Get real, open your eyes up You better turn on, tune in and wise up This is not a figment or a fantasy As a matter of fact it is reality Feel the poison floating in the air Take a look now, do you despair? And could it happen, and could it be true? Steal from the many and give it to the few You take a crack, a smack and then they pass around Screw you up and that's how they keep you down Then they have you in the palm of their hand Then they have you and you'll never understand Altered state, altered state Altered state Altered state, altered state Altered state Dead dreams, running in the streets The country's raged by the robbers and the cheats They'll lead you by the hand into the promised land To the next world, that's the Third World Shutting down the hospitals and factories Filling up dole queues in the cemeteries You better get down, grovel in the dirt On your face now, does it hurt? How long will it take for you to see the facts? That they'll always have you do their time Do their time, select the place Do we have to wave it in your face? Altered state, altered state Altered state Altered state, altered state Altered state By now the situation's critical I'm breaking the door down getting criminal And the thieves, they want to take it all Down on your hands and knees, they want to see you crawl Like a child, they give you toys But you were silent, didn't make a noise You were guilty and you hoped you could deceive And what does he say and do you believe? Rough justice, tough luck But it seems like no one gives a f*ck Say a prayer, is he ever this late? And it seems we're living in an altered state Altered state, altered state Altered state Altered state, altered state Altered state