Proven patterns breaking down 
All controls gone underground 
We should have never come to this 
Yet here we stand 
Devoid of optimists 
   
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
We set the wheels in motion 
Now we're caught in the commotion 
The machine's breaking down 
   
Lebanon, Iraq, Iran 
Ethiopia and Afghanistan 
Religion and politics, plunder and rape 
While the weak cow down 
And pray for escape 
   
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
We set the wheels in motion 
Now we're caught in the commotion 
The machine's breaking down 
   
Addicts bent on self-destruction 
A billion dollars for the masters of seduction 
Despair and hope go hand in hand 
Charting the inevitable course of man 
Bloody images bounce off the wall 
As the satellite pictures tell it all 
While common goals and common ground 
Disappear as the world breaks down 
   
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
We set the wheels in motion 
Now we're caught in the commotion 
The machine's breaking down 
   
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
The machine's breaking down 
(2x)