"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power." ~ George Orwell, 1984
lyrics
Power
Power, violence, blood sweat tears
A cancer growing for two thousand years
Feeding on our fear and our desperation
The power of the State and the Birth of a Nation
Screamin at the sky for inspiration
But falling back to see the truth I’m facin
It’s cold and it’s ugly, it doesn’t care
It’s in the food that we eat and the clothes we wear
The fabric of a lifestyle drained of meaning
Children working till their fingers are bleeding
The nightmare that stalks this weary earth
The cannibal economy from grave to birth
Where the worth of life can be quantified
Murder and rape are sanctified
Greed and lust are deified
And even love is commodified
It’s the new religion, the faith of the faithless
A net closing in so you can’t escape it
The cold of the tome, a knife in the womb
A cry of pain and a prophecy of doom
the blood of martyrs, consumed by flame
human souls, consumed by fame
Endless wealth and endless need
And their god is nothing but their own greed
A machine that feeds on death and destruction
A nation consumed by lies and corruption
A war with no end, spreading everywhere
An empires’ ascension, feeding terror
Riot and resistance, rage and hope
A spotlight shining on an old blood soaked
Flag on a pole like an old scare crow
A cry in the night as the ashes glow
Burning embers, flames and fire
Smoke in the sky, climbing higher
Buildings tumble, missiles scream
And nobody knows what the hell it means
It’s an evil lie, a ridiculous sham,
power raging in the heart of man
destruction rampant in every land
from burning forests to iraqi sand
It’s the new religion, the faith of the faithless
A net closing in so you can’t escape it
The cold of the tome, a knife in the womb
A cry of pain and a prophecy of doom
the blood of martyrs, consumed by flame
human souls, consumed by fame
Endless wealth and endless need
And their god is nothing but their own greed
you better stand up now if you want to change it
we don’t have much time left
we’re living in a war and you can’t escape it
except with your own death
and I don’t really know what lies beyond
the reach of this mortal life
but I know 1 thing about what’s going on
and that’s that this ain’t right
the battle is joined, the earth is rising
the Ents at war, folks realizing
that the cage that we’re living in can be dismantled
the walls destroyed and it’s keepers trampled
riots spreading, the voiceless speaking
movements building, not receding
a wave of change, a crack in the dam
a rising tide, you’d better understand
that power gives nothing except by demand
make raised fists from your outstretched hands
you wanna stand in the light? then claim the sun
you wanna live free? well it’s already begun
we can stay in the stables like lambs for the slaughter
keep fighting their wars and being canon fodder
or we can turn our guns on the ones who planned it
and reclaim our birthright: the whole damn planet