Year Zero

are you looking for the truth or for another fight?
if you want to give me what i want then give it up tonight
freedom. ain't looking for no, ain't looking for no fight
if you want to give me what i want then give it up tonight

the world that circles around me can benefit from silence
this song is my enemy, watch how i become it
cradled by mystery and make believe i am floating in the other night
children wish upon me

this man and his army are praying in their fortresses making guns of steeples
insurgence of people the messiah's an immigrant detained at the border
severed from his trinity, his wife, and his daughter

america the beautiful, nappy headed hoedown
lynchburg throwdown
it seems our favorite past-time has become our most feared future
technology has failed us. gunshots by computer

gunshots by computer

are you looking for the truth or for another fight?
if you want to give me what i want then give it up tonight
freedom. ain't looking for no, ain't looking for no fight
if you want to give me what i want then give it up tonight

gunshots by computer

down on your knees, you'll be left behind
this is the beginning
watch what you think, they can read your mind
this is the beginning
i got my mark, see it in my eyes
this is the beginning
my reflection i don't recognize
this is the beginning

we think we climb so high
up all the backs we've condemned
we face our consequence
this is the beginning of the end

you wait your turn, you'll be last in line
this is the beginning
get out the way, 'cause i'm getting mine
this is the beginning
god helps the ones that can help themselves
this is the beginning
may be too late as far as i can tell
this is the beginning

we think we've come so far
on all our lies we depend
facing our consequence
this is the beginning of the end

wanted to cap somebody
wanted to buck em' down
wanted to pull the trigger
just to hear the fucking sound
i got my propaganda
i get my cable free
i hang it from my neck
and go to work from tree to tree
it's gotta be the poison
they're putting in my food
it takes me by the brain
and marks me to my every move
i try to change the channel
the channel's changing me
i take the cup and prop it up
before i start to pee

i stumble from the toilet
i'm sprawled across the floor
i feel my head expand
beyond the room
beyond the door
i'm in an oval office
in an electric chair
i sign my name
beneath the claim
that i don't really care
i got survivalism
you've got my claim to fame
i got the right to say
i'm fighting under jesus' name
i see the .45's
but i wont act surprised
lost my faith along the way
and found myself believing your lies

gun fire in the street
where we used to meet
echoes out a beat and the bass goes
bomb right over my head
step over the dead
remember what you said you know, the part about
life is just a waking dream
well i know what you mean
but that ain't how it seems right here and how
how can all this be real
i can barely feel
anymore

i am trying to see
i am trying to believe
this is not where i should be
i am trying to believe

blood hardens in the sand
cold metal in my hand
maybe help you understand
the way that things will be
there's nowhere left to hide
'cause god is on our side
i keep telling myself

i am trying to see
i am trying to believe
this is not where i should be
i am trying to believe

no one's even sure
what we're fighting for
or who we even are
anymore
i feel
so far away

i let you put it in my mouth
i let it get under my skin
i let you pump it through my veins
i let you take me from within
they tell us what we can and cannot do
same thing we've heard a hundred times before
when i put you inside of me
none of that matters anymore

my god
can it go any faster?
oh my god
i don't think i can last here

i am you and you are me
we will never be alone
i have finally found my place in everything
i have finally found my home
i can leave all of this flesh behind
i can see right through this whole façade
i am becoming something else
i am turning into god

my god
can it go any faster?
oh my god
i don't think i can last here

and it's happening
never planned on this
you got something i need
kind of dangerous
and i'm losing control
i'm not used to this
what you want from me?
i'm not used to this
i can't shut it off
this thing i've begun
and it's hard to tell—just
where it's coming from
and it's hard to see
what i'm capable of
and it's hard to believe—just
what i've become

hey
can we stop?
me, i'm not

i can swallow it down
keep it all inside
i define myself
by how well i hide
feel it coming apart
well at least i tried
i can win this war
by knowing not to fight
if i take it all back
some way somehow
if i knew back then
what i know right now

hey
can we stop?
me, i'm not

i pushed a button and elected him to office and a
he pushed a button and it dropped a bomb
you pushed a button and could watch it on the television
those motherfuckers didn't last too long ha ha
i'm sick of hearing 'bout the haves and the have nots
have some personal accountability
the biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is
the more we let you have the less that i'll be keeping for me

well i used to stand for something
now i'm on my hands and knees
traded in my god for this one
he signs his name with a capital g

don't give a shit about the temperature in guatemala
don't really see what all the fuss is about
ain't gonna worry bout no future generations and a
i'm sure somebody's gonna figure it out
don't try to tell how some power can corrupt a person
you haven't had enough to know what it's like
you're only angry 'cause you wish you were in my position
now nod your head because you know that i'm right—all right!

well i used to stand for something
but forgot what that could be
there's a lot of me inside you
maybe you're afraid to see

well i used to stand for something
now i'm on my hands and knees
traded in my god for this one
he signs his name with a capital g

you and i we may look the same
but we are very far apart
there's bullet holes where my compassion used to be
and there is violence in my heart
into fire you can send us
from the fire we return
you can label us a consequence
of how much you have to learn

you can try but you'll never understand
this is something you will never understand
can you hear it now?
hear it coming now?
can you hear it now?

