Megadeth - The System Has Failed Album Lyrics

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Blackmail The Universe

This is breaking news
It appears air force one was shot down
Somewhere over the Middle East this morning
By a sleeper cell of rouge terrorists, firing a stinger missile
The pilot and all passengers are unaccounted for
The presidents whereabouts are presently unknown
And he is presumed missing
The vice president, secretary of state
And principles of the military are assembling
Our nation stands at DEFCON 3

The greatest crisis, will someone come for me?
I "red, white and blew it."
Unleashed revenge, my body is detained
How could anybody do this?
Betrayal, I peel away the days
Medals are useless. Uncle Sam's forgotten me
I'm not important no one will ever come
I'll never be fund, god get me out of this hell.

Nuclear battlefields energised
Cold wars are heating up again
The tensions mounting
People lift up your fists in revenge

The stage is set
Who will be the first to blink?
We can go to war
Remember that "Vietnam thing"
Peace at any price

With a gun to your head, bang, bang
Weakness runs in your family
What runs in mine is death

[Solo - Poland]

This is your 5-minute warning
Burn all your classified documents
And if cooler heads don't prevail
First strike from a political dead man

Appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive
He understands only one language - action
And he respects only one word - force
No sign of them stopping, no time for back channel communiques
We need all the help we can get, air strikes and invasions!
Retaliate. I say!

The will of good men can not counter the terrible strain of war

[Solo - Poland]

[Solo - Mustaine]

Blackmail the universe with the greatest of calamities
Awaken those sleeping giants in the dust of the ground
With their skin destroyed, unjust to innocence
Lawful possessor of the worlds last 24 hours

[Solo - Mustaine]

Terror and ugliness reveal what death really means
And in hatred you see men as they really are
If chosen over heaven, earth will have been for them
All along, only another region of hell.

 

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Die Dead Enough

[Solo: Poland]

It's twilight and I wake up hot
My body's soaked in a cold, cold sweat
I re-enact the lurid scenes
And clawed engravings in my head

Oh, I can't punch hard enough (and I run)
I can't kick high enough (and I run)
I can't shoot straight enough (and I run)
I can't hold on enough (and I run)
Oh, I can't stay down enough (and I run)
I can't take pain enough (and I run)
I can't bleed fast enough
I can't die dead enough

The air is thick, but the oxygen's thin
My heart is beating like a drum (boom!)
And ice is flowing through my veins
Explosives on my lips and in my lungs

Oh, I can't punch hard enough (and I run)
I can't kick high enough (and I run)
I can't shoot straight enough (and I run)
I can't hold on enough (and I run)
Oh, I can't stay down enough (and I run)
I can't take pain enough (and I run)
I can't bleed fast enough
I can't die dead enough

I don't know what I'm running from
And I don't know where I'm running to
There's something deep and strange inside of me, I see

I don't know what I'm running from
And I don't know where I'm running to
Something's compelling me to run into the dark

And now I am more driven than before
And now I live just to settle score
And now I feel the nearness of you breath
Now I introduce you to your death

[Solo - Poland]
[Solo - Mustaine]
[Solo - Poland]

I am more driven than before
I live just to settle score
I feel the nearness of your breath
I introduce you to your death
I can't punch hard enough
I can't kick high enough
I can't shoot straight enough
I can't hold on enough

I can't stay down enough (die dead enough)
I can't take pain enough (die dead enough)
I can't bleed fast enough (die dead enough)
I can't die dead enough (die dead enough)

 

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Kick The Chair

Dawn breaks evenly today
On the truth and the lie
All rise, court's in session
We're hanging someone high

Justice means nothing today
Now that the courts are for sale
Pick a crime from the menu, pick a sentence and defend you
And pick up the down payment called bail
The system's for sale!

Kick the chair, the rope is tight
Just like one quick wrench, the tooth is out
Friend or foe, I gotta hang 'em dead
Or they'll come back around
Kick it!

The court's wrong when it keeps track
Of victories and defeats
The press that never rests just waits
For somebody's soul they can eat

Justice means nothing today
Now that the jury's for sale
Guilty or not, the verdict's a lie
You're going to jail
The system has failed!

Kick the chair, the rope is tight
Just like one quick wrench, the tooth is out
Friend or foe, ya gotta hang 'em dead
Or they'll come back

[Solo - Mustaine (2:21)]
[Solo - Mustaine (2:51)]
[Solo - Mustaine (3:04)]
[Solo - Poland (3:20)]

 

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The Scorpion

My life, is everything
That feeds my thirst, that causes sin
My wants, are all I care
No shame and guilt, there's nothing there
Look deep, into my face
I sell deceit, without a trace
Fear not, what I can do
Unless you, want it done to you, oh-ohhh!

