[Intro] (instrumental) [Chorus 1] The house always wins No matter how you play You never wrote the rules They built it that way Stack the deck, load the odds You never had a say The house always wins But you play anyway [Verse 1] Did everything they said and ended up right where you began Followed every unwritten rule and still don't understand Smiled through every room that never once smiled back Watched the ones who played it loose stay on the winning track Believed that if you kept your head down long enough you'd rise But keeping your head down just means you never see the skies Gave the best years to a name that never learned your own Planted every seed they gave you, never owned the soil you've sown [Pre-Chorus 1] Not a failure, not a fault Just a game that was over before it started [Chorus 2] The house always wins No matter how you play You never wrote the rules They built it that way Stack the deck, load the odds You never had a say The house always wins But you play anyway [Verse 2] Told that hard work is the only thing that separates the score But the ones already winning always seem to win some more Every open door you find has someone holding it half-shut Every table you approach already has a full house cut Saved enough to get ahead then watched the ceiling move again Learned the rules, played by the rules, changed nothing in the end Opportunity's a word they use to keep you in the race Running hard in someone else's shoes at someone else's pace [Pre-Chorus 2] Not a weakness, not a shame Just a rigged and loaded game [Chorus 3] The house always wins No matter how you play You never wrote the rules They built it that way Stack the deck, load the odds You never had a say The house always wins But you play anyway [Guitar Solo] (instrumental) [Bridge] Even a broken clock is right twice a day The game is fixed but you still get to play They own the table, they own the chips But they never owned the words on your lips The house always wins the night But it can't take what's yours by right The only card they never held Was the one you kept inside yourself [Last Chorus] The house always wins But I know how they play You never wrote the rules I see them anyway Stack the deck, load the odds I still have something to say The house always wins But I won't fade away [Outro] (instrumental)
