Cooperate

[Chorus]
Lose the costume
The day’s of dress-up are gone
Time to join in and put a different outfit on
Maybe that’s harsh well let’s find a happy medium
Be responsible and you can wear it in the evening

[Verse 1]
This dude took pride in his cause everyday
Put on his costume which defined who he was
He said he didn’t care he liked being unique
Accused the rest of the world of being a bunch of sheep
Lived his life going against the grain
Spent all of his time with those who felt the same
Hit his mid-twenties and still nothing’s changed
Except his boys who chose to grow with age
Now he’s looking for friends with the same behavior
He hangs out on campus with a bunch of teenagers
He’s punk rock he’s hip-hop he’s everything the system's not
And he likes it that way
He likes being on the defense
He likes having something to fight against
He likes calling himself a revolutionist
I’m sorry but you have an identity crisis

[Chorus]
Lose the costume
The day’s of dress-up are gone
Time to join in and put a different outfit on
Maybe that’s harsh well let’s find a happy medium
Be responsible and you can wear it in the evening
And on the weekends when it’s appropriate
You can make believe for a minute
Stir up some controversy and have fun
But hang-up your angst when play time is done

[Verse 2]
Ignore the truth and neglect your responsibility
Because you can’t decipher the real world from your hobbies
This whole starving artist shtick you’ve been running with is wearing thin
Put it to an end and grow old gracefully
Time for you to start cooperating 'cause rent ain’t free
And neither is your family’s needs
What you want and should expect are two different things
You think the rest of the world likes their suits and ties working nine to five just to get by?
Maybe, I mean if they’ve figured out what it truly means to make this life count
But that don’t sit well with you’re anti-authority
Me against the world sub-genre category that you’ve placed yourself in
Do you honestly think the average man celebrates the system
But they cooperate

[Chorus]
The day’s of dress-up are gone
Time to join in and put a different outfit on
Maybe that’s harsh well let’s find a happy medium
Be responsible and you can wear it in the evening

[Verse 3]
Cooperate
Looks like we've got ourselves a case
Of a young man trying to find his place
Feel the tension from his independence slipping
Eating his ideals as the real world grips him
What a sad little human being
And I'm sorry that might be mean
But you've been picking on folks in the name of your scene
And now you have to lose your costume and come clean
And that's just the thing
Is it your cause or your outfit?
I guess it meant nothing at all in a sense
Cause then if it did your involvement would mean more
Than middle fingers and the opportunity
To instigate arguments
But you like being on the defense
You like having something to fight against
Even without a cause you like being a revolutionist
I'm sorry but you have an identity crisis

[Chorus]
Lose the costume
The day’s of dress-up are gone
Time to join in and put a different outfit on
Maybe that’s harsh well let’s find a happy medium
Be responsible and you can wear it in the evening
And on the weekends when it’s appropriate
You can make believe for a minute
Stir up some controversy and have fun
But hang-up your angst when play time is done