THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD

THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD Verse 1 The American dream is dead, that's what they said, Got a roof full of leaks and a stomach underfed, Mama worked doubles, still the lights went red, Every promise on TV left another hope bled. Factories closed down, Main Street turned ghost, Politicians raise a glass while we're counting every toast, Rent keeps climbing, wages moving slow, Trying to build a future with a shovel and a hoe. The rich get richer while the poor get blamed, Everybody got a voice but nobody gets heard the same, We're running on a treadmill, stuck inside the game, Chasing after sunshine while we're standing in the rain. Chorus The American dream is dead, buried in the ground, Covered up with dollar bills, nobody hears the sound, We keep marching forward but we're barely getting by, Still reaching for the stars while we're drowning in the sky. The American dream is dead, that's the story that they tell, But the fire in my chest says I'm not done as well, They can lock the gates tight, they can build the walls high, But they can't kill the spirit that refuses to die. Verse 2 Student loans, credit cards, interest on the chain, Everybody got debt and a different kind of pain, Working sixty hours just to stay in the race, Still can't afford a little piece of living space. Granddad bought a house on a factory wage, Now a full-time worker can't get off the first page, They sell us distractions while they rewrite the script, And wonder why the whole ship feels ready to tip. Everybody divided by the colors and teams, While somebody at the top keeps collecting our dreams, I ain't preaching revolution, I ain't calling for war, I'm just asking what happened to what we were fighting for. Verse 3 I remember being young thinking anything was possible, Now every road ahead feels impossible to conquer though, The ladder got pulled up, the gate got locked, The clock keeps ticking but the hands feel stopped. Neighbors helping neighbors used to mean something, Now everybody staring at a screen, chasing nothing, The heart of the country feels tired and worn, Like a flag left hanging through a thousand storms. Still I see good people trying hard every day, Holding families together when the money slips away, And that's the contradiction that keeps me confused, The dream may be wounded, but the people ain't through. Chorus The American dream is dead, buried in the ground, Covered up with dollar bills, nobody hears the sound, We keep marching forward but we're barely getting by, Still reaching for the stars while we're drowning in the sky. The American dream is dead, that's the story that they tell, But the fire in my chest says I'm not done as well, They can lock the gates tight, they can build the walls high, But they can't kill the spirit that refuses to die. Verse 4 Small towns fading while the storefronts close, Kids leave home because there ain't nowhere to go, Dreams packed up in the trunk of a car, Trying to find a future somewhere far. Veterans come home carrying invisible scars, Sleeping under bridges while we argue in bars, Everybody got opinions, everybody got blame, But nobody seems willing to change the game. We're told success is just a hustle away, But some people hustle hard every single day, And still end up broken with nothing to show, That's a truth that a lot of folks already know. Verse 5 So if the American dream is dead, let it rest, Maybe what comes next can be something better than this, Built on honesty, sweat, and respect, Not who got lucky or who got connections next. Maybe it's a father seeing his children fed, Maybe it's a mother laying down in a warm bed, Maybe it's freedom from the fear and the debt, Maybe it's something we ain't discovered yet. I won't pretend I've got all the answers inside, I'm just another soul on this long hard ride, But as long as there's hope and a reason to believe, The dream ain't completely gone—it just changed what it means.