Thank you, Mister Paine
A body of men accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.' — Thomas Paine. Thank you, Mister Paine.
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[VERSE] I met a ghost in a three-cornered hat Sippin’ tea with no sugar, talkin’ revolution chat He said, “Power’s a beast when it hides in a suit, If it answers to no one, it’s rotten to the root.” And I said, “Hell yeah, I feel that too, My rent goes up while my rights fall through They got cameras in the sky, lies in the law But they won’t look back when we raise our paw.” [CHORUS] A body of men holdin’ no one to account, Ought not to be trusted... throw ’em out by the ounce! Thank you, Mr. Paine, for sayin’ it plain, With your fire and your pen and your radical brain. Ooooh… You saw the storm before the rain… Much love and rage to Thomas Paine. [VERSE] He said, “Kings wear robes but sleep like thieves, With courts full of cronies and mouths full of grief. But the people, my dear, must learn to discern, Truth without trust will make the whole world burn.” I laughed through my teeth, with tears in my throat Said, “We got algorithms now that rig the vote.” He said, “Same wine, new bottle, different kind of chain, Call it progress, but it’s just renamed pain.” [CHORUS] A body of men holdin’ no one to account, Ought not to be trusted... throw ’em out by the ounce! Thank you, Mr. Paine, for your caring flame, For your stubborn grace and your rebel name. Oh… You drew the map through tyranny’s terrain… Forever bold, dear Thomas Paine. [BRIDGE] He said: “Accountability ain’t optional, it’s the spine of liberty.” And I thought, damn… this man’s words got more grit than all these faux-democracy committees. He wrote by candlelight what we barely tweet by noon, so I raise my voice, my pen, my spoon: To feed the hungry truth, to sing in tune with Paine’s refrain, and knock on the conscience of the sane. [FINAL CHORUS] A body of men holdin’ no one to account, Ought not to be trusted, not even an ounce! Oh thank you, Thomas, for drawing the line, With your fierce heart, and your guts divine. Ooooh… You lit a match with your righteous brain… I’ll keep it burning in your name… Much love and fire to Thomas Paine.
