Empire of Lies

Intro

(amp hum… a low, lonely slide guitar)

Truth got a feedback now.

Verse 1

Radio buzz like a dying streetlight,

Talkin’ ‘bout lands they wanna buy tonight.

Men in suits with diamond eyes,

Sellin’ whole nations with a crooked smile.

They draw them borders with a banker’s pen,

Never meet the people livin’ in.

They call it progress, call it fate,

But somebody always pays that rate.

Pre-Chorus

I hear the thunder in a paper deal,

Hear the lies behind every steel.

Chorus

You can’t own the land with a pen and a lie,

You can’t buy the earth with a dollar and a tie.

From cold blue ice to jungle fire,

We ain’t for sale to your crooked empire.

Verse 2

I hear ‘bout islands cold as steel,

Hear ‘bout oil beneath the fields.

They call it business, call it right,

While mothers pray through another night.

Children sleep with their shoes still on,

In case the sirens start at dawn.

But the news just smiles and turns away,

Counts the profit at the end of the day.

Pre-Chorus

You can’t sign away a river’s song,

Or tell the mountains where they belong.

Chorus

You can’t own the sea, you can’t own the sky,

You can’t lock the truth behind money and lies.

This world was born from blood and fire,

Not for sale to your crooked empire.

Verse 3

I seen old men with weathered hands,

Holdin’ keys to a stolen land.

They built their lives on dust and sweat,

Now the bills say they ain’t paid yet.

A flag don’t feed a hungry child,

A deal don’t heal a heart that’s wild.

But power loves a quiet cry,

When it’s drowned by a market high.

Bridge (Electric Blues Break)

(slide guitar wails, bent notes crying)

Every string got a scar,

Every note got a truth.

Verse 4

They raise their flags in foreign sand,

Say they’re bringin’ a better plan.

But I seen the price of their so-called peace,

It’s a broken home and a shattered lease.

You don’t need guns to steal a soul,

Just fear, a contract, and a little control.

And the louder they swear they’re savin’ us all,

The harder the poor man gonna fall.

Pre-Chorus

You can’t rewrite a heartbeat’s plea,

Or tell a river it must be free.

Final Chorus

You can’t own the land, you can’t own me,

I’m born of dirt and memory.

From frozen shores to burning skies,

We won’t bow down to your empire of lies.

No wire, no wall, no golden fire,

Can cage a soul that won’t retire.

Outro

(turn the amp up, let it ring)

So pour that whiskey, strike that chord,

Let the truth be loud and raw.

When the smoke clears and the deals all rot,

We’ll still be here…

They won’t be not.