(Intro: Crushing palm-muted thrash riff. Tight syncopation. Bass doubles guitar. Drums locked in 4/4. Abrupt full-band stop.)
Verse 1
(Verse: Heavy groove. Low vocals. Sparse guitar accents between lines.)
Everybody wants the rules
Till the rules get in the way
Everybody loves the truth
Till the truth demands they pay
We rewrite our own exceptions
Call them wisdom, call them grace
Build a courtroom in our conscience
Then acquit ourselves in place
⸻
(Pre-Chorus: Guitar shifts into uneven accents. Bass becomes more melodic. Drums hint at odd meter.)
Every checkbox hides a bargain
Every bargain hides a cost
Every shortcut leaves a footprint
Every compass can get lost
⸻
Chorus
(Chorus: Huge open chords. Anthemic melody over aggressive rhythm.)
We all signed the terms and conditions
Never stopped to read the page
Checked the box and kept on moving
Built ourselves a gilded cage
Everybody wants forgiveness
Nobody volunteers the blame
Different faces, different uniforms
Everybody plays the game
⸻
(Instrumental: Guitar introduces a 7/8 riff. Bass answers with a displaced counter-rhythm. Drums remain driving in 4/4 before locking together. Let the groove become increasingly complex without losing momentum.)
⸻
Verse 2
(Verse: Return to heavy groove with added harmonics and dissonant chord stabs.)
Every promise has an asterisk
Every virtue has a fee
Every crowd becomes a chorus
Singing borrowed certainty
Trade conviction for acceptance
Trade the edges for the fit
Little pieces at a time until
You don’t remember all of it
⸻
(Pre-Chorus: Half-time feel. Cymbals open slightly. Vocals become more urgent.)
Every silence writes permission
Every whisper feeds the fire
Every compromise feels harmless
Till you wake up someone hired
⸻
Chorus
(Repeat with thicker harmonies and additional guitar layers.)
We all signed the terms and conditions
Never stopped to read the page
Checked the box and kept on moving
Built ourselves a gilded cage
Everybody wants forgiveness
Nobody volunteers the blame
Different faces, different uniforms
Everybody plays the game
⸻
Bridge
(Everything drops away. Clean guitar. Bass harmonics. Minimal percussion.)
Agreement comes easy…
…when disagreement has consequences.
(Massive detonation. Fastest, heaviest riff of the song. Odd-meter accents. Layered screams under lead vocal.)
Who decided who decides?
Who approved the compromise?
How much of me disappeared…
…just trying to survive?
⸻
Final Chorus
(Full band. Biggest vocal. Add octave harmony on final phrases.)
We all signed the terms and conditions
Ink invisible to the eye
Bought the comfort, sold the question
One small compromise at a time
If compliance keeps us breathing
Who decides what still remains?
If I finally break the contract…
Will I still remember my name?
⸻
(Outro: Instruments gradually fall out until only the opening riff remains. Final hit. Silence.)
ChucklesMcnerd
