HOMECOMING KINGS [Verse 1] They taught us stars were something you could sew onto your chest. Honor roll halos, Sunday suits at our best. Football lights like lightning burning holes into the sky. Everybody learning how to smile before they cried. White teeth. White fences. White lies behind the paint. Every front porch had a flag— every bedroom had a saint. Mama said, “Dream bigger than this county line.” Nobody told us dreams could leave your soul behind. ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] Wave your hand. Take the crown. Stand exactly where they place you. All-American hearts look prettier when they break, too. ⸻ [Chorus] Vote for your next: Homecoming kings. Homecoming queens. Living somebody else’s dream. Wave to the crowd. Keep your head high. Nobody notices the kids who survive. Gold on the photograph. Dust underneath. The American Dream has blood in its teeth. Homecoming kings. Homecoming queens. Tell me— Who crowns the ones who never leave? ⸻ [Verse 2] She wore a dress that cost more than her mother’s rent. He wore a letter jacket like forgiveness stitched in red. Everybody voted for the faces they already knew. Popularity’s just loneliness with better lighting, too. They kissed beneath confetti falling slow as cigarette ash. Tomorrow they’d be strangers driving nowhere fast. One left for Hollywood. One died before twenty-three. One still works the diner asking, “Coffee? Anything?” ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] Smile wider. Stand taller. Every hallway needs a hero. Nobody applauds the kid who learns to say “no.” ⸻ [Chorus] Vote for your: Homecoming kings. Homecoming queens. Living somebody else’s dream. Wave to the crowd. Keep your head high. Nobody notices the kids who survive. Gold on the photograph. Dust underneath. The American Dream has blood in its teeth. Homecoming kings. Homecoming queens. Tell me— Who crowns the ones who never leave? ⸻ [Bridge] They sold forever in a school gym decorated for one night. A rented kingdom. Plastic stars. Disposable paradise. The crown fit everyone until it started drawing blood. Funny how the loudest town never learned how to love. ⸻ [Final Chorus] Vote for the: Homecoming kings. Homecoming queens. Nobody grows inside a dream. Wave to the crowd. Take your bow. The cameras loved you— Where are they now? Gold turns to rust. Promises rust. Everybody waves. Shining trophies collecting dust. Homecoming kings. Homecoming queens. The American Dream still picks sixteen-year-olds to carry the weight of a whole damn country! The American Dream… ⸻ [Outro] Here’s to the kids who peaked at eighteen. Here’s to the ones who disappeared between the yearbook pages. No king. No queen. Just children trying to outrun a dream too heavy to wear. Vote for your next homecoming king… Homecoming queen… Homecoming kings… Homecoming…
