[Verse 1]
Born with a bracelet of credit and code
They stamp your name on a lifetime loan
Tassels and photos, cap in the air
Then straight to the collar of “sign right there”
Clock in the sunlight, clock out at night
Chasing a number that stays out of sight
Tell me the cost of a moment of peace
When every breath has a late fee attached to it
[Chorus]
Is this the land of the free?
Or the land of the fee?
We trade our days for a line on a screen
Swearin’ we’re blessed while we bend at the knee
Is this the land of the free?
Or the land of the fee?
Chained to the chase for a promise we’ll never see
Tell me, are we free?
[Verse 2]
Flags on the porches, fireworks blaze
While statements stack up in quiet gray waves
Smile for the selfie, drown in the rent
They call it “choice” when the path’s already spent
We pledge allegiance to pay and obey
We call it “dreaming” to grind it away
How do you rise when the ladder is owned
By the same few hands that carved out your home?
[Chorus]
Is this the land of the free?
Or the land of the fee?
We trade our days for a line on a screen
Swearin’ we’re blessed while we bend at the knee
Is this the land of the free?
Or the land of the fee?
Chained to the chase for a promise we’ll never see
Tell me, are we free?
[Bridge]
Raise your voice
Raise your eyes
Who sold our time
Who priced our lives?
Tear that script
From our hands
We’re more than work
We’re more than brands (yeah)
[Chorus]
Is this the land of the free?
Or the land of the fee?
We trade our days for a line on a screen
Swearin’ we’re blessed while we bend at the knee
Is this the land of the free?
Or the land of the fee?
If freedom’s a cost that we pay eternally
Tell me, are we free?
(are we free?)
Tell me, are we free?