The Barkers

I catch my reflection
And I see that I'm one

Welcome to the old circus that's become the new churches
When the buzzards surround you, you know your past has resurfaced.
Righteous self-seekers, they're the carny's fire-eaters
They identify as gods, and you will be a believer.

They're perpetually offended by the ancient and the dead
By what you just said; Darnay, it's off with your head.
They're using your wages to rip out the pages
To topple the statues and pour concrete on the ages

Clowns spinning tectonic plates
Purposely causing earthquakes
And you - you better applaud
'Cause everything shakes when everyone's God.

They know just what you meant-they're the establishment
They got their new patriarchy, like a confused convent
Like a parrot or a jukebox, they sing a tune so orthodox
That sounds like a hush-hush, and spreads like the small pox

Clowns spinning tectonic plates
Barking their orders at the gates
There's no truth, so they cannot be frauds
We all handle snakes when everyone's God.

When you give in, you won't be forgiven
But no one's risen in this religion
You're the pigeon who caused division
If you ask questions like "why"
"I know you are but what am I?" they explain
But it's just a birth pain.

Once they called for impeaching at the old free-speech teach-in
Now there's no speech near the big top except fundamentalists preaching their old
counterculture myth-that's counterculture counterfeit
And words change like seasons
While truth's a hieroglyph.

The kids are in detention. No one wants them to mention that the king is buck naked and they don't want his attentions.
Get a soul amputation so they'll bless your fixations;
When you toss 'em in the fire, you get a standing ovation.

Clowns spinning tectonic plates
Storming the capital gates
As if it were just a façade
Not one good candidate when everyone's God.

Will you recite it if you can't fight it?
Will you restate it whenever they update it?
Celebrate it or be annihilated?
If you ask questions like "who?"
"Get the hell out of our pew," they explain.
It's just another birth pain.

If you get belief suspension in their new faith convention, with some re-education
they'll let you keep half your pension.
The bluebloods are equipped; Greengrocer's tight-lipped.
The brownshirts have the blacklist and the red scare switch flipped

Clowns spinning tectonic plates
Wherever the nude king dictates
And you - you better applaud
It's a moving home plate when everyone's God.

Will you be a martyr when they outsmart her?
Will you protect her when they out-sex her?
Will you embrace her while they erase her?
If you ask questions like "how?"
"We are holier than thou," they explain.
It's just another birth pain

They hate the old-time religion cause it was shoved right down their throats;
It got into their business and wouldn't leave them alone.
That puritanical conviction that judged and abhorred them
But they shame and they shun as much as any before them

And they're all fused as one single person, the sum
That I see in the mirror in this endless rerun
Open your eyes
Please do be wise
To the father of lies.