Echoes of the State
Kendrick Lamar

Intro:
Echoes ringing in the halls, shadows cast by marbled walls
Where truth's a ghost and lies enthrall, who'll break free, who'll stand tall?

Verse 1:
Chameleons in three-piece suits, changing colors while they loot
Promises like vapor trails, whispered tales in windier gales
They speak of bridges to the moon, plans they swear will blossom soon
But in the dark, they cast their nets, catching souls in digits, debts

Chorus:
Echoes of the state, whispers of the power
Spinning webs of fate, hour by hour
Echoes of the state, shadows in their crease
While the people wait, thirsting for release

Verse 2:
They sell us dreams in plastic frames, gilded cages, different names
Gold-lined paths to nowhere fast, remnants of a future's past
At podiums they weave their yarns, knitting scars in open arms
While mothers weep and fathers fight, drowning in the endless night

Chorus:
Echoes of the state, whispers of the power
Spinning webs of fate, hour by hour
Echoes of the state, shadows in their crease
While the people wait, thirsting for release

Bridge:
Peel back the layers of their guise, behind the mask, who tells the lies?
Symbols etched in hidden ink, truth obscured by every blink
Puppets dance on golden strings, while the forgotten angel sings
In the stillness, hear the cry, of those who shout to touch the sky

Verse 3:
The puppet master’s sleight of hand, buries heads in desert sand
Mirages wrapped in vibrant hues, painting all their hidden truths
Yet deep beneath the cauldron boils, truth ignites the coiled toils
One day light will cut through grime, bells will toll, revealing time

Outro:
Echoes fade but don't dissipate, seeds embedded in our fate
For every lie, a truth will grow, in poisoned soil, a flower’s glow
O’er marble walls, and darkened halls, freedom’s voice begins to call
Echoes of the state we seal, as layers lift, the wounds will heal