Long Shot

Lyrics

Long Shot (Place Your Bets)

Introspoken

Ding. "Your wager has been placed." ...What wager? "Subject cracks by Christmas. Three to one." ...Who's the subject? Ding. "You are."

Verse 1

I ain't paranoid - I'm just payin' attention Three audits, three years - "random selection" Then my clients bounced in tandem, every contract in pieces Same date, same phrasin', like they read the same thesis Then the one-star reviews from profiles with no faces Born the same minute, typin' "SCAM" in the same typefaces Bank froze the account for a "routine review" Routine? Every routine I got is gettin' routed through you Then a match - she's a ten with the heart of a saint Loved every verse I love before I told her... wait Never on video, her camera's always broken Then her uncle needs surgery - payable in tokens They call it pig-butcherin': feed you love by the bucket Then they gut you for your savings with a smile and a "trust it" Meanwhile the rumor mill's runnin' double shifts Got my own family whisperin', "He's not himself - he's slippin'" Fleming wrote it: once is happenstance, twice is coincidence Three times is enemy action - I'm at three hundred sixty-six Adam Smith said the market's got an invisible hand This one wears a ring - and it's got me in its plan

Hook

(Place your bets!) There's a pool on my life Over/under on the night I give up the fight (Place your bets!) Hidden hand on the dice But I'm the long shot - and I'm still alive

Verse 2

See, it's a sport to the members - they're bettin' the spread Got a book on my breakdown, every line in red Some got money on "never," some got money on "when" Some parlay my marriage and my mind and my friends 'Cause the play ain't redrum - redrum leaves prints The play's a man so wrecked that the wreckage makes sense Either I fold - and the house rakes the pot Or I look so erratic that the magistrate's got Me unfit to sign my own name - so a stranger gets power Of attorney - guardianship notarized in under an hour "For his own protection" - commit me with a smile Padded room, a soft voice, and a forty-page file Or they frame me - plant a story, plant a bag, plant a tip Now I'm wearin' state orange while they're toastin' a sip They want me committed? I'm committed - to breathin' They want me framed? Hang me where the whole world's seein' The perfect crime's a victim that the town calls "crazy" 'Cause who's gonna listen to a witness that's "shaky"? The house always wins? Nah - the house always cheats Loaded dice, marked cards, and a judge in the seats

Hook

(Place your bets!) There's a pool on my life Over/under on the night I give up the fight (Place your bets!) Hidden hand on the dice But I'm the long shot - and I'm still alive

Verse 3

Now here's the page that they rip from the brochure: "Underworld tourism" - VIP, all-inclusive tour A drink that tastes funny, then a hole in the week Hotel key card, "Do Not Disturb" on repeat Men in clean suits payin' cash for the key To a room where the guest can't remember or speak Then the big top - a carnival that ain't on a map Calliope playin' while the billionaires clap Ringmaster in a mask, every unaliver too Champagne in the box seats - and the final act's you Curtain call, then the chop shop scene Parted out like a Cadillac, sold piece by piece Rakshasas at the gala don't pour the wine They pour the universal donor, and they call it divine And the DNA? Shipped south, past the ice, and beyond To the Paperclip ghosts who got pardoned, not gone But I'm still here - wide awake, stone sober Watch my drink like a hawk with my back to the corner Every bet that they placed is a debt that they owe And the long shot's turnin' for home - watch me go

Bridge

(Step right up!) Spin the wheel (Step right up!) Make a deal The house got the cards, but the house can't see Greater is He that is in me

Hook

(Place your bets!) Y'all bet against my life Over/under? I'm over - every single night (Cash it out!) 'Cause the house rolled the dice And the long shot came in - and I'm still alive

Outrospoken

Ding. "Market closed. Subject still alive. All wagers lost." ...Lost? Nah. Y'all just found out. And if they got odds on you too... don't you dare pay 'em. Stay.