The New Wild West

You see the ghost of the buffalo moving both fierce and slow
Like glittering prophesies on the edge of the horizon
As you drive glittering highways and beaten-up byways
That straddle and girdle our great and many-faced nation
You see the lambs in the ghettos who worship their Gepettos
Believing in, never seeing, the strings they think bind them
So we write to our congressmen with bleeding pens of the sorrow within
And in return, they just send tickets to the latest Tom Hanks show

[Chorus]
Welcome to the new wild west
Each man for himself
A nation of civilized steeples
And lonely people
Welcome to the new wild west

There are so many factions and cue-card reactions
It's hard to keep clear the possibilities here 'cause there's no force to unite them
Privilege has ruled for thousands of years
Wars have been fought with bibles and tears
Yet liberation can't deny the temptation and soon becomes the oppressor
Show me a leader who's fit to lead
Who don't sow his seed in anything wounded enough to breed
Because after all, what fun is power if you can't act like a rock star?

[Chorus]

As for me, I've been petty
Oh, and unkind, but I know my own mind
And since it seems clear there's no one leading us here
The only thing left it appears is to task ourselves to be better each time, than those before us
We'll be an army of thieves, of self-freed slaves, of mild-mannered maids
We'll fight with whispers and blades
So get ready, a new day is dawning