I was the future,
in nineteen-ninety-five,
I watched the flashbulbs burst,
Whenever I'd arrive.
I'd tape my knuckles up,
cinched and tight for the ring,
just beneath the gloves,
clenching white for the swing.
I was a sellout,
before a sellout crowd,
I threw the fight in my head,
before the fat lady bowed.
You want a tip-off,
some good advice for the brawl?
Just wear a mouth-guard,
to keep your teeth when you fall.
And when you quit,
make sure that you can wash your hands of it.
chorus
Armed to the teeth,
score one for treachery,
I am a mercenary.
There's more lies here,
than we can all bury
I am a mercenary.
I've seen the headlines,
swarming thick with flies.
I've seen the Billboard Charts
I've heard them spitting lies.
Here's to your lame award,
your phony Nobel Prize.
Here's to the s**ers lining up
to see us compromise.
Let's light a campfire,
We'll have a sing along,
I'll burn some bridges,
you'll bring the crappy songs.
And when you quit,
make sure that you can wash your hands of it.
bridge
There's a part of me I've compromised,
buried somewhere under ghosts of lies.
Make it quick, make it sick,
turn the crank and just play the greatest hits... sigh.
There's a part of me that I despise,
pull the curtain back and see what dies.
Emerald spires of the near profound,
let's burn this lousy city down.