FACTORY SETTING

Lyrics

Verse 1 He wakes before the alarm Already running diagnostics Checks his face inside the mirror Makes the expression automatic Smile when spoken to Answer when asked Keep all malfunctions hidden Complete the task He learned the human language But never learned the part Where people get to need things Without calling it a fault So he keeps himself useful Keeps everything precise If nobody has to deal with him Then maybe he’s doing life right Pre-Chorus There’s faulty wiring somewhere He can feel it when he thinks So he dreams about a switchboard Where somebody changes everything Chorus Put me back to factory settings Take the static from my head Program what I’m supposed to want And what I’m supposed to feel instead Give me lines for every moment Tell me where to stand and when I could finally be useful If I never had to be myself again No hunger No anger No questions asking why Just a clean-running machine That never wonders what it’s like To shut down Verse 2 He’s studied every exit Like an error in the code Then calculates the damage That a shutdown would unload Too many calls to answer Too many lives delayed Even disappearing wrong Would make somebody lose a day So he cancels the command Returns himself to work Another little system patch To hide another hurt Yes, I’m fine No, I’m good Sorry, misunderstood Anything you need from me? Of course. I knew you would. Pre-Chorus Every second is processing Every thought another strain He’d give anything for someone Who could rewrite his brain Chorus Put me back to factory settings Take the static from my head Program what I’m supposed to want And what I’m supposed to feel instead Delete whatever makes me needy Strip the wanting from the code Make me something low-maintenance Something nobody has to hold No hunger No anger No terrified goodbyes Just a clean-running machine That never has to wonder why It’s alive Bridge Maybe I was built defective Maybe I missed quality control Maybe somewhere on the assembly line They forgot to give me a soul Or maybe I’m not broken Maybe there’s no perfect code Maybe humans weren’t designed To carry everything alone But that sounds like an error So he clears it from the screen Because hope is an instruction He was never programmed to believe Breakdown SYSTEM WARNING: Unapproved emotion detected. SYSTEM WARNING: Subject requires rest. SYSTEM WARNING: Subject requires affection. SYSTEM WARNING: Subject has requested nothing for twenty-seven years. Critical error: Subject still believes having needs is the same thing as hurting everyone else. Final Chorus Put me back to factory settings Make me easier to own Program me to love the silence Program me to like being alone Make me laugh when I’m expected Make me useful till I’m through And when something starts malfunctioning Just tell me what a normal person Would do No hunger No anger No taking up their time Just give me ones and zeroes And I swear I’ll run just fine Outro Morning starts. Diagnostics. Heart: operational. Hands: steady. Face: acceptable. One unresolved error blinking behind his eyes: I DON’T WANT TO DIE. I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO KEEP BEING ME. He clears the warning. Gets dressed. And goes to work.