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 mouth-guard

To keep your teeth when you fall
And when you quit,
Make sure that you can

Wash you hands of it

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 suckers 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


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