[Verse] Watch me spin through a sale gone wrong, Static in my head all day long. Cut-rate dreams in a broken chain, Every new deal comes back with pain. Phone-line prayer with a dead-end ring, I built my heaven from broken string. Now the hall folds back on me, Like a rigged-up ad on a cracked TV. I keep tripping on the same old pitch, Clawing upward, getting rich-rich-rich. But the wires knot and the ceiling drops, Every open door just clicks and locks. Got my smile stretched way too wide, With a million little leaks inside. Hear that laugh through the old backstage? I’m still for sale in a gilded cage. [Pre-Chorus] Left is right and the signs all lie, Every ladder snaps when I climb too high. I keep running till my legs give out, Still selling hope with a shaking mouth. [Chorus] See me spin, little puppet king, Caught in the cords of everything. Dial it up, let the speaker scream, I’m the price tag sewn to a broken dream. Watch me race through the mirrored hall, Big shot rise, big shot fall. Every turn makes the same old sound, I go up real fast, then underground. [Verse] Quiet Nope, scratch that. Let’s make it loud, Junkyard preacher to a faceless crowd. Gold-star patter and a busted grin, Selling the loss as a way to win. I had a shot at the top one night, A hotline voice said, “Kid, you’re right.” So I tore my name through the paper sky, Now the bill comes due and I can’t buy time. There’s a shadow No, not that word, not here tonight, Just a shape that won’t stay out of sight. Every step that I take, it stays in pace, Like a bad receipt with my printed face. I want the prize, want the flashing prize, Want a better set of borrowed eyes. But the route bends back like a crooked joke, And the whole thing stinks of a deal gone broke. [Pre-Chorus] Up means down when the numbers crash, Hope gets sold for a little cash. Still I grin like I own the show, Even while the red lights tell me no. [Chorus] See me spin, little puppet king, Caught in the cords of everything. Dial it up, let the speaker scream, I’m the price tag sewn to a broken dream. Watch me race through the mirrored hall, Big shot rise, big shot fall. Every turn makes the same old sound, I go up real fast, then underground. [Bridge] Call now, call now, don’t miss your chance, Step right in to the dead man’s dance. Smile so wide till it starts to split, Sell the act till the lights all quit. I was built from a sales machine, Half washed-up and half obscene. Still I shout like the king of choice, With a busted heart and a borrowed voice. [Chorus] See me spin, little puppet king, Tangling hard in the silver string. Take one step and the floor gives way, Still I swear I can make it pay. Watch me race through the mirrored hall, Big shot rise, big shot fall. In this maze where the false lights blaze, I’m still chasing the good old days. [Outro] So if you hear that hotline ring, Don’t buy stock in a broken king. I sold my soul for a louder name, Now I run in circles inside the game.
