Holding Out

I put on these shoes
I don’t see the point but I pretend I do
And I walk through the day
If I walk long enough will these soles of mine wear away?

Take my hand
Lead me to a place that I’ll understand
’Cause I’m tired of the adrenaline
The burning from within
The itching in my skin

But I’ll try to lift my chin
Raise my fist again
And hope on my grave that maybe one day
We’ll open our eyes and the underdog will win

I’m tired of holding out
The glass is half full of hope but the whole room’s full of doubt
When a moral code in the back of one’s head
Is outweighed by dollar signs and a company’s success
What do you get?

The Christians have their god
He knows what is right and you can bet he knows what’s not
And if you don’t agree
You’re going some place underneath

Well, once I dug up the ground
And took one look around
It was nothing but dirt
We all rot in the earth
But the truth did not hurt
It was the most beauty I’ve ever found

I’m tired of holding out
The glass is half full of hope but the whole room’s full of doubt
I find no truth, no consolation
In a system of beliefs that tells us not to sin and how to live

Today, the television plays
Our own Thirty Minutes Hate
On Cops and the News
”Those criminals, they are a plague”
”Those terrorists deserve a cage”
We don’t care for an excuse

Today, someone doesn’t eat
You’ve probably seen him on the street
He was the one with the white cup and the sunken eyes
But I’ll pass my plate for more dessert
I’ll eat until my stomach hurts
I’ve never known any different and why would I?

I took a plane to a third world country
Post-war and ugly poverty
But these people were free
I met a man there with no eyes
He drinks but never cries
He was generous to me

Today, the heart of a soldier pounds
In some land we can’t pronounce
As he fights for life and limb
So proud to stop the awful threat
Killing those he’s never met
What’s a stranger’s life to him?

What’s a stranger’s life to anyone these days?
We’re all caught up with clothes and the latest TV shows
There’s a million charities but who’s got time for those?

I’m tired of holding out
The glass is half full of hope but the whole room’s full of doubt
When a moral code in the back of one’s head
Is outweighed by dollar signs and a country’s success
What do you get?

Guitar tuned down a half step

Intro / Verse:
C G/B | Am Aadd4 | F | G

Pre-chorus:
F | G | C G/B Am G | F (3rd pr-chorus is simplified to: C | Am | F)
F | F | G | G

Chorus:
C | C | Am | Am
F | F | G | G