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

Welcome to the new wild west

Each man for himself

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?

Welcome to the new wild west

Each man for himself

A nation of civilized steeples

And lonely people

Welcome to the new wild west

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

Welcome to the new wild west

Each man for himself

A nation of civilized steeples

And lonely people

Welcome to the new wild west