Even when he was a young gun
They told him to watch himself
"Don't be such a ponky-headed rascal
"Don't you want to earn your castle?"
He turns and looks away
From behind closed doors we see
The rotten wealth–of a dying spirit breathe
And take onto himself the weight of the world
And all its sympathy
[Chorus]
When Atlas shrugged it back
He left a rug under the dust
And made a miracle of a tidal wall
And it's all that's left
And you can't put it back
But can you see
The position he was in?
To be a hologram in a martyrdom
And the world still spins–
Without you begging please...
Begging please don't save me...
You're not saving anything
Perched upon the building tops
Hanging with the icicles
All the world rides bicycles
On their way downtown
But our hero is so alone
He finds himself–as a silent ancient poem
And we can't hear his calls under the weight of the world
And all that it intones
[Chorus]
When Atlas shrugged it back
He left a rug under the dust
And made a miracle of a sonic wall
And it's all that's left
And you can't put it back
But can you see
The position he was in?
To be a hologram in a martyrdom
And the world still spins–
Without you begging please...
Begging please don't save me...
You're not saving anything
Even when he was an old man
They told him to watch himself
"Don't be such a ponky-headed rascal
Do you want to break your back?
You'll surely die away."
But he doesn't listen up
He wiles away–in the town where he grew up
And we can hear him cry under the weight of the world
And all that he respects
[Chorus]
When Atlas shrugged it back
He left a rug under the dust
And made a miracle of a sonic wall
And it's all that's left
And you can't put it back
But can you see
The position he was in?
To be a hologram in a martyrdom
And the world still spins–
Without you begging please...
Begging "please don't save me...
You're not saving anything."
"No you're not saving anything
And you're just hurting me,"
"You're not saving anything."