[Solo - Mustaine]

As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will, tell you what you want to hear and not mean anything
Then I, treat you like a dog, as I shoot my venom in
You pretend you didn't know, that I am a scorpion, oh

My self, I'm centered in
There's nothing else, there's never been
And I dream, to be left alone
With the sadness, the madness of my own
Look deep, into my soul
It's black as coal, like a bullet hole
Fear not, get off your knees
There's no defense, you'll do what I please, oh-oh!

[Solo - Mustaine]

As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will, tell you what you want to hear and not mean anything
Then I treat you like a dog, as I shoot my venom in
You pretend you didn't know, that I am a scorpion, ohhh!

[Solo - Mustaine]

As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will, tell you what you want to hear and not mean anything
I will, treat you like a dog as I shoot my venom in
'Cause you knew all along I am a scorpion, yeah!

My lies, to reach the shore
I aggrandize, and nothing more
My hopes, to steal away
All that you love, I'll soon betray
Look deep, into my past
The pain I feel, is unsurpassed
I'm not, a lowly scorpion
I'm so much worse; I'm the fall of man

 

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Tears In A Vial

This may seem all too confusing
How I could walk away from something so rare
But you see it got too demanding, yeah
And I just didn't care, I just didn't care, if I cared, if I cared

Lately, I've been left wanting, but not wanting you
Attraction that once was is no longer there, ooh
And it sucks to be taken for granted
When the veil is drawn so there is only air

I had to walk away
Give up something I love
For what I loved even more
And save my tears for you

[Solo - Mustaine]

Everything has lost its meaning; I had to let it go
To find myself, myself, and start something new, brand new
Forced to look deep in the mirror, face who I really am
Now it's just me, 'cause I can't afford you

I had to walk away
Give up something I love
For what I loved even more
And save my tears for you

I gave up something I love
For what I loved even more
And save my tears for you
In a vial and walked away

[Solo - Mustaine]
[Solo - Poland]

You were so beautiful to look upon
I could see the light in your smile
Your eyes were the windows into your soul
Your body was heavenly just like the sky

[Solo - Mustaine]

Until all your good looks betrayed you, which wasn't much
Counted on your counterfeit smiles for too long
Your eyes are empty windows, broken
The body may be here but the soul is gone

I saved my tears for you in a vial
From everything wicked thing that you did, that you said
To send away, buried with your love
So many tears in a vial, now that you're gone, and now that you're dead

 

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I Know Jack

[Solo - Mustaine]

I served with jack Kennedy
I knew jack Kennedy
Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine
Senator you're no jack Kennedy

 

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Back In The Day

Where were you when it happened?
Where could you be found?
Were you at the front of the stage?
Or in the underground?

From SF out to Old Bridge
New York back to LA
The world of metal changed forever
Back in the day

Well that was back in the day
And if you weren't there
It doesn't matter anyway
Because you wouldn't understand

Live to die and die to play
Every day and place
Leave a path of metal
Across the world from stage to stage

Well that was back in the day
And if you weren't there
It doesn't matter anyway
Because you wouldn't understand

[Solo - Poland]

In denim and leather
We were all part of one force
Knocked rock and roll on its ass
And put metal on the course

Higher

[Solo - Poland]

Higher

[Solo - Mustaine]

Higher

[Solo - Poland]

Higher

[Solo - Mustaine]

Back in the day

[Solo - Mustaine]

You weren't there

[Solo - Mustaine]

It doesn't matter

[Solo - Mustaine]

Because you wouldn't understand

This is our way of life
A life that was born free
To follow orders how to live
Was never meant to be
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh

Peals of thunder, sheets of lightning
The power hits the stage
The music was exciting
The mania raged
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh

We all had the fever
Our ears started to ring
Feeding this wildfire
Consuming everything
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh

Metals king back then
And still to this day
Others imitate or challenge
But it never goes away
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh

 

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Something That I'm Not

Your mind tells you that you've lost your confidence
You're drifting and ya don't believe in anyone
To lose what little you have left to be proud of
Afraid you can't do this again, ah!

You said that nothing can come in-between us
The way of getting things we wanted done
Then enissophobia held you under its influence
Until you compromised your style

[Solo - Mustaine]

Everything about you has been one big charade
What will you do now the wells run dry? Cry?
To sell out all your friends and stab them in the back
It's something that you are; something that I'm not

When you forced me into doing what you love
Mark my words no one loves you very much, yeah mark em
And when you tried to change me and tried to replace me
I couldn't help but end just hating you, hmm!

