Nero

[Verse 1]
In the dawn of desperation when the peasants are beheading
Every emperor with a golden crown
First, they'll stand with one another, then they'll turn against each other
Under thunder on a battleground
With their torches, tar, and feathers
Off to round up all the witches on a rail to run them out of town

[Refrain]
In a kingdom that's collapsing, I'm relaxin' on the ashes
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down

[Verse 2]
You can dance around the fire with the hand that holds the power
Or go cower with thе gagged and bound
While the vulturеs count the profits and the hawks are launching rockets
In a garden growing mushroom clouds
You can storm the ivory towers
But the knight in shining armor's days are numbered on the body count

[Refrain]
So, I'm laughing up at heaven in the arms of Armageddon
Playin' fiddle watchin' Rome burn down

[Chorus]
You can find me playing fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
You can find me playing fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down

[Verse 3]
Where the tricksters and the grifters and the rich carnival barkers
Sell their sulfur to a spell-bound crowd
Buying tickets to the promise of a better world a-comin'
Left with nothing when their hope runs out
There's a lifeboat overflowing on a rising violent ocean
In the darkness where the sailors drown

[Refrain]
But I'm smiling on an island by the tidal wave horizon
Playin' fiddle watchin' Rome burn down

[Verse 4]
If you're screaming in defiance
Are you David or Goliath?
When the riot rages all around
Call it vengeance, call it justice
Call it progress, call it selfish
Either way I'm gonna' have my doubts
Maybe I'm just causing problems
Thinking I know how to solve them
So, for once I'm gonna' shut my mouth

[Refrain]
Waiting silent in the shadows like a devil at the crossroads
Playing fiddle watchin' Rome burn down

[Chorus]
You can find me playing fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
You can find me playing fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down

[Fiddle Solo]

[Verse 5]
While the charlatans are shoutin' propaganda on the mountain
Truth is spoken to an empty house
If you ask for my opinion, are you trying to make a difference?
Or find something to complain about?
When indulgence and consumption leave a landscape of destruction
Where it's far too late to turn back now

[Refrain]
I'll be movin' on my own way down the existential highway
Playing fiddle watchin' Rome burn down

[Chorus]
You can find me playing fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
You can find me playing fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down
Playin' fiddle, watchin' Rome burn down