an algorithm deciding who gets to eat
Call it a market, there's one name on the sign
One price, one pipe, one hand on the line
The revolving door is spinning, the regulator's paid
The man who wrote the rule takes the job that it made
They own the chips, they own the cloud, they own the mind you rent
You're paying by the gigabyte for thoughts that someone lent
One mind to answer billions, and every answer's the same
Own the question after next and you've already won the game
[silence]
[Bridge | plain, near-spoken, one organ line, then slow foot stomps enter under the voice]
You think you're just tired. You think it's just stress.
It's built that way. It's a design.
[spoken]
Every tyrant in history needed soldiers.
Soldiers can say no.
A machine can't.
That's why they walk it slow:
Our guns to the vault, an inch a year, 
never a big ask,  just keep watching over here,
They're a few. We're the rest.
One step from every one of us, and it's done.
Draw the line while the ones who'd say no are still in the room.

[Final Chorus | explosive, full heavy band, wide organ swell, massive doubled gang vocals, thousands of stomping feet in time]
(Somebody did this!)
Somebody holds the key
(Somebody did this!)
And called it liberty
It wasn't the weather, it wasn't the stars
Somebody welded these iron bars
(Somebody's closing them now!)
(One step!)
(One step!)

[Outro | stomps cut dead, one cold organ drone and a metallic ticking, like a clock running out]
Item two.
Who refuses to answer?
Open your eyes.
[End | a heavy mechanical latch clicks shut, silence, then one knock from the other side]

4338/7500

[Intro | cold room, solo church organ drone, faint static from the last track, slow heartbeat kick] Please be seated, we don't have a lot of time. Item one. Who did this. Would anyone care to step forward? [Verse 1 | half-spoken, sparse, organ drone, synth-bass, lonely room] They built you a cage out of comfort and ease And sold you the cushions to kneel on your knees Some rooms were built to remember who came Some men vote like they've heard their name A secret is a rope you never have to show No bribe, no trail, no paper, so how would you know? Funny how the loudest men go quiet on the day The story gets a trim, the headline takes a bow The editor remembers who signs the checks now (redacted!) [Pre-Chorus | rising organ, rolling toms] Count the inches of the rope Count the pixels of your hope Count who got the dollar Count who wears the collar (out numbered.) (out numbered!) a hundred thousand to one Get up brother in aaaarms, we gotta go save the farms. [Chorus | full band, distorted power chords, organ swell, huge gang vocal shouts] (Somebody did this!) Somebody holds the key (Somebody did this!) And called it liberty It wasn't the weather, it wasn't the stars Somebody welded these iron bars (Somebody did this!) [Verse 2 | stripped back, heavy bass groove, sarcastic delivery] New money lands up top first, takes years to reach your door By then the price has moved again, your raise is from before trickle down a coded lie By the men who fly on the Epstein Express (little black book full of money and pride) (get on the plane there's kids inside) (redacted, redacted, redacted...) Four hands on the beef - four hands on the feed A patent on the rain and they export all the grain and they tell us we'll get paid but they drag out all out pain Can't save the seed, can't fix the tractor, Control the food, you covered every factor One firm- bought the voice in every car- and on every phone Same playlist, same host, same tone Too big to fail, homie, you buy that crock? They cap the mouth while they mine us out, turn our sane minds into craven hives made the home a place to flout [Pre-Chorus | building, rapid kick, feedback guitar] You can't prove it. That's the product. [organ solo shifts erily between major and minor keys. in a fascinating opera.] [Organ solo is joined by Saxopone and 808] [Chorus | full band, distorted power chords, organ swell, huge gang vocal shouts] (Somebody did this!) Somebody holds the key (Somebody did this!) And called it liberty It wasn't the weather, it wasn't the stars Somebody welded these iron bars (Somebody did this!) [Verse 3 | half-time, brooding bass, organ drone, rising mechanical pressure] No boots on the pavement, no glass on the street Just an algorithm deciding who gets to eat Call it a market, there's one name on the sign One price, one pipe, one hand on the line The revolving door is spinning, the regulator's paid The man who wrote the rule takes the job that it made They own the chips, they own the cloud, they own the mind you rent You're paying by the gigabyte for thoughts that someone lent One mind to answer billions, and every answer's the same Own the question after next and you've already won the game [silence] [Bridge | plain, near-spoken, one organ line, then slow foot stomps enter under the voice] You think you're just tired. You think it's just stress. It's built that way. It's a design. [spoken] Every tyrant in history needed soldiers. Soldiers can say no. A machine can't. That's why they walk it slow: Our guns to the vault, an inch a year, never a big ask, just keep watching over here, They're a few. We're the rest. One step from every one of us, and it's done. Draw the line while the ones who'd say no are still in the room. [Final Chorus | explosive, full heavy band, wide organ swell, massive doubled gang vocals, thousands of stomping feet in time] (Somebody did this!) Somebody holds the key (Somebody did this!) And called it liberty It wasn't the weather, it wasn't the stars Somebody welded these iron bars (Somebody's closing them now!) (One step!) (One step!) [Outro | stomps cut dead, one cold organ drone and a metallic ticking, like a clock running out] Item two. Who refuses to answer? Open your eyes. [End | a heavy mechanical latch clicks shut, silence, then one knock from the other side]

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