Lyrics:<br /><br />Tapes at the Gate<br /><br />The grocery store shelves are completely empty<br />They’re only selling spiders in their webs<br />Be sure to take a few when your cart hits the aisle<br />Suspicious man with a shirt and vest on<br />Wonders why he’s not getting electronic credits<br />For his purchases he made in 1985<br />When the world that he’s in spun in the opposite direction<br />And the numbers on the sign split off into pieces <br />And he had to follow each one to see where it led<br />And the caravans carried only the cargo of the young<br />Who’d aged out of retirement and into subjection<br /><br />He’s checking all the videotapes at the door for their sizes<br />Scanning them to make sure they’re alright<br />Oh that’s a nice one he advises<br /><br />The inquisition master got off at 3:45<br />He fires the flame out the window, <br />Not caring how many wildfires he starts<br />He gets mauled by Smoky who’s carrying the tires<br />To a motor that has no engine<br />Because it’s being shipped from a country whose railroad<br />Was partitioned off by a mob of greedy waiters<br />Who split their tips with a cook at the raw fruit<br />Restaurant that ran the butchers out of town<br />And commondered their knives because of the strawberries<br />That like to pop and burst into people’s eyes<br /><br />He’s checking all the videotapes at the door for their sizes<br />Scanning them to make sure they’re alright<br />Oh that’s a nice one he advises<br /><br />A feeling of anger rose on the collective chests<br />The raiders all felt it in the bottom of the well<br />That they dug to impress the girls who hung at the back<br />Of the shop where they sold garbage packaged as granola<br />In order to trick those wearing fairy wings into buying<br />Because a sinner’s dime is equal to the righteous<br />Who tend to hoard the belongings under their mattress<br />So when the ringleader comes in they notice the cover <br />Which is painted in brown and speckled with glitter<br />That flakes off and burns the ears of the helpless<br />They’re with their palms out but it’s not from begging<br />They just got a cool tattoo and it’s stinging harshly<br /><br />He’s checking all the videotapes at the door for their sizes<br />Scanning them to make sure they’re alright<br />Oh that’s a nice one he advises<br /><br />One is a fake and another is broken <br />If you insert the coin it will be immobile<br />The machine blinks fiercely and you may think it’s broken<br />But the money is parted into a billion little pieces<br />Absent from the remains of those who copied<br />The man with the carpet shouts as to why you can’t<br />Bury the rest until you’ve found the replacement<br />His voice’s cadence disturbs even the initiated<br />Who wonder if he had been incompetently misplaced<br />While the elected official shines lights in his eyes<br />To see if there is anything left in there but static<br /><br />He’s checking all the videotapes at the door for their sizes<br />Scanning them to make sure they’re alright<br />Oh that’s a nice one he advises<br />
