Pay to Play

Pay to Play
© Mario Vickram Sen

1
There’s a game that’s going round, it’s called democracy,
And the way you’re meant to play it is supposed to be free.
But if you open up your eyes you might be able to see,
That the game is operated by the players that be.

2
You think you vote for politicians but you don’t get a say,
Because the lobbyists in Washington are getting away,
With handing money out to congressmen, they do it everyday.
And then you wonder why your job has gone to Zimbabwe.

Chorus:
You got to pay to play if you wanna play today,
But if the player’s playing you, you gotta stand up and say,
“You know you promised us a change that would be coming our way,
And now we wanna know when, because we won’t be played again!”

3
You got the right to carry guns, you got the liberty to say,
Any word, unless it might offend someone in any way.
But your kids ain’t got no right to eat a proper meal a day,
If your sick you got no rights unless you got the means to pay.

Chorus

4
Now they’re keeping control of what you hear and what you see,
With the radio, and programs that you’re watching on T.V.
Advertising crap to sell you what they think you ought-a be,
It ain’t worth the fifteen minutes of celebrity.

Chorus

5
Now the President who told us it was time for a change,
Is acting like the one we just got rid of– he was insane!
Giving cash to the rich, dropping bombs from a plane.
Meet the new boss, he's the old boss with a different name.

Chorus