Crosses burning The flames dancing higher and higher Never learning from centuries of our mistakes Does history rhyme? Or does it repeat? When good men comply and do nothing I see your flag and raise you a fist Ask me to abide, I'll blow you a kiss Well how will we know when it's safe to come out now? When the dust and the smoke all settles and clears There's a peace sign painted on a brick wall scarred with bullet holes And echoing from street to street is "Katy bar the door" Now tanks are on Main Street And blood is on their hands How can you believe a single word they said? A generation tricked into fighting each other In this race to the bottom we push and we shove the whole way But most of the time we just look away 'Cause it's all just too hard to face We close our eyes and count the days From a hiding place How will we know when it's safe to come out now? When the dust and the smoke all settles and clears There's a peace sign painted on a brick wall scarred with bullet holes And echoing from street to street is "Katy bar the door" Bar the door Just a voice, just a name, just a cog in this machine Just a face on a screen selling me what I don't need Just a scratch, watch it bleed, let it spread through everything Just someone break us free Anyone but me And how will we know when it's safe to come out now? When the dust and the smoke all settles and clears There's a peace sign painted on a brick wall scarred with bullet holes And echoing from street to street is "Katy bar the door" Yeah, echoing down every street is "Katy bar the door"