Casino Nation

by Jackson Browne

In a weapons producing nation under Jesus

In the fabled crucible of the free world

Camera crews search for clues amid the detritus

And entertainment shapes the land

The way the hammer shapes the hand

Gleaming faces in the checkout counter at the Church of Fame

The lucky winners cheer Casino Nation

All those not on TV only have themselves to blame

And don't quite seem to understand

The way the hammer shapes the hand

Out beyond the ethernet the spectrum spreads

DC to daylight, the cowboy mogul rides

Never worry where the gold for all this glory's gonna come from

Get along dogies, it's coming out of your hides

The intentional cultivation of a criminal class

The future lit by brightly burning bridges

Justice fully clothed to hide the heart of glass

That shatters in a thousand Ruby Ridges

And everywhere the good prepare for perpetual war

And let their weapons shape the plan

The way the hammer shapes the hand