Elegy for Industry

[nyjm]

Elegy for Industry
noah mclaughlin

I am a wounded stone split down to the core
I know my mother green can't handle any more
I feel the ocean move as the moon it fades to day
I sing a crystal tune your flames will burn away

Rest in peace your
Destiny I dream

On the hill of Calvary I build a wooden tower
And from that height I can see the folly of your power
All this weight I cannot bear, the ardor of your fumes
From poplar boughs with blossoms white I forge my sword – a plume

Rest in peace your
Destiny I dream
One day I will
See your fate a-gleam

feu mon industrie la noire
je rêve de ton déstin
un jour, je me réveillerai
voir ton sort malin

Hippocratic oaths forsworn: first, you do no harm
The blood of innocents to spill keeps the Devil warm
And on your passing to the black we dance and drink and sing
And on your tombstone rolled away we fashion flowered strings

Rest in peace your
Destiny I dream
One day I will
See your fate a-gleam

Rest in peace your
Destiny: a pyre
One day I will
Set your fate on fire

[rone rivendale]

Rone Rivendale presents: Elegy for Industry

Got laid off
Yeah I got laid off again

Third time this year
But I'm not mad

Can't take it personally
It's happening to alot of people

Chrous:
(This is an elegy for industry
no factory
our jobs' in New Dehli

Our cars are Japanese
Everything else is Chinese
What can we do in times like these?)

Got no money
Yeah I ain't got a dime

Sold all my Melvin CD's
Just so I could grab a bite

May have to live in my car
Hope things don't get better real soon

Chrous

I'm asking you
No I'm begging you

Please won't you
Buy American

It would sure do a great service
To all the fine people of our nation

Chrous

What can we do
In times like these?

Would you like fries with that, Sir?

[Spud]

Chrous?

Maybe we could compete more effectively if more of us would learn to proofread our own posts.

[Teplin]

Maybe that's a lyric. Chrous! Like the sorrowful croak of an unemployed frog.

[rone rivendale]

lol, every lyric topic seems to be about correcting my errors nowadays.

[Heine]

Elegy for Industry
(Heine, jan. 2009)


Every day is just the same,
I guess there's no-one else to blame.
The conditions aren't that bad:
These fancy screwdrivers - the best I've ever had.

What else got me captivated here?
A steady job, no future fear?
It's the cash, that modern ball and chain.
Another drink, that helps to ease the pain.

Inside my head, I still hear machines -
like an everlasting Elegy for Industry.
But...

Hey, hey weekend, here I come
What is waiting to be done?
I'm free for a while - no part of the machine,
time to be just me.

Working on the assembly line,
thinking of a woman to be mine.
Got some bucks saved, got a flat and a car,
we could go on holiday, we could go real far.

My children deserve a better life,
that's why I'm still enslaved.
At least a nice retirement
and not an early grave.

Inside my head are still machines,
whining that Elegy for Industry.
But...

Hey, hey weekend, here I come.
Modern Times - I'm on the run!
I'm free for a while - no part of the machine,
time to be just me.

A farmwoman was looking for a man
and I became the one to lend a hand.
No more factory, no more Elegy,
just nature, fun and animals, we raised a family!

No more "weekend, here I come".
Modern Times - forever gone!
I'm free to be me - and finally I can lead
a life that's meant to be.

[bambamoozle]

Elegy For Industry
by John Kloberdanz

Hey stupid boss
Where you shipping out my job
Hey hey hey stupid boss
Where you shipping out my job
I wanna get up Monday morning
I can’t be a lazy slob

Hey politician
Bailing out all of the banks
Hey hey hey politician
Bailing out all of those banks
But the bonuses get paid
And they don’t even give their thanks

Do you care at all
That I have got nowhere to work
Do you care at all
That there’s nowhere left to work
Don’t like collecting unemployment
Makes me feel like such a jerk

Clean air is nice to breath
But it doesn’t pay the bills
Clean water's good to drink
But I’ve no sponges for my spills
I’d spend the winter on my skis
But life’s already gone downhill

Hey stupid boss
Where you shipping out my job
Hey hey hey stupid boss
Where you shipping out my job
I wanna get up Monday morning
I can’t be a lazy slob

I wanna get up Monday morning
I can't be a lazy slob

[coder_lyte()]

Elegy for Industry
coder_lyte()

I used to play all of those games in childhood days
Adventure, Asteroids, Combat and Maze Craze
The golden age of console games wouldn't last
And soon the glory they had made would fade into the past

I had to say goodbye to the industry
When there came the fall of Atari
(Say goodbye) in '83
And I'll never play those games again

Soon all the games I had enjoyed
Were then two bucks at KB Toys

I had to say goodbye to the industry
Threw away my copy of E.T.
(Say goodbye) and then Grand Prix
And I'll never play those games again

[deetak]

The sun will raise you to the throne,
Forge the iron grounds of home,
No machine sings elegies for industry or chrome.

