[Part I]
[Verse 1]
Born into Nixon I was raised in hell
A welfare child where the teamsters dwelled
The last one born but the first one to run
My town was blinded by refinery sun

[Pre-Chorus]
My generation is Zero
I never made it as a working-class hero

[Chorus]
21st Century Breakdown
I once was lost but never was found
I think I'm losing what's left of my mind
To the 20th century deadline

[Verse 2]
I was made of poison and blood
Condemnation is what I understood
From Mexico to the Berlin Wall
Homeland Security could kill us all

[Pre-Chorus]
My generation is Zero
I never made it as a working-class hero
[Chorus]
21st Century Breakdown
I once was lost but never was found
I think I'm losing what's left of my mind
To the 20th century deadline

[Part II]

[Intro]
We are the cries of the class of '13
Born in the era of Humility
We are the desperate in the decline
Raised by the bastards of 1969

[Verse 3]
My name is no one your long lost son
Born on the 4th of July
Born in the barnyard of heroes and cons
They left me for dead or alive

[Verse 4]
There is a war that's inside my head
That questions the results and lies
I'm breaking my back 'till I'm better off dead
When enough ain't enough to survive
I am a nation, a worker, a pawn
My debt to the status quo
The scars on my hands are a means to an end
It's all that I have to show
[Verse 5]
I'm taking a loan on my sanity
For the redemption of my soul
Well I am exempt from this tragedy
And this 21st Century fall

[Bridge]
I praise liberty
The freedom to obey
It's a song that strangles me
Well, don't cross the line!

[Part III]

[Outro]
Oh, dream, America, dream
I can't even sleep
From rainstorms till dawn
Oh, bleed, America, bleed
Believe what you read
From heroes and cons...