The Cost of the Machine
7 Feb 2026 15:45![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
karmicdragonflySong version here --
https://eyesonice.substack.com/p/eyes-on-ice-the-cost-of-the-machine?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=4363505&post_id=187228286
The Eyes on ICE substacker used AI to generate the music part of it, and they are correct -- trigger warning -- at the end of the music.
(VERSE 1) Sat at the table, sayin’ a grace that I don’t mean. My family’s gone, washed their hands of the machine. They call me a disgrace, they call me a ghost. I’m drinkin’ to the demons that I hate the most. Fifty thousand bonus... that was the price of the soul. Diggin’ a grave just to fill up the hole. My hate for the brown... yeah, it made me turn cold. Now I’m just a story that shouldn’t be told.
(CHORUS) It was Miller in the shadows, drawin’ up the plan. It was Noem with the smile, killin’ the man. They sold me a lie, said “Protect the home.” Now I’m sittin’ in the kitchen, dyin’ alone. The ICE is in my veins, freezin’ the heart. Tearing the American Dream apart. I can hear the screams when the bottle runs dry... I was just a soldier for a rich man’s lie.
(VERSE 2) I look at the wall, see the picture of the past. Before the uniform, before the die was cast. Now I’m welcome nowhere, no friends in the town. Just the weight of the shame draggin’ me down. I hated the stranger just to feel some heat. But now the cold is risin’ up from the street. Stephen’s in a castle, Kristi’s on a stage. And I’m the one rattlin’ inside of the cage.
(BRIDGE) IS THIS THE GREATNESS? IS THIS THE PRIDE? There’s nowhere left to run! Nowhere to hide! The bottom of the bottle! The end of the line! I’m cancelling the contract! I’m resignin’ from time! GOD DAMN THE MILLER! GOD DAMN THE ICE! I PAID WITH MY LIFE! I PAID THE PRICE!
(OUTRO - SPOKEN WORD) Miller gets a castle. Noem gets a book deal. And I get... ...this.
https://eyesonice.substack.com/p/eyes-on-ice-the-cost-of-the-machine?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=4363505&post_id=187228286
The Eyes on ICE substacker used AI to generate the music part of it, and they are correct -- trigger warning -- at the end of the music.
(VERSE 1) Sat at the table, sayin’ a grace that I don’t mean. My family’s gone, washed their hands of the machine. They call me a disgrace, they call me a ghost. I’m drinkin’ to the demons that I hate the most. Fifty thousand bonus... that was the price of the soul. Diggin’ a grave just to fill up the hole. My hate for the brown... yeah, it made me turn cold. Now I’m just a story that shouldn’t be told.
(CHORUS) It was Miller in the shadows, drawin’ up the plan. It was Noem with the smile, killin’ the man. They sold me a lie, said “Protect the home.” Now I’m sittin’ in the kitchen, dyin’ alone. The ICE is in my veins, freezin’ the heart. Tearing the American Dream apart. I can hear the screams when the bottle runs dry... I was just a soldier for a rich man’s lie.
(VERSE 2) I look at the wall, see the picture of the past. Before the uniform, before the die was cast. Now I’m welcome nowhere, no friends in the town. Just the weight of the shame draggin’ me down. I hated the stranger just to feel some heat. But now the cold is risin’ up from the street. Stephen’s in a castle, Kristi’s on a stage. And I’m the one rattlin’ inside of the cage.
(BRIDGE) IS THIS THE GREATNESS? IS THIS THE PRIDE? There’s nowhere left to run! Nowhere to hide! The bottom of the bottle! The end of the line! I’m cancelling the contract! I’m resignin’ from time! GOD DAMN THE MILLER! GOD DAMN THE ICE! I PAID WITH MY LIFE! I PAID THE PRICE!
(OUTRO - SPOKEN WORD) Miller gets a castle. Noem gets a book deal. And I get... ...this.