"I, Stateside" lyrics

If I apologize for the swift and sudden rise
In the recurring themes of love and God and war
Will you make amends for the way we all pretend
These aren't the things we think about
When we can't think about our jobs anymore?

I'm so sick of this fate, I felt compelled to create
I left it for you, waiting in the nylon space of record crates
To ease the pain from the soft features of your face
So you can put your windows down and
Impose your musical tastes upon this immense landscape
I think I'm starting to relate to these troubled states

God, please save these troubled states

And I can't set aside all the condescending lies
They're making us believe about state and faith and law
Paint every dark-skinned man a criminal and
Every White Christian forgivable
We're choosing sides, a soldier's life
In the new culture war

I'm so sick of this fate, I felt compelled to create
I left it for you, draped in a jewel case outside your place
For heaven's sake, if the long knives of the night keep you awake
I think we share the collective fate of these troubled states

God, please save these troubled states

So we're all going to hell, but with one hell of a plan
Presented in folded flags, embedded in foreign sand
Written upon the dead skin of a dried-up land it began:
"We'll fix the fat and the ugly with incisions
We'll stash the gay and liberal up in New England
We'll keep the black and poor either in or
Under the constant threat of prison
And they'll all feel blessed just for being a part of the vision"