[Verse 1]
Out of howling of prophets
And curses of the righteous
In the ivory halls
A new kind of champion is bred
Herostrates for the modern day
High on good conscience
A noblest of sufferers
On disinformation highway

[Chorus]
At the end of the day it's the same old script
Do you believe in victory or do you hail defeat?

[Verse 2]
Those finaglers of justice
Expert wrights in deceit
Carvers of the crooked timber
And their finely tuned farce
Proclaiming anger and rage
Under the mortal threat it thrives

[Chorus]
At the end of the day it's the same old script
Do you believe in victory or do you hail defeat?
[Post-Chorus]
Ersatz revolt
Ersatz rebellion

[Refrain]
For a new world would come
Every once in a while
"Purer", "brighter", "clearer", "better"

[Verse 3]
And the last of misbelievers
Will be trampled in the greatest of marches
Toward the radiant future
Where sheep are promised fangs
And only after the graves are filled
With remains of dissidents
And the frame of reference is torched
Together with forbidden thoughts
Then, and only then
The disciple is relieved
The true believer has overcome the evils
Of engineering of dissent

[Chorus]
At the bottom of things it's the same old script
Do you believe in victory or do you hail defeat?
[Post-Chorus]
Ersatz revolt
Ersatz rebellion

[Refrain]
For a new world would come
Every once in a while
"Purer", "brighter", "clearer", "better"

[Outro]
Ersatz purpose
Ersatz alliance
Ersatz ideals
Ersatz communion