The Unblinking Eye
Verse 1
They bolted a box to the telephone pole at the end of the cul-de-sac
A little glass eye with a solar panel, watching the minivans back
The HOA paid the subscription fee, said it keeps the neighborhood clean
But they just gave the keys to the local PD and a data-mining machine
It logs every bumper, it reads every plate, it clocks when you leave for the store
It knows who you're visiting late in the night, and it’s constantly hungry for more
They said it was built to protect the perimeter, keep out the shadows and thieves
But you’re living inside of a digital prison, no matter what you believe!
Chorus
So smile for the Flock on the corner! Smile for the lens on the chest!
We bought the illusion of safety, now we're living under house arrest!
Every time you put the car in drive, the algorithm takes a look
Yeah, the modern panopticon’s up and running, and we paid them to write the book!
The red and the blue in the rearview mirror, triggered by a faulty line
You’re guilty as sin to the silicon chip, just waiting to pay the fine!
Verse 2
Axon is holding the evidence vault, racking the terabytes up
They’re selling the Taser, the drone, and the cam, drinking from everyone’s cup
A black-box jury that nobody sees, trained on a biased past
Spitting out warrants and probable cause, making the dragnet cast
Your alibi’s good but the metadata says you were driving too close to the scene
Try crossing a witness who doesn't have eyes and speaks in a binary stream!
The deputies love it, the mayor is thrilled, the stock is approaching the sky
We traded the Fourth Amendment away for a constantly unblinking eye!
Bridge
You can’t cross-examine a lens flare.
You can’t put a code on the stand.
You can’t ask a camera for mercy, when the trigger is out of your hands!
They outsourced the badge to the valley!
They automated the law!
And they're building a profile of everywhere you’ve been, looking for a fatal flaw!
Chorus
So smile for the Flock on the corner! Smile for the lens on the chest!
We bought the illusion of safety, now we're living under house arrest!
Every time you put the car in drive, the algorithm takes a look
Yeah, the modern panopticon’s up and running, and we paid them to write the book!
The red and the blue in the rearview mirror, triggered by a faulty line
You’re guilty as sin to the silicon chip, just waiting to pay the fine!
Outro
Just waiting to pay the fine...
Keep your hands on the wheel.
Smile for the bird.