on hands and knees
we crawl
you can not stop us all
our bones
our skin
we will not let you in

you have set something in motion
much greater than you've ever known
standing there in all your grand naïveté
about to reap what you have sown
time will feed upon your weaknesses
and soon you'll lose the will to care
when you return to the place that you call home
we will be there
we will be there

on hands and knees
we crawl
you can not stop us all
our blood
will stay
we will not go away
on hands and knees
we crawl
you can not stop us all
our blood
our grace
will never leave this place

some say it was a warning
some say it was a sign
i was standing right there
when it came down from the sky
the way it spoke to us
you felt it from inside
said it was up to us
up to us to decide
"you've become a virus
killing off his host
we been watching you with all of our eyes
and what you seem to value most
so much potential
or so we used to say
your greed, self-importance and your arrogance
you piss it all away
we heard her cry
we have come to intervene
you will change your ways and you will make amends
or we will wipe this place clean"

your time is tick-tick-ticking away

hey man
please don't make a sound
take a look around
can't you see what's right in front of you?
aah
have a little taste
no more time to waste
you don't wanna get left behind, because it's all coming down right now
now—how
hard is it to see?
put your faith in me
i sure wouldn't want to be
praying to the wrong piece of wood
you should
get where you belong
everything you know is wrong
come on, sing along everybody now

(god given)
and he gives us sight
and we see the light
and it burns so bright
now we know we're right
when his kingdom come
and thy will be done
we have just begun
we're the chosen ones

i would never tell you anything that wasn't absolutely true that hadn't come right from
his mouth and he wants me to tell you

wait
step into the light
how can this be right?
i'm afraid we're going to ask you to leave
guess you can not win
with the color of your skin
you won't be getting in to the promised land
besides
this is just another case
you people still don't know your place
step aside, out the way, wipe that look off your face
we are the divine
separated from the swine
come on, sing along everybody now

(god given)
and he gives us sight
and we see the light
and it burns so bright
now we know we're right
when his kingdom come
and thy will be done
we have just begun
we're the chosen ones
and he gives us sight
and we see the light
and it burns so bright
now we know we're right
when his kingdom come
and thy will be done
and the father and the holy son
we're the chosen ones

i would never tell you anything that wasn't absolutely true that hadn't come right from
his mouth and he wants me to tell you

bow down in position
against the polished steel
this is something different
you'll like the way this feels
no time for asking questions
no time for wondering
we've heard enough from you now
we've heard everything
we're going to play a new game
you'll put on this blindfold
you'll do what we tell you
you'll do as you're told
used to be the leader
now comes the time to serve
maybe we show some mercy
maybe you get what you deserve

count down to the end
gotta make it come faster faster
right around the bend
is a coming disaster
count down to the end
and we're headed there faster
come on down my friend
it's time to meet your master

you've left quite a mess here
under your stewardship
you thought you'd figured it out but
you'll learn your place in this
might take some convincing
for you to see the truth
there are so many things
we've got in store for you

count down to the end
gotta make it come faster faster
right around the bend
is a coming disaster
count down to the end
and we're headed there faster faster
come on down my friend
it's time to meet your master

1
breathe us in
slowly
slowly

2
persuasion
coercion
submission
assimilation

3
welcome to your new point of view
we have disappeared into you

4
everything you do
everywhere you go
anything we want
anything

5
now it's all just a matter of time

say your name
try to speak as clearly as you can
you know everything gets written down
nod your head
just in case they could be watching
with their shiny satellites

i hope they cannot see
the limitless potential
living inside of me
to murder everything
i hope they cannot see
i am the great destroyer

turn it up
listen to the shit they pump into
your head
filling you with apathy
hold your breath
wait until you know the time is right
on time
the end is near

i hope they cannot see
the limitless potential
living inside of me
to murder everything
i hope they cannot see
i am the great destroyer

watch the sun
as it crawls across a final time
and it feels like
like it was a friend
if it's watching us
and the world we set on fire
do you wonder
if it feels the same?

and the sky is filled with light
can you see it?
all the black is really white
if you believe it
as the time is running out
let me take away your doubt
we can find a better place
in this twilight

dust to dust
ashes in your hair remind me
what it feels like
and i won't feel again
night descends
could i have been a better person?
if i could only
do it all again

but the sky is filled with light
can you see it?
all the black is really white
if you believe it
and the longing that you feel
you know none of this is real
we will find a better place
in this twilight

and i've seen history repeat itself enough times to know
a war is coming
you don't have to trust me, or even like me
but you can't deny i hold a unique perspective shaped by having lived in two worlds
i've seen first hand the difference a wrong choice can make

the truth will come out
it always does

shame on us,
for all we have done
and all we ever were
just zeroes and ones