Pain of Salvation
King of Loss
Mother
At my first breath
Every paragraph was set
As I inhaled the scent of debt
Mother
That first stolen air
Taken as a legal sign
On papers saying I'm not mine
We crown you, the King of Loss
Better get on your feet
Best be one of us
Better get yourself on the list
For success
Dress up as a state investment
Charm the press
A breed from the seed of only
One short breath
Mother, hence we cry
Some of us are free to stand
Most of us are bound to lie
In those bloodstained beds
No one can afford to pay
The prices on their babies' heads
I am the King of Loss!
For every dear smile I feel I'm not one of us
An ivory coin for every plus on your stone
One more governmental blade
Now drawn from its private sheath
Quite a bargain I'd say since either way
You will live by the show of our teeth
Mother
I wish that we could talk
You see
I'm not fit to play this game
Bound by its rules just the same
My talents turned to talons
Every monetary pile
Will buy me a precious smile
Smile
So smile for the King of Loss
Feed from the juices
Bleeding from this cross
Then tell me our lives mean more
Than this vain thirst
One more governmental blade
Now drawn from its private sheath
Quite a bargain I'd say since either way
You will live by the show of our teeth
I hold up my head
This was my life
Now I'm with the dead
So I lay my bare neck
This is your call
Dub a king or a wreck
(This was my life) Is this all I am?
(This was my life) Is this all I'll be?
(This is your call) This is not enough
We're all crying for respect and attention
(This is not what I wanted)
For respect and attention
(But for every drop of blood I lost myself)
We're all dying for a painless redemption
(I, too, lay bleeding on the sidewalk)
[Guitar Solo]
Mother
Long live the dying king
One more governmental blade
Now drawn from its private sheath
Quite a bargain I'd say since either way
You will live by the show of our teeth
I am the King of Loss!