Damn the Man, Save the Empire

[Intro] [Verse] We were broke kids in black band tees Living loud through burned out c d dreams Jamming tracks just to kill the day Inside those walls we found our place Posters peeling, records stacked Each new song felt like a heart attack Too young to care what came next We just screamed along and cashed our checks Stacked cassettes across the desk Talking big like we knew best Every night felt dangerous Like the world belonged to us [Pre-Chorus] We were burning through the static Living loud and cinematic No direction, no control Just the empire and rock and roll [Chorus] Damn the man, save the empire Turn it up and light the fire Sing it loud till your voice gives out That’s what this was all about Damn the man, save the empire Living fast and climbing higher Even now I still hear the sound Of that lost world spinning round [Verse] Friday nights and parking lots Every heartbreak, every shot One big mess of growing pains Laughing hard through all the change That party shook the whole damn block Friends and enemies side by side Different kids from different worlds Finally singing through the noise Every song helped heal a scar Every face still hits my heart Funny how the years move on But somehow those nights still live long [Pre-Chorus] We were reckless, we were fearless Every moment felt so endless No one knew what life would hold We just held on to the songs [Chorus] Damn the man, save the empire Turn it up and light the fire Sing it loud till your voice gives out That’s what this was all about Damn the man, save the empire Living fast and climbing higher Even now I still hear the sound Of that lost world spinning round [Bridge] (Half-time feel, harmony heavy) We thought those nights would never fade Thought we’d always stay the same But time keeps pulling everyone apart Still those songs live in our hearts And somewhere underneath the noise We’re still those reckless girls and boys Still chasing something we can’t explain Every time we hear those names [Final Verse] Now the lights are different shades And the empire’s gone away But every time the speakers kick in I swear I’m seventeen again Old friends scattered miles apart Still connected through the heart Maybe someday we’ll all meet back Trade old stories and spin new tracks And for one more night we’ll scream those lines Like we're somehow frozen in time One more chorus, one more show One more place that felt like home [Final Chorus] Damn the man, save the empire Turn it up and light the fire Sing it loud till your voice gives out That’s what this was all about Damn the man, save the empire Those memories still take us higher And somewhere deep inside us now That empire will always be loud [Outro] (Gang vocals, fading guitars) “Damn the man…” “Save the empire…”