Band leader Ryan Alexander describes the meaning of this song here:
Civilian Explores Gritty Darkness in 'Michael' [Premiere]
—
The Wild Honey Pie
Civilian traffics in the kind of indie rock that you can easily see filling up areas. It's huge, hooky and still interesting enough to actually merit...
The curb descends to the street
Where fifty men at least
Are stopped by a flashing hand
And slurring their speech
Pedestrians and cops
Will gladly shrug them off
For every man is safe
If he's white or he's straight
Pardoned sin makes one man grin
And the rest of us pick up the pieces
Pardoned sin makes one man grin
And the rest of us pick up the pieces
The bros are talking shit about the government
The half baked thoughts of a desperate prince
Raising your glass to clear your conscience
You said what you said 'cause you meant it
You could have known but wouldn't have cared
What's it to you?
You know life isn't fair
Oh, o-oh
Michael plays the queen
With married men discretely
Says, "Nothing good comes free"
And he drops to his knees
Until one night he was drugged
By a client that he loved
His sense of self dissolves
And the rapist walks free
By the time the empty palm
Of the henchman's hand collapsed
The pimp eclipsed the ceiling fan
"I'm coming back. And that's just the tax."
You could have known but wouldn't have cared
What's it to you?
You know life isn't fair
Oh, o-oh
You could have known but wouldn't have cared
What's it to you?
You know life isn't fair
Oh, o-oh
Young men were leaving
The bar when they saw him
Red dress, black eye, high heels
They started howling, "Get fucked, faggot"
And that's when they lost it
You wouldn't believe what privilege costs
Michael was written by Ryan Alexander.