Step right up Take a number Get in line Free popcorn while the whole block burns By design Every channel got a smile stitched on tight They call it news Then point the finger at the other, that's right They corrupt your views Watch the hand that waves while the other one steals Clap along, don't ask how the sausage congeals They sell you sunshine wrapped around a blade Keep you humming while your future goes up in a blaze (Getting hotter now) Can you feel the shift underneath the beat Somebody's stacking bodies behind the door Smile for the camera and devour the feed We paid for the seat, we're begging for more Bread and a circus and seal our fate Feed us a hook and we take the bait (We take it, we take it) Clap till your hands bleed Dance till you drop Nobody's standing when the music stops Take the mask off, let me show you what's under the show Every ticket sold is a body they don't let you know Concrete confetti where the applause used to ring You want the encore, I'll give you everything Choking on the glitter while the real thing bleeds out Every headline buried underneath the crowd's shout This ain't a metaphor, this is the actual cost Every laugh you gave them, that's a life that got lost (Wake up, wake up) They built the whole stage on a pile you can't see Selling you the fireworks to cover the debris You keep clapping, I keep screaming till my throat gives in Somebody's gotta say it, might as well begin Bread and a circus and seal our fate Feed us a hook and we take the bait (We take it, we take it) Clap till your hands bleed Dance till you drop Nobody's standing when the music stops Second act Same trick Same track. Changed the name but kept the blade. Cut you open Sell it back. Call it a cure Call it whatever you need to hear. I've seen the numbers. I've seen who they feed to the machine. While the whole crowd's laughing. (It's getting hotter) Strip the paint back. Look what's rotting in the wall. Been running since Before we could crawl. You want a villain, take your pick, there's a whole line. Every face behind the curtain, smiling. Doing fine. Keep your bread. Keep your show. Keep your empty applause. I'm done. I'm done clapping for the hand that writes the laws. Bread and a circus and seal our fate Feed us a hook and we take the bait (We take it, we take it) Clap till your hands bleed Dance till you drop Nobody's standing when the music stops (Bread and circus) Somebody flip the record It's time to switch the flow (Bread and circus) Somebody flip the record And change up the whole damn show! See, everything's fine N-n-nothing to see here Grab your popcorn, baby,
