I sit at my table and wage war on myself
It seems like it's all, it's all for nothing
I know the barricades
And I know the mortar in the wall breaks
I recognize the weapons, I used them well

This is my mistake
Let me make it good
I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down

I've a rich understanding of my finest defenses
I proclaim that claims are left unstated
I demand a rematch
I decree a stalemate
I divine my deeper motives
I recognize the weapons
I've practiced them well, I fitted them myself

It's amazing what devices you can sympathize (empathize)
This is my mistake
Let me make it good
I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down

Reach out for me and hold me tight
Hold that memory
Let my machine talk to me, let my machine talk to me

This is my world and I am world leader pretend
This is my life
And this is my time
I have been given the freedom
To do as I see fit
It's high time I've razed the walls that I've constructed

It's amazing what devices you can sympathize (empathize)
This is my mistake
Let me make it good
I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down

You fill in the mortar
You fill in the harmony
You fill in the mortar
I raised the wall
And I'm the only one
I will be the one to knock it down


Lyrics submitted by scaredforthisworld, edited by picturesofthesun

World Leader Pretend Lyrics as written by Peter Buck Bill Berry

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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World Leader Pretend song meanings
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  • +2
    General Comment

    I always took it as a Cold War song, about building up nations only to have to turn around and fight them (that "Orange Crush," from the same album, dealt with Vietnam only furthered the idea). But there's definitely a melancholy to the song that makes sense if it's more psychological, about fighting through your own defenses.

    DF Ashon September 11, 2007   Link

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