Flipped poem based on Leonard Cohen vibes.
Verse 1
Everybody knows the house was bought
didn't really matter so no body fought.
Everybody saw the papers sign
But they never read between the lines
The playbook’s stitched in a thousand cuts
Empire fades but never shuts
And everybody knows
Verse 2
Everybody watched the towers rise
Steel and glass cut through the skies
They paid their tolls, they took their seats
They sold their names to make ends meet
And history turns like a loaded dice
The winners win, the rest play nice
And everybody knows
Chorus
Everybody knows the deal was rigged
The empire falls, but the bank’s too big
The vultures circle, the ink still dries
A nation bought, and no one cries
Everybody knows
Verse 3
Everybody swears they saw it shift
A golden age, a poisoned gift
They built the walls, they cast the stones
They rent their homes but own their phones
And somewhere laughing through the haze
A man who chrips and sets the plays
And everybody knows
Bridge
Rome was built, then Rome was burned
The hands that turn, the hands that learned
We spin the wheel, we bet the farm
We shake the snake and call it charm
And everybody knows
Verse 4
Everybody knows the dream was sold
The rich get young, the poor get old
They wrote the script, they played their part
They tore the seams, they called it art
And through the wreckage, through the smoke
A phoenix smiles, another joke
And everybody knows
Outro
So raise a glass, we’ve played our role
A setting sun, a sinking soul
The game’s not lost, the board’s just changed
The genius in the devil’s rage
And everybody knows
A million years, the echoes fade,
The wealth we built, the games we played.
Nothing shifts, nothing stays,
You saw it all or looked away.
The greatest sin’s not tearing it down,
But failing to love it while it’s still around.