Paper Cuts and Peace Talks

Paper Cuts and Peace Talks

Verse 1

In a city of headlines, the lights went dim, Newsroom chairs spun with nobody in them. Sports went silent, bookshelves bare, The daily voices hushed in the air. A publisher stepped down after the storm, A numbers man moved in to keep the form. The guild cried out to the man with the keys, “Undo this harm or set us free.” An old editor called it the darkest morn, Blamed a choice not to take a stand before dawn, Said readers left when the compass broke, And the paper’s promise thinned to smoke.

Sources:

• Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post conducts widespread layoffs
• Washington Post lays off one-third of its newsroom
• Washington Post CEO resigns after sweeping layoffs
• Bezos orders layoffs at 'Washington Post'
• Sweeping layoffs at The Washington Post will do 'enormous damage'

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Chorus

Paper cuts and peace talks, we’re bleeding and we’re bold, From battlefields to boardrooms where the stories are told. Hold on through the feedback, hold out for the dawn, The ink of our tomorrow is still being drawn.

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Verse 2

By desert towers and mirrored glass, Rivals met, let a moment pass. A summer line drawn thin as thread, While maps of the east stay heavy with lead. They swapped the promise of sons and brothers, But the stones in the boots still grind each other. Donbas lingers like a tolling bell, One side says leave, the other says never sell. Miami breezes might carry the plea, If the heat of pride can cool at sea.

Sources:

• US gave Ukraine and Russia June deadline to reach peace agreement
• US has given Ukraine and Russia June deadline to end war: Zelenskyy
• Ukraine says first day of peace talks with Russia 'productive'

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Chorus

Paper cuts and peace talks, we’re bleeding and we’re bold, From battlefields to boardrooms where the stories are told. Hold on through the feedback, hold out for the dawn, The ink of our tomorrow is still being drawn.

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Verse 3

On Downing Street, a whisper turned to flame, A loyal hand stepped back and named his name. He owned the call that crossed the foam, Sent a man to Washington who should’ve stayed home. Old shadows from an island’s shore, Tangled emails, unlocked doors. They said the harm was trust itself, And knocking on a lord’s high shelf, The badges came to seize the threads Of secrets carried on guilty breaths.

Sources:

• UK PM's chief of staff resigns over Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador
• Morgan McSweeney - Wikipedia
• McSweeney resigns as British PM's chief of staff
• Irish man Morgan McSweeney resigns as Keir Starmer's chief of staff

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Verse 4

In Oman’s hush, with curtains drawn, Messages traveled before the dawn. They called it a start, not the end of the maze, Said the capitals would measure the days. A President smiled at the tone of the room, While fears of thunder gathered and loomed. Envoys spoke in careful art, An admiral’s shadow played its part. Between the sabers and the sand, A narrow bridge reached hand to hand.

Sources:

• Iran says talks with US in Oman 'a good start'
• CNN Politics: Trump Administration News
• NPR World News

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Chorus

Paper cuts and peace talks, we’re bleeding and we’re bold, From battlefields to boardrooms where the stories are told. Hold on through the feedback, hold out for the dawn, The ink of our tomorrow is still being drawn.

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Verse 5

The War Department turned from crimson halls, Called the ivy’s echo unfit for calls. Said the campus chant has lost the way, Pulled its programs and walked away. A framed degree returned in spite, Courtroom sparks lit up the night. A fortune dangled like a chain, While other towers brace for rain. Between the barracks and the bell, A lesson’s cost is hard to tell.

Sources:

• Pentagon to end military training at 'woke' Harvard
• Pentagon says it's cutting ties with 'woke' Harvard
• Pentagon Says It Will Cut Academic Ties With Harvard University
• Pentagon cuts academic ties with 'woke' Harvard

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Verse 6

January’s wind cut deep and cold, The hiring drum beat faint and old. A driver’s giant lost its deal, Restructures turned the factory wheel. Tariffs, borders, tilted plans, AI humming in idle vans. Some blamed markets, some blamed code, As paychecks vanished down the road. The want ads whispered, thin and few, While hopeful hearts stitched something new.

Sources:

• The job market was already 'slim pickings.' New data shows it just got worse
• US Treasury Economy Statement
• CBS News

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Bridge

We are headlines on a kitchen table, Coffee rings and fables, A chorus caught between the wars, Between closed doors and open shores.

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Final Chorus and Ending

Paper cuts and peace talks, we’re bleeding and we’re bold, From battlefields to boardrooms where the stories are told. Hold on through the feedback, hold out for the dawn, The ink of our tomorrow is still being drawn. So lift your pens and strike the chords, Call back the truth, unbind the swords. Let summer wind unmake the war, Let classrooms, newsrooms, hire once more. From Oman’s hush to Miami’s light, From Fleet Street ghosts to Harvard’s night, We’ll tune this fractured, roaring song— Turn up the heart, and play it strong.