one of mine

The House of Lies

Johnny's got a problem
But he still don't seem to know it
Every time he gets his hands on a chunk of money
Poor Little Johnny's just seems to blow it
Here comes his free burger and coffee
With side order of fries
Oh yes Johnny gets the four star treatment
When he's sitting in the House of Lies

Oh come on in here, my friend John
Man! you're looking like ready for the session
Your favourite machine is free my friend
And man! you know you're always welcome
Alright! Forty in one pound coins my friend – that sound right for a start?
Eighty ? – I like your style, my man
I see, you're gonna tear us apart
But Johnny always loses
No matter how much he tries
And it's far too dark to see the truth
When you're sitting in this House of Lies

He watches the jackpot's come and go
Like flickering hopes of beauty
As Johnny stands expressionless and pours
All his money into that fruity
But Johnny never wins
No matter how he tries
But sadly he can't see the truth
Cos he's standing in this House of Lies

And then comes those companion thoughts Guilt, self-hate and remorse
Alreay he's got three cards maxed out
And there's a loan of course
Oh! his wife don't know about it
Nor his family either
Its so easy telling lies
To people who wanna believe you
He's on his way to losing folks who love hims
And,, he only reason he don't cry
He thinks he just might win them back
When he's sitting in this House of Lies

And the House of Lies is now on every main street
There in every town
They pay top dollar to be there
And no one's turns their money down.
But oh! the lives these people wreck
And oh the hearts they break
Just a load of rich and ruthless men
Who are simply on the make
And the clarion call is NO Nanny State
Enterprise can't be supressed
We must be allowed to exploit
The young and the depressed
The gullible, the poor, the stupid,
And, the hopelessly naïve
They say
At least we tell these people, they can be winners
What do YOU give them to believe?
What do WE give them to believe?
So that's how we keep on losing
We hold our heads too high
Walking mean streets of dishonesty
Past the shameful house of lies.
And somewhere out there, theres a Johnny
And Johnny always loses
No matter how much he tries
And it's far too dark to see the truth
When you're sitting in this House of Lies


©words and music by Alan Whittle27/08/2007 08:08