[Intro]
Sirens in the static
Blue suits
Black cars crawl
Paper kings shake hands in shadows
While we line up for the fall
[Verse 1]
You sell us fear like cigarettes
Tax the truth
Then burn the rest
Smiles sharp as broken glass
Blood on every broadcast
You’ve got a flag for every lie
Fold it neat and call it pride
We’re just numbers on your screen
Ghosts inside your machine
[Chorus]
Rust on the crown
It’s flaking down
All of your thrones are sinking now
You can’t drown out a breaking sound
We are the cracks
In your solid ground
[Verse 2]
Closed doors
Open briefcase bribes
Ink runs red on dotted lines
Every oath you ever swore
Buried in a backroom drawer
You choke the poor with empty laws
Feed your friends
Ignore the cause
Call it order
Call it peace
While you tighten every leash
[Chorus]
Rust on the crown
It’s flaking down
All of your thrones are sinking now
You can’t drown out a breaking sound
We are the cracks
In your solid ground
[Bridge]
How much more can you extract?
How much flesh for one more act?
When the crowd stops playing dead
Will you still sleep in that bed? (wake up)
[Instrumental Break]
[Guitar solo over a slow
Stomping riff
Bending into a frantic
Spiraling run before locking back into the main groove]
[Chorus]
Rust on the crown
It’s flaking down
All of your thrones are sinking now
You can’t drown out a breaking sound
We are the cracks
In your solid ground
[Outro]
Rust on the crown
Hear it grind
Hear it grind (hey!)
Walls come down
Brick by brick this time
Names on marble
Washed in acid rain
Your statue’s falling
We’ll sweep away your name
[Riff repeats and fades under distant crowd chants of “rust on the crown” before cutting to dead silence]