Being a fraud can only last so long, you should know
Till what ya sensed as a child returns, you little baby
To choke out the voice that told ya "money and fame"
Would fill the crater that you dug for yourself

[Solo - Mustaine]

Unlike you I'm no vision to myself, lest you forget
You didn't ever make metal, buddy; metal made you
To crush and run over everyone along the way
It's something that you are; it's something that I'm not

A stranger to yourself, ha! Ya pissed me off again
I won't be driven by your needs anymore
What you'd become to do or be is clear to see for me
It's something that you are; it's something that I'm not

[Solo - Mustaine]

it makes me sick to hear you say you "love me"
I know you only love what I can do for you
If you were the one that was leading the charge
Would you notice if I missed a day or two? But that's impossible!

We all laughed at the parodies that you'd become
Now your pain slowly paid back has begun
So, accept my resignation, or in your words "betrayal"
Before it gets much worse, end this self-sabotage

[Solo - Mustaine]

Something I'm not, something that you are, something that I'm not

[Solo - Mustaine]

Something I'm not, something that you are, something that I'm not
Something that you are, something that I'm not, yet

 

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Truth Be Told

This is the first tale of death in the world
When Cain struck down Abel, a family broken
Since then mankind's dominated his own kind
To insult and injure, there's no such thing as peace
Till dead do us part, till the last

Truth be told - sin lies at the doorway
Truth be told - hells open for business now
Truth be told - the soil cries out for revenge
Truth be told - and death is upon the ground
All around

The battle ain't over without spoils of war
Just cause it is written doesn't make it so
When you dance with the devil wait till the songs over
I ask myself, "How bad do I want you to live?"
My anger is near, till the last

Truth be told - sin lies at the doorway
Truth be told - hells open for business now
Truth be told - the soil cries out for revenge
Truth be told - and death is upon the ground
All around

[Solo - Mustaine]
[Solo - Mustaine]

Tribulation strikes and we're hit hard
Still you just go on your way
Head in the sand, ignoring the rain
Just like the flood in Noah's day
In his day

[Solo - Mustaine]

Can't punish those for ruining the earth
It's suicide to some degree
Because we are all guilty, guilty as sin
There will be no peace, never for you and me

[Solo - Mustaine]

Before al qaeda and bin ladin
Long before Hitler and Hussein
Ever since the first murder was committed
The verdicts always been the same
Been the same, wrong!

[Solo - Mustaine]

The cursed future just repeats the past
There's hell to pay and stones to cast
So, there will be no peace, never peace
Till the last truth be told by you and me

[Solo - Mustaine]

 

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Of Mice And Men

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

Back when I was just seventeen
I thought that I knew everything
I could make it in this scene
To be a rising star that only gleamed
But all the answers disagreed
With the questions held for me

I was legal now at twenty-one
I knew the way the world should run
My God, just look what I had done
Simply drunk and having fun
Looked for friends, but I found none
All alone at twenty-one

[Solo - Poland]

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

At twenty-five I was surprised
That I was even half-alive
Somehow I managed to survive
I felt my body doing time
And in my back a hundred knives
From my friends at twenty-five

And now as Gabriel sounds my warning bell
I'd buy your life, if you would sell
A year or two if less compelled
So live your life and live it well
There's not much left of me to tell
I just got back up each time I fell

[Solo - Poland]

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

[Solo - fills Poland]
[Solo - Mustaine]

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

The fire burns on and on
That drives me on 'til all is gone
Except the simple plans
Of mice and men

[Solo - fills Poland]

 

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Shadow Of Deth

Auxilium meum a domino

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
He leadeth me beside the still waters
He restoreth my soul

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever

[Solo - Mustaine]

 

---

My Kingdom Come

The flag that I once planted as a king I abandoned
And now I reclaim this banner by god, my sword, and my name
In a truce sealed by blood within this metal skin and all that I own
Blood, bone, and courage in my veins, and the heart that pumps it

Drink from the chalice and be reborn
And the land with me, it will change and transform

A fighting, am sworn to the quest it is doom of man that they forget
I have awoken the dragon and all around me the mist of his breath
God and evil, there never is one without the other, his brother
Always there where I least expect it, it will burn me to cinders

The futures taken root in the present sun
Don't look into my heart into my heart, least of all your own

[Solo - Poland]

No man who is false can win in combat against the truth
When he lies he murders some part of the world,
We must find out what was lost
Hearth and home, wife and child were not for me, I was not yet done
I never knew how empty my soul was until it was refilled

Mad distemper strikes both beggars and kings
The necromancer's hard teachings of war and quest

I am given the right to bear arms and power to meet justice

I have lived through others for far to long,
And carried my guilt, my causes, my sins
I hope in the hereafter when I owe no more to the future
That I can be just a man