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I walk blind with smoke in my eyes
It's like we don't know where we been
That's it, boy, just state your case
You're just as wrong as you were then
One tough move throw your hands up
Say I don't make no rules
No one even knows I'm here
Now its on you to man up
You say no weight'll hang on what you say
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
Down, down it burns down
Our house is burning down
Ask me why a dream gets you by
But let it want, turns a dangerous thing
Watch out for it, it snakes right past
Then turns around and it sucks you in
What happens when you get stuck
Get to the bottom of the illusion that you're in
From the roots now it's shook up
Know that what ails without will do you in
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
Down, down it burns down
Our house is burning down
And not a thing I've done
Abates my fear
And not a thing I've done
Abates my fear
And still although our hearts can't run
We are gone
We are gone
On the heels of all we have done, know
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
Down, down it burns down
Our house is burning down
It's like we don't know where we been
That's it, boy, just state your case
You're just as wrong as you were then
One tough move throw your hands up
Say I don't make no rules
No one even knows I'm here
Now its on you to man up
You say no weight'll hang on what you say
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
Down, down it burns down
Our house is burning down
Ask me why a dream gets you by
But let it want, turns a dangerous thing
Watch out for it, it snakes right past
Then turns around and it sucks you in
What happens when you get stuck
Get to the bottom of the illusion that you're in
From the roots now it's shook up
Know that what ails without will do you in
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
Down, down it burns down
Our house is burning down
And not a thing I've done
Abates my fear
And not a thing I've done
Abates my fear
And still although our hearts can't run
We are gone
We are gone
On the heels of all we have done, know
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
We're the keepers
While we sleep in America
Our house is burning down
Our house is burning
Down, down it burns down
Our house is burning down
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Chorus:
The keepers is the US population, a house burning down speaks for itself.
Verse 1 is in general a conversation with somebody who has given up on democracy/influencing his own life in a political way:
I walk blind with smoke in my eyes
=I'm confused
It's like we don't know where we been
=Like we don't remember the past
That's it, boy, just state your case
=What do you actually want
You're just as wrong as you were then
=I remember what you've done (nothing) or giving up an democracy is wrong
One tough move throw your hands up
=It's tough to stand out in the crowd, to make yourself known
Say I don't make no rules
=I'm not a politician/government official
No one even knows I'm here
=I'm just an ordinary citizen in the system
Now its on you to man up
=speaks for itself
You say no weight'll hang on what you say
=you say your voice has no influence
Verse 2 is all about the American dream and how fictitious this actually is:
Ask me why a dream gets you by
=dreaming is a powerful way of getting by daily life
But let it want, turns a dangerous thing
=Be careful not to let them control your thinking and thus life
Watch out for it, it snakes right past
=dreaming is a tempting mistress
Then turns around and it sucks you in
=speaks for itself
What happens when you get stuck
=speaks for itself
Get to the bottom of the illusion that you're in
=sometimes you have to get in shit deeper to really know your in shit
From the roots now it's shook up
=from the bottom you know there is something wrong and you can build on that
Know that what ails without will do you in
=This on was hard as a non native speaker. But I think that without any effort put into something it's worth nothing as well. Something that ails is something that does you harm or makes you feel not so well.
Verse 3 The text from above doesn't always resemble the lyrics I'm hearing:
And not a thing I've done Abates my fear
=It's still as scary to me as to you although I'm sort of famous (or something)
And not a thing I've done Abates (my fear >this one is actually not there, booklets can be wrong)
And still although our hearts can't run (I hear 1 voice coming through the other, 1 makes the text as posted with hearts and one says And still I never have to run)
=Nothing has made it less hard, but still I never had to run from it. Or still my loved ones cannot get away
We are gone
We are gone
On the heels of all we have done, know
=On our behavior towards democracy we are non existent
Pitchfork told me Santi directed the video herself.
But let it want, turns a dangerous thing
I really thought this was "ask me why, the Dream gets you by/But lady, want is a dangerous thing". As in, "the [American] Dream is not enough to keep you out of desperation."
Just my interpretation.
BTW, Isn't this song amazing? I find it to be so.