[Verse 1] You wear the city like a borrowed crown Smile too bright for a borrowed town You trade in favors, folded notes Names in your pocket, sins in your coat I see the ledger written in your eyes Debts and damage, neatly itemized You call it justice, call it control Call it mercy as you take your toll [Chorus] Measure for measure You weigh my heart on a crooked scale Pleasure for pressure You name your price and you call it fair You twist what’s holy into your game Say my silence will clear his name Measure for measure You turn my “no” into my shame [Verse 2] You lock my brother in an iron room Clock on the wall ticking like a wound You say, “One word and I turn the key” But the word you want will bury me I walk home angry through the market stalls Every prayer I know bouncing off stone walls If this is mercy, written by your hand Then burn that book, I won’t sign your plans [Chorus] Measure for measure You weigh my heart on a crooked scale Pleasure for pressure You name your price and you call it fair You twist what’s holy into your game Say my silence will clear his name Measure for measure You turn my “no” into my shame [Bridge] Is there a ruler straight enough To lay along this lie? Is there a law above your law Where truth can testify? (oh) If all your verdicts come in whispers Behind a bolted door Then every sentence that you pass Condemns you even more [Chorus] Measure for measure You weigh my heart on a crooked scale Pleasure for pressure You name your price and you call it fair You twist what’s holy into your game But I won’t bend, I won’t take your blame Measure for measure May every word fall back on your name
