(Verse 1)
Pete spoke the words they wouldn’t say
Pete didn’t care either way
He’d sit and craft it late at night
’Til the outrage burned just right

(Verse 2)
They called him brave, they called him real
A twisted hero with rusty appeal
He spoke for those who sat and seethed
A broken man they all believed

(Chorus – Music tightens, vocals more intense)
Oh, the Pete Effect…
A flawed and foul architect
He said the things they couldn’t say
Then he drank himself away…

(Verse 3)
Welded steel and stolen power
Lived life bitter, lived life sour
But people laughed behind the screen
’Cause he was vicious, sharp, and keen

(Chorus)
Oh, the Pete Effect…
A flawed and foul architect
He said the things they couldn’t say
Then he drank himself away…

(Bridge – Music pulls back, sparse and tense)
I heard things later, worse than before
But legends don’t get examined much more
’Cause it’s easier to cheer the man in the pit
Than admit you agree with some of it

(Outro – vocals lower, almost a mutter; music fades to bass and a single high-hat)
Summer of ’18… the heat and the shame…
The meter’s still running…
And nobody’s laughing…
…anymore.
