[INTRO — mic check, one breath] You ever notice how they can erase you… without touching you? [VERSE 1] They don’t swing fists, they swing paperwork. A form that decides if you’re a person this month. A “policy update” that moves your whole life three inches closer to the edge. No villain laugh — just a neutral tone, a timestamp, a closed ticket. They don’t say “shut up,” they build rooms that reward silence. They don’t say “obey,” they make rent due on the same day as your spine. You keep calling it “stress” like it’s weather — nah. It’s engineered. [PRE-CHORUS] Look at the clean hands. Look at the dirty outcomes. Look at the smiling face explaining why you should be grateful. [CHORUS — crowd shout, not pretty] THIS ISN’T LIFE — IT’S A SYSTEM WITH GOOD PR. THIS ISN’T CHOICE — IT’S A MENU WITH ONE ITEM. THEY DON’T KILL YOU LOUD. THEY MAKE YOU SMALL ON PURPOSE. AND THEN THEY ASK WHY YOU’RE NOT “DOING MORE.” [VERSE 2] They love a “success story” — one survivor they can frame. A poster child to cover the math. They’ll clap for your hustle while they invoice your hours back to you. They’ll sell you motivation like it’s a tool, then punish you for using it wrong. You get “wellness” slogans stapled to a life that’s structurally unwinnable. You get “community” as a brand, not a place. You get told to “network” while you’re drowning, like shaking hands is a flotation device. And the wild part? You start defending it. You start policing yourself. You start calling your own exhaustion a personality flaw. That’s the trick. [PRE-CHORUS] They don’t need chains when shame does the job. They don’t need guns when time runs out anyway. [CHORUS — louder, faster] THIS ISN’T LIFE — IT’S A SYSTEM WITH GOOD PR. THIS ISN’T CHOICE — IT’S A MENU WITH ONE ITEM. THEY DON’T KILL YOU LOUD. THEY MAKE YOU SMALL ON PURPOSE. AND THEN THEY ASK WHY YOU’RE NOT “DOING MORE.” [BRIDGE — half-time, drummer stomps it] They don’t break your jaw — they break your calendar. They don’t punch your face — they sand it down. They don’t call it cruelty — they call it “efficiency.” They don’t call it theft — they call it “the market.” And you can’t point at one person. That’s the design. A thousand tiny “not my job”s stacked into a wall. [BREAKDOWN — call/response, ugly truth] WHO GETS TO REST? (Not us.) WHO GETS EXCUSED? (Not us.) WHO GETS HEARD? (Not us.) SO WHAT DO WE DO? [FINAL CHORUS — live, feral, last line held] THIS ISN’T LIFE — IT’S A SYSTEM WITH GOOD PR. THIS ISN’T CHOICE — IT’S A MENU WITH ONE ITEM. THEY DON’T KILL YOU LOUD. THEY MAKE YOU SMALL ON PURPOSE. SO DON’T CALL ME “NEGATIVE” — CALL ME A WITNESS. [OUTRO — spit it, cut it] You want quiet? Build something worth being quiet in.
