[Verse 1]
They walked through the front door wearing suits and ties
Democracy handed them the keys without disguise
Mussolini got appointed by the king's decree
Hitler built coalitions, claimed legitimacy
[Pre-Chorus]
No storm troops marching in the square
Just paperwork and legal flair
The warning signs were hiding there
In plain sight but nobody cared
[Chorus]
Don't wait for the obvious signs
Don't wait for the crossed red lines
By then it's too late to defend
Democracy's already at an end
The normalization phase is when
You have to act, you have to defend
Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait too long
The moment's now before it's gone
[Verse 2]
Emergency decrees became the normal way
Constitutional rights slowly stripped away
Violence came later when the power was secure
By then resistance wasn't possible anymore
[Pre-Chorus]
The system broke from the inside out
With legal moves, without a doubt
The transformation came about
Through law, not force, that's what it's about
[Chorus]
Don't wait for the obvious signs
Don't wait for the crossed red lines
By then it's too late to defend
Democracy's already at an end
The normalization phase is when
You have to act, you have to defend
Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait too long
The moment's now before it's gone
[Bridge]
When norms become suggestions
When institutions bend
When laws lose their protection
That's where defenses must begin
Not when the tanks are rolling
Not when the boots march loud
But when the ground is shifting
Silent in the crowd
[Chorus]
Don't wait for the obvious signs
Don't wait for the crossed red lines
By then it's too late to defend
Democracy's already at an end
The normalization phase is when
You have to act, you have to defend
Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait too long
The moment's now before it's gone
[Outro]
Legal paths to tyranny
History's cold reality
Defend during normalization
Before it kills the nation