[Intro] [rough, weathered] [Verse 1] Met a man outside the factory gates last Tuesday He'd worked that line for thirty years Told me how the senator came through in '08 Shook every hand, bought everyone beers Said he'd fight for the little guy Protect their jobs from overseas Two years later that plant was gone And that senator? Hell, he got his lobbyist fees [Verse 2] Now they got us arguing about who can use which bathroom While they're signing bills at midnight nobody reads Your uncle thinks it's the liberals destroying this country Your cousin swears it's the right-wing taking everything we need Meanwhile both sides are in the same country clubs Playing golf with the same corporate suits Doesn't matter what color tie they wear on TV They're all eating the same expensive fruit [Verse 3] [darker, more intense] I watched my neighbor lose his farm last spring Bank took it after forty years of working that land He voted red his whole damn life Thought they'd protect the American man But the bank that foreclosed? They donated to both campaigns Hedged their bets on every horse in the race While my neighbor drinks himself to sleep now They're toasting champagne in some DC place [Verse 4] They'll manufacture outrage every election season Get you fighting with your brother about guns or God or gays Anything to keep you from noticing How they're all voting themselves a raise How they're trading stocks on inside information How their kids never fight the wars they start How they exempt themselves from the laws they write While tearing working families apart [Bridge] [spoken, bitter truth] You know what the real joke is? We keep showing up to vote Thinking this time will be different This time someone will give a fuck about the common folk But the game's been rigged since before we were born And every four years they just change the actors Same script, different faces Same winners, different factors [Verse 5] So here I am, drinking whiskey at this bar Watching the news create another crisis While Congress is passing bills for their donors In sections nobody analyzes They'll tell you the other side is coming for your freedom Your guns, your rights, your way of life But the only thing they're really after Is keeping you distracted from the knife in your back they both put there [Outro] [weary, resigned] The factory man? He moved to the city Found work for half of what he used to make My neighbor's farm is luxury condos now And both those senators are still cashing their corporate checks The show goes on Different day, same con
