[ Featuring Michael Owen, James Mahoney ]
(Verse 1)
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I signed my name with blood and coin
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On portals glitching into join
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Called the lords who guard the gate
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They said, "Two weeks." but I still wait
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In Switzerland they forge the brand
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A number carved by unseen hand
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TuneCore mocks, eleven cents
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But without that digit, no recompense
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(Chorus)
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And this, the cage, the coded trap
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Where artists kneel to bureaucrats
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Blackmail money, paid in full
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But Still I'm ghosted, still I pull
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I won't bow to this charade
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My grit's more real than what they've made
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Let them lock the copper gate
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I'll keep marching, bruised, but straight
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(Verse 2)
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James, my brother in the band
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Doesn't own a credit strand
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He works the earth with farmer's grace
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Yet gives our music heart and face
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I carry cost and burden's weight
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While he tends his roots and guards our fate
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No ID number trails his name
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But loyalty, outshines this game
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(Chorus)
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And this, the cage, the coded traps
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Where artists kneel to bureaucrats
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Blackmail money paid in full
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But Still I'm ghosted, still I pull
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I won't bow, to this charade
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My grit's more real, than what they've made
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Let them lock the copper gate
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Still I'll keep marching, bruised, but straight
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(Bridge)
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The whip they crafted, bites through skin
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But doesn't touch the soul within
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Recognition blocked, but sound survives
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Through every mix and late-night drive
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I stitched each verse from broken wire
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Paid each fee, fought admin fire
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Not for cash I'll never claim
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But just to keep, alive our name
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(Chorus Reprise)
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Yes, this, the cage, the cryptic lock
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Where songs must file, and artists knock
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But tune me in, I'll rise and shout
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And burn their rules, from inside out
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The soil James toils, holds more grace
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Than all their forms, in cyberspace
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Let the digits stay unknown
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We made this music *on our own*
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(Outro)
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Let the digits stay unknown
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We made this music *on our own*
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*on our own*
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*on our own*
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