[Verse 1]
Well we're heading for a past
That you leave, not defend
Where the downtowns hold the sadness of
You can't go back again
It's there you'll find the rust and debtors
Motel signs with missing letters
'Cause there's a monster on the outskirts
Says it knows what your town needs
Then it eats it up like nothing
And it won't spit out the seeds
And we can be the super shoppers
We can say we're really smart
We can say our town is doing fine
Without a beating heart
We can even say the money saved is all our own

[Refrain]
It's bought and sold
It's bought and sold

[Verse 2]
And we're heading for a nasty business
Keeps our country growing
Where the weapons that we're selling
Are the only seeds we're sowing
You get to blow the fruits of all your labors
Sell F-16's to all the neighbors
And we know that it's for money
And that's how the west gets bargained
You the know the last time this happened
Even Vietnam got jargoned
And you can say they're out to hunt you
You can say they're out to fish you
You can join a gang of restless boys
Or start your own militia
You can even say your violence is all your own
[Refrain]
It's bought and sold
It's bought and sold

[Verse 3]
Well I look up to the people
Who are less bought than I
You can show them what you're selling
And they'll only ask you why
And their paychecks don't have lots of zeros
They're my friends and they're my heroes
And the TV sets are angry
'Cause they just can't make 'em pay
But I like the way these people
Read the signs and walk away
And we can call ourselves the makers
And the keepers of the times
We can spend our sand dollars
And sand nickels and sand dimes
We can even say prosperity is all our own

[Refrain]
It's bought and sold
It's bought and sold

[Outro]
We can even say our loneliness is all our own
It's bought and sold
It's bought and sold
It's bought and sold
It's bought and sold