We built this city round
Underground
Time now to bring it up.

Famine dies on the shore,
No scraps lie on the shore.

Three meals a day shall suffice us
-Four dare challenge his word (There is no word)
Five all died (Five all died):
The rebels died
The tribesmen died
The kingsmen died
The owners died (Died)
You

Let loose the gears and bid them roll
Through our new sun the burning coal
No elegy for enterprise
Our industrious nation sings

We built this city round (We built this city) (We built this city round)

We built this city round
Underground
Time now to bring it up.

More productivity,
Purge us of sympathy,

We have no elegies,
That's inefficiency,

We are a great nation,
We apportion the shame of our dead

Now, to work.

[Teplin]

Howl Down the Chimney - Elegy for Industry

Oh where have you gone
My old companions
My comfort, my health, and my bed
Oh what can I do
To break the fever
It's drivin' me out of my head

Oh what do you call
This bitter affliction
Sending me right to my grave
Oh where can I find
A new religion
I think it's too late to be saved

(Chorus)

Oh who have I lost
My kin and comrades
My offspring, my happier songs
Oh what can I do
To stop the whispers
That keep me awake the night long

Oh what can I do
To fix the breaches
The gaps where the cold rushes in
How long do I have
Before it numbs me
My blanket is tattered and thin

(Chorus)

Oh how do I shake
My complications
My sorrow, my guilt, and my fear
Oh what can I do
to relieve the symptoms
It's worse than it even appears

Oh where can I look
To find some answers
A reason for losing my home
No need for a will
With no survivors
I fear that I'll die here alone

(Chorus)

Oh where have you gone
My old companions
My comfort, my health, and my bed
Oh what can I do
To break the fever
It's drivin' me out of my head


Chorus:
Oooh and we ran out of coal
and you can't stoke a fire
with your frostbitten soul
Oooh and we couldn't make steam
so we burned books and chairs
until the room was picked clean

The industry's dyin' with me.

[jimtyrrell]

elegy for industry.

come down to the city with me
and poke around in what used to be
we'll go sailing on the blacktop sea
to the bones of the industry
we'll get drunk and we can break a few things
don't you worry 'bout the trouble it brings
nobody cares about you or me
or what's left of the industry

they came in back in '73
all smiles and opportunity
and promises they knew they would not keep
we knew it too but we were in too deep
we swallowed hard and we closed our eyes
any port's home in a storm this size
we let them build on a handful of lies
so what i got to show you shouldn't be a surprise but (chorus)

they took the hopes and dreams of this town
and drove them right straight into the ground
and once the benefit couldn't be found
you knew that they wouldn't be sticking around
they slithered off like a well-fed snake
when there was no more money to make
and who am i to say it was a mistake
because maybe we all need something to break (chorus)

[The Weakest Suit]

Song Fight Song 066
Elegy for Industry
(or What Wikipedia Taught Me About The Dot Com Bubble)

The year was 1999
We partied like it was the 60s
And in the back of all our minds
We were setting up the brand new balinese
The world was changing overnight
Dot com was everywhere in site
And the motto was:
Get big fast
Get big fast
Get big fast
And we did

One after 1999
We acted like it was the 70s
Spent all the money we could find
We were setting up a new wave cantonese
The world was changing overnight
Dot com was everywhere in site
And the model was:
Get big fast
Get big fast
Get big fast
And we did

And in the year 2001
It felt a lot lot like the 80s
Stocks were dropping one by one
And whole companies were tanking
The world was changing overnight
We were all left bankrupt and blind
But still singing
Get big fast
Get big fast
Get big fast
And we did
But it didn’t last

© 2009 Weakest Suit Songs

[Paco Del Stinko]

Elegy For Industry - Paco del Stinko

Once when your roar was heard throughout the land,
and your shadow nearly blocked out the sun
You burned the crystal from out of the sand,
and rifled the barrel of every gun
Then came the day when we cast our gaze up,
watching the fireball race through the sky
That was the day that we emptied the cup,
and the truth spilled out to reveal the lie

You lied, it was all a lie

Rusty razor - on the ground
No more veins to open - there's none to be found
Gnash them out with your teeth
Rise above the filth that lies beneath your feet

Broken trowel - buried in clay
No more walls to build - no harvested hay
Pick up the grains of rice in the dark
Stay out of the water for fear of the spark

Father, bless this earth
Free us from having another stillborn birth
Break open a hole in the sky
Turn down the heat so we no longer fry
Forgive us, for we have sinned
Hide us from the glare of Satan's grin

Give us release, from our toils
We can't go on, living with our spoils

[jast]

Elegy For Industry by Jan Krüger

They're selling their last goods, shops are closing down
Suburbs turn back into woods, no factory left in town
Precious lifestyle that you had, it's unsustainable
Luxury, a foreign word, your dreams not doing well

