Lost the confidence to write a song So I found three simple chords and held them together with my weak voice On an out of tune guitar my father gave to me
And may Elvis turn in his grave And Les Paul kiss my dirty, calloused fingers And may the likes of this song never make one fucking dollar Leave it for a demo tape to be played until it's broken, then remembered only for what it was
That we gave them hell That we gave them hell That we gave them hell
To my friends and enemies who could have been anything Titans and heroes who found survival in cause and effect Behind counters, behind windows, striving just to be people With bitter ideals of justice
Do we only need to keep working because it pays rent? Sleeping under plastic stars glued to ceiling Muscles burning alcohol and nicotine every morning
But we gave them hell But we gave them hell But we gave them hell
There's a height beyond skyscrapers There's a distance beyond the freeway More than pictures in a magazine More than tragedy in a rock and roll song
It's more than actions you know are safe to make It's more than money could ever buy Are we living to work and die in American cities? And working to live and die in American cities? And dying for what we worked