He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
I got a job making money for the man
Throwing chicken in the bucket with the soda pop can
Puke-green uniform on my back
I had to set it on fire in a vat of chicken fat
I leaped on the counter like a bird with no hair
Running through the mini mall in my underwear
I got lost downtown, couldn't find a ride home
Sun went down, I got frozen to the bone
'Til a hooker let me share her fake fur coat
As I took a little nap, the cops picked up us both
I tried to explain, I was only trying to get warm
I knew I never ever should have burnt my uniform
He said, "Too bad, better bite the bullet hard, son"
I didn't have no teeth so I stole his gun
And I crawled out the window with my shadow on a spoon
Dancing on the roof, shootin' holes in the moon
Get busy
Get busy
You know it
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
Standing right here with a beer in my hand
And my mouth is full of sand and I don't understand
Fourteen days I been sleeping in a barn
Better get a paycheck tattooed on my arm
Whistling Dixie with the Dixie cup filled
With the barbecue sauce and the dental floss chill
Big fat fingers pointing into my face
Telling me to get busy cleaning up this place
I got bent like a wet cigarette
And she's coming after me with a butterfly net
Riding on a bloodhound ringing the bell
Black cat wrapped in a road map of hell
Pencil on my leg and I'm trying not to beg
Taking turns baking worms with the bacon and eggs
Now they got me in a birdcage flapping my jaw
Like a pretzel in the stars just waiting to fall
So give me what I got to get so I can go
'Cause I ain't washing dishes in the ditch no more
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
No, no, no, no, no
Soul sucking jerk
Soul sucking jerk
You soul sucking jerk
Soul sucking jerk
Ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
No
Ain't gonna work
For no soul suckin' jerk
I ain't gonna work
For no soul suckin' jerk
I ain't gonna work
Throwing chicken in the bucket with the soda pop can
Puke-green uniform on my back
I had to set it on fire in a vat of chicken fat
I leaped on the counter like a bird with no hair
Running through the mini mall in my underwear
I got lost downtown, couldn't find a ride home
Sun went down, I got frozen to the bone
'Til a hooker let me share her fake fur coat
As I took a little nap, the cops picked up us both
I tried to explain, I was only trying to get warm
I knew I never ever should have burnt my uniform
He said, "Too bad, better bite the bullet hard, son"
I didn't have no teeth so I stole his gun
And I crawled out the window with my shadow on a spoon
Dancing on the roof, shootin' holes in the moon
Get busy
Get busy
You know it
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
Standing right here with a beer in my hand
And my mouth is full of sand and I don't understand
Fourteen days I been sleeping in a barn
Better get a paycheck tattooed on my arm
Whistling Dixie with the Dixie cup filled
With the barbecue sauce and the dental floss chill
Big fat fingers pointing into my face
Telling me to get busy cleaning up this place
I got bent like a wet cigarette
And she's coming after me with a butterfly net
Riding on a bloodhound ringing the bell
Black cat wrapped in a road map of hell
Pencil on my leg and I'm trying not to beg
Taking turns baking worms with the bacon and eggs
Now they got me in a birdcage flapping my jaw
Like a pretzel in the stars just waiting to fall
So give me what I got to get so I can go
'Cause I ain't washing dishes in the ditch no more
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
I ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
No, no, no, no, no
Soul sucking jerk
Soul sucking jerk
You soul sucking jerk
Soul sucking jerk
Ain't gonna work for no soul sucking jerk
I'm gonna take it all back and I ain't saying jack
No
Ain't gonna work
For no soul suckin' jerk
I ain't gonna work
For no soul suckin' jerk
I ain't gonna work
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
still relevant. wanna quit my job sooooo bad. such a good line: "I crawled out the window with my shadow on a spoon dancing on the roof, shooting holes in the moon"
muahahaha! love you beck and your schwaggy sounds.