"Blackmail The Universe"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


This is breaking news, it appears that Air Force One was shot down
Somewhere over the Middle East this morning
By a sleeper cell of rogue terrorists, firing a Stinger Missile
The Pilot and all passengers are unaccounted for
The President's whereabouts are presently unknown and he is presumed missing
The Vice President, Secretary of State, and principals 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 found, God get me out of this hell
Nuclear battlefields energized, 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't 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
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
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 world's last 24 hours
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


"Die Dead Enough"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


It's twilight and I wake up hot, my body's soaked in a cold, cold sweat
I reenact 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 your breath, now I introduce you to your death
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


"Kick The Chair"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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 pay up the down payment called bail, the system's for sale
Kick the chair, the rope's 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 tracks of victories and defeats
The press that never rest 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, gou're going to jail, the system has failed
Kick the chair, the rope's tight, just like one quick wrench, the tooth is out
Friend or foe, ya gotta hang em dead or they'll come


"The Scorpion"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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!
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!
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
As I climb onto your back, I promise not to sting
I 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, ya!
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 deal is unsurpassed
I'm not a lowly scorpion, I'm so much worse, I'm the fall of man


"Tears In A Vial"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


This may seem all too confusing
How I could walk away from something so rare
But you see it all 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 and there's only air
I had to walk away, give up something I love
For what I loved even more and save my tears for you
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 loved for what I loved even more
And I saved my tears for you in a vial and walked away
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
Until all your good looks betrayed you, which ain'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


"I Know Jack"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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


"Back In The Day"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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, NY 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
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! Higher! Higher! Higher!
Back in the day. You weren't there. It doesn't matter.
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 lighting, the power hits the stage
The music was exciting, the mania raged, on, 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
Metal's King back then and still is this today
Others imitate or challenge, but it never goes away, on, oh-oh, oh-oh


"Something That I'm Not"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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 come in-between us
The way of getting things we wanted done
Then enissophobia held you under its influence
Until you compromised your style
Everything about you has been one big charade
What will you do now that the well's run dry? Cry?
To sell out all your friends and stab them in the back
It's something that you are, it's 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 the fame'
Would fill the crater that you dug for yourself
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, something that I'm not
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
Something that I'm not, something that you are, something I'm not
Something that I'm not, something that you are, something I'm not
Something that you are, something I'm not, yet


"Truth Be Told"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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 death do us part, till the last
Truth be told - Sin lies at the doorway
Truth be told - Hell's 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 does not 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 - Hell's open for business now
Truth be told - The soil cries out for revenge
Truth be told - And death is upon the ground, all around
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
Can't punish those 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 for me
Before al Qaeda and Bin Laden, long before Hitler and Hussein
Ever since the first murder was committed, the verdict's always been the same
The cursed future just repeats the past
There's hell to pay and stones to cast
So, there will be no peace, never be peace
Till the last truth be told by you and me


"Of Mice and Men"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till 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
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till 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's 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
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men
The fire burns on and on, that drives me on till all is gone
Except the simple plans of mice and men


"Shadow of Deth"
m. Dave Mustaine
l. (Psalm 23) Read By Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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 name's 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 for ever


"My Kingdom"
m. and l. Dave Mustaine
The System Has Failed (2004)


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 man sworn to the quest it is the doom of man that they forget
I have awoken the dragon and all around me the mist of his breath
Good 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, least of all your own
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 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 too 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