Modern World
Rusty Cage Lyrics

Sitting alone in his rocking chair with a pistol in his hand,
Karl Dane is all alone in his sorrows, contemplating suicide.

Karl Dane has got nothing left to give
Karl Dane has lost everything he had and is left with nothing at all.

You see his face at the picture show
Karl Dane was once successful and famous, appearing on the silver screen.

In the silent days, the only life that he'd know
Karl Dane found success in the silent film era, but struggled with the transition to sound.

But by the middle of April he had no reason to live
Karl Dane's struggles left him feeling hopeless and without a purpose.

And when he opened his mouth, you'd probably say the same
Karl Dane's voice was not suited for sound films, contributing to his downfall.

Invention of sound, and Karl Dane was out of the game
Karl Dane could not adapt to the new technology and was left without work.

Give him a job, $5 a day
The studio offered Karl Dane very little pay to continue acting.

Yeah, the studio said that that was all they would pay
The studio refused to offer Karl Dane a fair wage for his work.

And when they found him dead
Karl Dane ultimately took his own life.

He left himself for no one to claim
Karl Dane's tragic end left him without anyone to claim him or mourn his loss.

It's a modern world that we live in and you got no play to go
The world we live in is unforgiving and often leaves people with nowhere to turn.

In the show of the freaks, yeah, I would probably guess
The entertainment industry often sensationalizes marginalized people.

You'd find her standing there with hair from her chin to her chest
In this case, the performer had facial hair that was ridiculed and exploited by the industry.

And then they shut it down, they found it politically incorrect
Eventually, the entertainment industry deemed this performance aspect too offensive to continue.

So it was on with the high heels and off with the beard
The performer had to conform to societal expectations and change their appearance to continue working.

When she had a good shave she didn't look half weird
While the performer changed their appearance, they still faced ridicule and judgement.

So now its nights on the corners just to come up with rent
With no other work available, the performer was forced into sex work to survive.

And it's a shame the way Marcel would treat her so unkind
The performer faced exploitation and abuse from clients and employers alike.

She picked up the pipe to make it through the day
To cope with the harsh realities of her life, the performer turned to drug use.

Well you can find her there, face down in the drain
The performer's struggles and addictions ultimately led to their tragic death.

2 inches of water in the grave that she lay
The performer died alone, unnoticed and with nothing to show for their struggles.

Jesse James, Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid
The song then references historical figures who were similarly outcasts or criminals, deemed unfit for society.

Ain't no room inside this world for all the things that they did
Society often casts out those who are different or do not conform to mainstream expectations.

Even Dylan's having trouble trying to make it today
Even icons of the industry like Bob Dylan struggle to find success in the current entertainment landscape.

Gene Kelly tap-dancing, singing the blues
The song highlights the many different types of artists and performers who have faced difficulties in the entertainment industry.

Bootlegging whiskey, prohibition of booze
Even those outside of the entertainment industry, such as illegal bootleggers, have been punished by society.

I don't know what to do, I'll just have to learn I suppose
The song concludes with a sense of resignation, recognizing the harsh realities of life but offering no solution or comfort.