Verse 1
Nations built on borrowed money, borrowed time,
Stone steps scrubbed while the clocks commit crimes.
Perfumed lies in a banker’s grin,
Shake your hand while they pull you in.
Flags sewn tight with an IOU thread,
Anthems sung with a gun to the head.
Pre-Chorus
Pass it along, don’t ask who’s owed,
Just kick the can down a dead-end road.
Chorus
HEY!
Nations built on sorrow,
We drink today, damn tomorrow!
Raise your glass, hear the last call cry,
We were promised the stars, got the end of the line.
HEY!
Borrowed money, borrowed time,
Sing it loud ‘til the truth cuts fine—
Nations built on sorrow tonight!
Verse 2
They mortgage the future like a drunk at dawn,
Swearing blind the sun won’t come on.
Wars on calendars, neat and clean,
Blood-red ink on a polished screen.
Elections staged, a rehearsal of loss,
History signed by the ones not crossed.
Pre-Chorus
Clock on the wall don’t give a damn,
Ticks for the poor, waits for the man.
Chorus
HEY!
Nations built on sorrow,
We drink today, damn tomorrow!
Raise your glass, hear the last call cry,
We were promised the stars, got the end of the line.
HEY!
Borrowed money, borrowed time,
Sing it loud ‘til the truth cuts fine—
Nations built on sorrow tonight!
Bridge (Half-time stomp, crowd chant)
From the barstool prophets to the factory floor,
Paying interest on a life we never asked for.
Clock in, clock out, graveyard shift,
They call it freedom when the leash don’t lift.
Suit on the screen says “pain builds soul,”
Easy to preach when you’re not in the hole.
Break (Bagpipes lead, shouted vocals)
LAST CALL!
Who’s holdin’ the bill?
LAST CALL!
Still swearin’ we will!
Final Chorus (Double-time)
HEY!
Nations built on sorrow,
We drink today, damn tomorrow!
Lights stay on ‘til they flicker and die,
Funny how no one saw the smoke in the sky.
HEY!
Borrowed money, borrowed time,
Sing it loud ‘til the walls come down—
Nations built on sorrow tonight!
Outro (Chanted, gang vocals)
Stone-sober clock, keep countin’ it straight,
No mercy for kings, no patience for fate.
When the singing stops and the debts come due,
Time collects—
From me and you.
DonaldFritsche
