[Intro]
Hush now
Teeth on the windowsill
Clock ticks
Waiting for blood to spill (shhh)
[Verse 1]
They said the world was safe
But I seen teeth in smiles
Candy in crooked hands
White vans outside for miles
Cartoons over the scars
Fog on the camera lens
Every suit shaking hands
Same ring, same dead friends
They tuck the files to sleep
Right where the coffins creak
Feed us a glowing screen
Hide what they do each week
Whispers behind the doors
Soft shoes, cold latex gloves
Promise it’s for our good
Twisting all that we love
[Chorus]
Ring-around-the-lies we sing
All fall down for the same old king
Hide-and-seek with the truth at night
“Come inside, it’ll be alright”
Lullaby of the big machine
Rock you deep where the rats all scream
Close your eyes when the floorboards groan
They don’t care what they call your bones
[Verse 2]
She hums a brittle tune
Knife in her jacket sleeve
Reading the headlines slow
What kind of god deceives?
Names on the dotted line
Bodies off camera thrown
Silver they trade for trust
Ashes they grind to stone
“Be who you want,” they chant
“Change every part you fear”
Mix up the broken hearts
Sell ‘em a brand-new mirror
Kids in the waiting room
Stare at the painted sky
Crayons on crumpled forms
No one explains the why
[Chorus]
Ring-around-the-lies we sing
All fall down for the same old king
Hide-and-seek with the truth at night
“Come inside, it’ll be alright”
Lullaby of the big machine
Rock you deep where the rats all scream
Close your eyes when the floorboards groan
They don’t care what they call your bones
[Bridge]
[beat drops to a faint music-box loop]
Tiptoe, tiptoe, count to ten
Who gets cut and who gets cleansed?
Papers, needles, plastic crowns
Smile up while they press you down
Mama’s voice from a speaker phone
“Baby, they’ll fix what’s wrong at home”
But the pills stack high on the shelf
While the men upstairs praise themselves (yeah)
[Chorus]
Ring-around-the-lies we sing
All fall down for the same old king
Hide-and-seek with the truth at night
“Come inside, it’ll be alright”
Lullaby of the big machine
Rock you deep where the rats all scream
Close your eyes when the floorboards groan
They don’t care what they call your bones