[Intro – low, calm, ceremonial] They call themselves stakeholders. As if the world were a game. As if lives were chips on a velvet table. [Verse 1] They don’t say “owners”, they say “care”. They don’t say “control”, they say “share”. Smiles rehearsed, clean moral tone, Deciding futures they’ll never own. They speak of balance, risk, and gain, Of “collective good” behind glass and flame. Every sentence polished, pre-approved, Every cost external, every hand removed. [Pre-Chorus] When no one chose them but everyone pays, language becomes leverage and ethics a stage. [Chorus – slow, grave, anthemic] The stakeholders— counting lives like stock. The stakeholders— hands clean, clocks locked. They claim the table, they write the play. But no one gave them permission to stay. [Verse 2] They juggle narratives, not chains, Rename the loss and call it “change”. Participation without consent, A vote that never truly meant. They say “everyone’s included”, then close the exits, dim the lights. If you don’t align, you’re “uncooperative”, If you resist, you’re “not polite”. [Pre-Chorus 2] They don’t need force when norms comply. They don’t need truth when metrics lie. [Chorus – variation] The stakeholders— spectators of pain. The stakeholders— profits without blame. They run the circus, sell the show. But the spell breaks when the crowd says “no”. [Bridge – stripped, chilling] A stake implies ownership. Ownership implies consent. Without consent, there are no stakeholders— only trespassers. [Final Chorus – deeper, slower] The stakeholders— last call, lights fade. No mandate. No crown. No claim to the stage. When permission is withdrawn, the curtain falls. And power remembers it was never theirs at all. [Outro – calm, final] You don’t own what you didn’t build. You don’t rule who didn’t agree. And a world is not a company.