I don't care, I'm feeling great, my life is still complete
There's no plastic left to buy but I've got all I need
The elegy for industry, they're writing it today
What does it matter, all is well, 'cause music is here to stay

Despair is all around, they're drowning it in ale
Everything goes down the drain but music will prevail
And if they notice me and see that I am free
I'll gladly share, they'll be amazed how happy they can be

Here's to hoping they will come and let themselves relax
Be creative, do their own things, live life to the max
The elegy for industry won't get another glance
Perhaps now we can start anew and use this second chance

[Henrietta]

Elegy for Industry - Quimby

We would tuck each other in at night
Sing sweet stories of gold that came
And wealth that lasts forever

We watched each other leave
Footprints in the snow
Gradually each step would be repeated

As fast as you came
You left us here a stranger
Where, oh where, did our industry go?
We figured out too late
That you never meant to stay
Gone over hills and overseas for gold.

Scrounging out here in the reeds
Taking pot shots
Blaming it on everyone else's greed

Sing me a fairy tale tonight
Happy endings
How enterprise blossoms out of need

As fast as you came
You left us here a stranger
Where, oh where, did our industry go?
We figured out too late
That you never meant to stay
Gone over hills and overseas for gold.

[JonPorobil]

Jon Eric - Elegy for Industry

(chorus)
Is it better for a man to steal his meals or to steal his millions?
Is it harder to think when you can't hear yourself over all of the noise?
Is it easy to decide if you've got to think about your children?
It's hard to make up your mind when you think you've got a choice...

Lately I was laid off
The board of trustees made off
With bank accounts
Eight figures each

My heart was in my throat
Every time the phone rang
I knew that they were bankers
Collecting on their loans
My blood was in my ears
And I began to wonder
If there was a solution
That let me be my own

(chorus)

In my boss's office
He's filling up his coffers
But when he does
The numbers won't add up

He's mopping up his brow
And double-checking figures
He clutches at a ticket
In the pocket by his chest
He's waiting on a cab
To take him to the airport
He's headed for Hawaii
To leave behind this mess

(chorus)

CEOs at congress
Lined up on the lawn, just
Waiting for their chance
To go and beg

They're calling it the end
The animals are restless
The sun is sinking westward
The wind is in the trees
But tell me where was ours?
We never had a voice, did we?
The industry is reeling*
Let's bring it to its knees.

(chorus)


*in the recording, I sing "restless" instead of "reeling." This is an error. Oops.

[Ross]

Elegy for Industry

Goodbye 401k - it’s been good to know ya
And goodbye retirement age - I got nothin’ to show ya
And who’d-a ever thought the gears would grind to a stop while the whole world was watchin
And who’d-a ever guessed that we’d be in this mess after all we’ve been through
goodbye blind ambition - no thanks to you

Goodbye pie in the sky - there’s no way to bake ya
And american dream - goodbye -there’s nowhere to take ya
Cause your gown for the ball is worn out and your tux is in pretty bad need of a cleanin’
So I ‘ll see you down at applebee’s with the rest of where our kids can eat free tuesday evenin
You might as well have died
I hope you enjoy your after life

In the far land of china and sailing the bahamas in a yacht
mMy kids college and insurance wrapped up in the bonus that you got
That last one to the chin - was one helluva a shot

Goodbye, dreams of our sons - you’ll pay for the dreams of your fathers
Farewell, to streets paved with gold - they’ve all turned to confetti and feathers
And there’s only one way out and it’s down - I think you’ll find yourself about 6 feet under
And you went pretty quiet you just fizzled and sputtered with no lighting or thunder
goodbye - goodbye - goodbye

[JonPorobil]

Some really good lyrics.

[bz£]

Elegy for industry
by Charcoal

[Steve Durand]

Hey bzl,
Your lyrics are the same as mine!

[bz£]

Burglar!

[Phil. Redmon.]

Abominominous - Elegy For Industry

All dressed up in the blacklight, oh you're so trollop'd,
Sugar your wounds, this is a mausoleum
It's never fixed so it can never be broken
It's never fixed and ever abbatoirin'

Lost, forever flipping the lever,
alerting the captors to your endless hunger

Pack animals whipping our eyes vermilion

Sado Grigio, accept this offering
Fashionista, bene decessit
The punishment fits

Crushed - demand and suffer
Lost - demand and suffer
Face - The hour ruin
Stare up from your grave

All I wanna see or talk about is ever
sacrifice and venom for your water
venom for your water now

Blood, blackened blood

Curse these ruins
Curse these ruins
Curse

A slice out of time, a crack in the stranglehold
oh please just let's let it be fucked now
let it be fucked now

Kiss this visage goodbye, you been a bad commander
here's what let's doin'

Let it divide itself, sugar your wounds

Hey, Sado Grigio

"Never Rusts" they said, "it's so hard wearing"

Fuck this life

Everything is ruined but we made it glisten
Filling your sepulcher with your worthless baubles
It was inevitable