(News)Paper Tigers

Lyrics by Joshua Calkins-Treworgy.
Composition with Suno.
Lyrics:

Big desk
Big smile
Big script
Same spin
Perfect hair
Crooked grin
Breaking news
Breaking trust again
How do you miss what’s in plain sight?

Every headline half a quote
Every angle bought and sold
You still act like gatekeepers
While the gates are full of holes

Paper tigers on a golden screen
Roaring loud about things they haven’t seen
Million-dollar set
Cardboard spine
Little truth in your primetime shrine
We’re in basements
Kitchens
Cars
Streaming straight from our cheap guitars
You keep guessing
We bring facts
Watch the little channels outlast your act

You shout “panic!” we just hit rewind
Freeze-frame
Fact-check every line
Your crew of “experts” reading talking points
We’ve got time stamps
Links
And receipts

Every glitch you call a scoop
Every rumor called “the truth”
But the comments light you up
’Cause the kids can smell the proof (oh yeah)

Paper tigers on a golden screen
Roaring loud about things they haven’t seen
Million-dollar set
Cardboard spine
Little truth in your primetime shrine
We’re in basements
Kitchens
Cars
Streaming straight from our beat-up hearts
You keep spinning
We push back
Watch the quiet voices cut through the static

You laugh at “losers with a phone”
But they were there
You were on your throne
You edited the crowd right out
We stitched it back and turned it loud

Paper tigers on a golden screen
Roaring loud about things they haven’t seen
Million-dollar set
Cardboard spine
Little truth in your primetime shrine
We’re in basements
Kitchens
Cars
Telling stories with our scars
You keep guessing
We bring facts
Watch the people’s channel outlive your act