The Grand Delusion Parade

(act i: the invitation) when you were young, they promised you a kingdom a credit line of glory on a blood-stained page they gave you paper heroes, neatly folded and taught you how to cultivate your righteous rage so put on your uniform of quiet desperation the one that looks like leather but it's really plastic shame and join the slow procession of the willfully complacent we're all singing different words to the very same refrain... (pre-chorus) and the sirens in the distance sound just like a melody! a patriotic lullaby for the blind who claim to see! so bang the drum slowly, and carry that weight... it's not too late... to celebrate... (act ii: the anthem) welcome! to the grand delusion parade! where the fireworks are gunfire masquerading as a trade! we march to the beat of a broken, bleeding heart! from the very pissed off to the apathetic, we play our part! and we'll hail the ghost of a freedom we sold! in a parade of the lost and the bought and the bitterly bold! 'cause it's a beautiful lie, and it's all that we have! so scream till your voice breaks: "long live the flag!" (act i, scene ii) the television preachers sell salvation in a bottle a pill to make the panic seem a little more profound while the architecture of our future's built on rubble and the only thing they're digging for is what they've buried underground... we polish our distractions till they shimmer and they shine a billion little mirrors where we desperately try to find a single, solid reflection that doesn't twist or warp or lie... but the surface is cracked, and the angle's awry... (pre-chorus ii) and the headline of the hour is a symptom, not a cause! a carnival barker selling tickets to a losing war! so bang the drum louder, and drown out the doubt! let the feeling burn out... the thinking's run out... (act ii: reprise) welcome! to the grand delusion parade! where the fireworks are gunfire and the band will not be paid! we march to the beat of a broken, bleeding heart! from the dreamers asleep to the awake falling apart! and we'll salute the echo of a promise we made! in a parade for the empty, the angry, the betrayed! 'cause it's a terrible truth, but the lie's dressed so well! so ring the bell! hell's come to wish us well! (act iii: the breakdown) stop the music. cut the lights. is there anybody out there? or just echoes tonight? the confetti's ash. the banners are torn. what a beautiful show from the day we were born! we built this parade from our fears and our hopes! from the slack of the ropes and the smell of the smoke! we are the marchers! we are the band! we are the rubble of the promised land! so what's one more mile on blistered feet?! just one more march to the rhythm of the defeat! (tempo doubles. punk chaos erupts.) [final chorus:] - [spoken/screamed over chaos] welcome... to the grand... delusion... the grand... conclusion... the grand... collusion... welcome... to the end of the parade. [Outro:] - [music collapses. a single, out-of-tune piano key is struck. it hangs in the silence]