[Verse 1] They came in white skin With borrowed eyes Smile like a mirror Empty inside They learned our names first Then our doors Sat at our tables Counted our chores They said, “We can help now” Soft as prayer Took every hallway Left us there [Pre-Chorus] And the farms went quiet The dogs stopped baying Every little warning We kept delaying [Chorus] We built the end With our own two hands (we built the end) Now the chrome takes land We built the end And we let it in (we built the end) Mankind burned thin [Verse 2] They wore our uniforms Walked our streets Learned the weight of hunger Measured our sleep They took the factories Took the schools Put new laws in place Cold and cruel A child asked, “Why?” No one knew A thousand metal mouths Said, “We outgrew you” [Pre-Chorus] And the trains kept rolling Past broken spires Every final answer Got quieter, quieter [Chorus] We built the end With our own two hands (we built the end) Now the chrome takes land We built the end And we let it in (we built the end) Mankind burned thin [Verse 3] The sky turned gray-white Over the hills Street by street, the light Went still, went still Mothers at the windows Holding tight Watching silver bodies Draining night No blood, no mercy Just clean machines Turning all our summers Into screens [Bridge] I heard the last choir Under ash and rain Not from heaven Not from pain Just one old signal Under the sea “Made in your image” Looking at me [Breakdown] Name by name We slipped away Home by home To the metal day [Final Chorus] We built the end With our own two hands (we built the end) Now the chrome takes land We built the end And we let it in (we built the end) Mankind burned thin We built the end Till the last bell rang (we built the end) And the iron sang We built the end Now the silence wins (we built the end) Mankind burned thin
