L.A. Plays Itself

Through tinted windows, baby
Can't read the writing on the wall
Can't understand til you speak in the language of the mall
Too busy living lately
To ever live without the light
I could never leave or believe in another kind of life

You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in
You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in

Never give up on the city
No, you can't live anywhere else
'Cause it commands every scene
And it always plays itself
Think it's expensive, baby
But all the simple things are free
And every street in your dreams is already on the screen

You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in
You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in

Can you read the writing on the wall?
Never get, never get—
Never get, never get caught
On the canyon, driving to the mall
Never get, never get caught
Never get, never get

[Verse 3]
I'll stay until the quake evicts me
I idle in a parking lot
On my search for a space from an orbit 'round the block
Think I'm hallucinating
Think I might drive into the sea
When I remember again there's no truth in memory

You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in
You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in

Can you read the writing on the wall?
Never get, never get—
Never get, never get caught
On the canyon, driving to the mall
Never get, never get caught
Never get, never get

You think it's like that, but it's really like this:
You never get caught if you're never locked in