the sleep of reason

one by one

the stars grow dim

and fall out of the sky

and we gather round our shiny screens

to say a last goodbye

in communion with a bunch of folks

that we don't know or see

in the hope that we might feel something

in place of empathy

and so it goes. sure gonna miss them

is it wrong to cling to the past when life comes at you so fast?

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

lies ride in style on a big red bus

while you walk into town

and surrogates keep their cap locks on

to shout each other down

and the levies that protected truth

can no longer hold the flood

and expertise and experience

get trampled in the mud

and so it goes. guess they had it coming

now there's nothing that you can do

to convince them that it's true

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

it's over now

you lost my friend

move on

just let it go

says a man who flies a confederate flag

on his profile just for show

and when he hears someone point out that things

are much too male and white

he eases of the safety catch

on his second amendment rights

and so it goes. and the kids are alt-right

giving license to all this hate

is gonna make our country great

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

in this constant state of what the heck

just happened

you feel woke

but through it all you treat it like

it's just some kind of joke

and in the end

the greatest threat faced by democracy

isn't fascism or fanaticism

but our own complacency

and so it goes. best pay attention

for there's simply no guarantee

of a happy ending to history

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

and the sleep of reason produces monsters

produces monsters

produces monsters