The Dream is Dead

It's a bitter wind with nothing to hold onto
You keep one eye on the clock, but it never slows
There were days that weren't so empty
Now they're a distant, fading memory
Will they ever come back? No one really knows
So here upon this staircase we go winding
Ever upwards, blindly through the night
I stand here holding mysteries
While the world's repeating history
And I just wish we'd one day remember it right

Now the world's become a screen that screams of comfort from the fear
With a stream of lies so loud and overwhelming to our ears
It was built while we were dreaming, and we never would have chose it
Now the dream is dead, and everybody knows it

Now there's panic as the edifice is crumbling
The illusion of security has dimmed
Some have turned to hate and numbness
But I'll be marching down Columbus
Trying to build a new world with my friends

Now the world's become an endless wall of cameras and guns
But there's not a single mirror to reflect what we've become
If there's wool that's pulled over your eye, it's my duty to expose it
The dream is dead, and everybody knows it

We may see no culmination in our lifetime
No triumphant climax, no tidy denouement
We must strip away these stories
Kill our heroes, trade the glories
For a peace made with one's back against the wall
My eyes are wide, my heart it keeps on beating
The blood and air keep rushing through my lungs
You can try to crush my spirit
But there's still hope, and I can hear it
"When they kick at your front door, how you gonna come?"

Well I'm done with pointless poetry I'm gonna say what I really mean
We've got to learn to love each other before we turn into machines
Our redemption song can topple walls, but first we must compose it
The dream is dead, and everybody knows it