Long Live the King

* Content Warning: Coarse Language [Intro] In a palace made of mirrors and gold-painted clay The crown sits crooked, no one dares to say Trumpets in the hallway sing praise night and day While the court just smiles and looks away [Verse 1] Oh the king loves towers that scrape at the sky Says the clouds belong to him if he just aims high Writes his name on thunder, signs it bold and loud Every lightning strike a promise to the crowd The jesters all clap politely, the banners wave Stories grow taller with each new lie they gave And the throne room echoes with a roaring cheer While the streets fill with people, their message is clear [Pre-Chorus] All hail the ruler of glitter and glare Who hails his own glory, a pompous affair A crown made of ego and unheeded shame By a man who had long ago ruined his name [Chorus] Long live the king of the golden parade Shattering promises so casually made Shouting at shadows, declaring them foes Desperate for power, anything goes Long live the king with preposterous claims Painting the sky with his glitter and name But the louder the trumpet, the duller it rings In the nation that swore “We’ll have no fucking kings!” [Verse 2] He dines with reflections that nod in agreement Signs royal decrees on a napkin and statement Builds little walls out of thunder and pride While the world laughs softly just outside The courtiers whisper behind velvet doors “Is the crown bigger … or smaller than before?” But the king just grins from his glittering chair And declares every mirror the fairest one there [Bridge] Kings rise on wings of rumor and gold Enhance every story the heralds have told Pages of history no doubt will lay down The truth of this king and his sad tinpot crown [Instrumental - Guitar Solo] [Breakdown] Hear the drums threaten the throne tonight Hear courtiers laughing just out of sight If the crown slips sideways in the firelight glow Does the kingdom take notice… or back to the show? [Final Chorus] Long live the king of the golden parade Master of castles in glittering shade The destruction of all that his betters had made Fills his pockets with money the people had paid Long live the king - let the trumpets all sing But disquiet grows louder than anything And somewhere beyond all the noise that he brings The silence remembers what happens to kings [Outro] A crown in the mirror, a throne in the light A kingdom of shouting fading tonight Will the banners still wave? Will the courtiers still sing? When the indictment says only … “Long live the king.”

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