Discover the story of the song > We Built This City On Debts And Booze – A Wilhelm Scream

The protagonist of the song is searching for someone who is honest and trying to find any hint of evil left in people. He believes that giving meaning to meaningless things is worth dying for. He spends a lot of time searching but doesn't find what he's looking for. He feels like his pride is gone and he's sinking to the bottom. He repeats the cycle of waking up, working, eating, sleeping, and repeating again. He listens to a chorus of people who are part of a union that marches and roars like a lion. He hears an old man say that they built the city on debts and alcohol. The protagonist has been in debt for twelve years and is paying it off with hard work, but it feels like it means nothing. He decides that he doesn't want to be like the jaded heroes who are only in it for the money. He mimics drum fills with his head against the wall and listens to the voice of God in his morning alarm. He talks about laughing in a heavy way and how they will be there for the end of everything. They want to cut off the strings that control them and find a way back to better days. They will stand against evil forever. The song ends with the repetition of waking up, eating, working, sleeping, and repeating, but with the added line of being there for the end of it all and standing against evil forever.