The Handshake

(album: Stranger Than Fiction - 1994)

every time you shake someone's hand and it feels like your best friend,
could it be that it's only superficiality?,
without regard to well-being, without an inkling of compromise,
handshakes are nothing but a subtle "fuck you",
contracts determine the best friendships

this is the way of the modern world, everyone's vying for patronage,
this is the way of the modern world, and something has gotta give

every time you shake someone's hand,
and you share neither color or creed,
you gotta overcome the obstacles of history,
there is restrained passion, mistrust, and bigotry

and these have created the new foundations of society,
there's no harmony just class and race

this is the way of the modern world,
everyone's fighting for dominance,
this is the way of the modern world,
and something has gotta give

now I believe in unity, and I am willing to compromise,
but I'm not gonna lie or sell my soul

every time you shake someone's hand,
it determines where you stand,
and if you won't uphold your side then it's better to
fend for yourself, and shun the handshake,
someone's gotta give