[Verse 1] Started as a socialist, then switched the game Benito Mussolini rose to power and fame March on Rome in twenty-two, the king gave way Black shirts in the streets, democracy's decay Built his movement from the fragments of the war Veterans and middle class who wanted something more Not quite revolution, not the old regime A third way rising from the bourgeois dream [Chorus] Corpo-ration, party-state Elite accommodation, seal their fate Violence as the tool of rule Fascist Italy, authoritarian school Corpo-ration, party-state Elite accommodation, seal their fate Violence as the tool of rule Mussolini's iron grip, nobody's fool [Verse 2] Corporatism was the economic plan Workers, bosses, state - all under one command Not quite capitalism, not socialist control Syndicates and corporations playing their role Private property remained but freedom died Business leaders found the state right by their side Regulated markets with a fascist twist Competition crushed beneath the iron fist [Chorus] Corpo-ration, party-state Elite accommodation, seal their fate Violence as the tool of rule Fascist Italy, authoritarian school Corpo-ration, party-state Elite accommodation, seal their fate Violence as the tool of rule Mussolini's iron grip, nobody's fool [Verse 3] Party-state fusion, boundaries erased Fascist apparatus in every government space Civil service purged and filled with loyal men Democratic institutions would never rise again Elite accommodation was the key to power Conservatives thought they'd use him for an hour But Mussolini played them, made them junior partners While fascist ideology became the new harbinger [Bridge] Castor oil and beatings, squadristi in the night Violence as governance, ruling through fright Political opponents silenced or destroyed Terror as a method that the state employed [Verse 4] From local thugs to national police force Violence institutionalized as the state's main course OVRA secret police watching every move Dissent eliminated, nothing left to prove The Duce's cult of personality grew strong Propaganda machine playing fascist songs Twenty years of rule before the empire fell Italian fascism, authoritarian hell [Chorus] Corpo-ration, party-state Elite accommodation, seal their fate Violence as the tool of rule Fascist Italy, authoritarian school Corpo-ration, party-state Elite accommodation, seal their fate Violence as the tool of rule Mussolini's iron grip, nobody's fool [Outro] Study how it started, study how it grew Elite collaboration made the nightmare true Corpo-ration, violence, party-state control Italian fascism's dark and twisted soul
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