Hangin' up the old wailing paddle,
Pull the splinters out of your skin.
Ice your knuckles, vow revenge, corporal gruel, teaching cruel.
Hard times, you missed a grand crime.
Ingrained acceptance, invisible scars,
Take a whippin' like a man and you'll be a winner, yeah.
Don't you wanna shine like the stars?
Good boys do, good girls don't,
Double standards feeding off the rusty remains of the past.
The things we learn from consequence,
We're all just figures messed up in coincidence.
You live your life by foolishness,
The things we least require take priority.
Who listens to the mudrakers anymore?
Spit the fire like before, just like Mark Twain.
Play the roles away, play the roles away,
Play the roles away, play the roles away.
Driving past the billboards with the legs that sell,
Get yourself a new car and a bottle and the babes will follow you.
It's all just fun you see, no one gets hurt.
Why should we question what is commonplace?
The things we learn from consequence,
We're all just figures messed up in coincidence.
You live your life by foolishness,
The things we least require take priority.
Play the roles away, play the roles away,
Play the roles away, play the roles away.
Play the roles away in the classroom,
In the back row, same old lecture.
Play the roles away in the locker room,
There's an asshole yellin' at your mom.
Play the roles away on the bar stool,
Tryin' not to be, but it's hard to change.
Play the roles away, but in the end
Wondering who ever stared all the roles that we play?
Woah-oh-oh-oh-e-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh-oh-e-oh-oh,
Woah-oh-oh-oh-e-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh-oh-e-oh-oh.