Decomposure - A Test lyrics

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Decomposure - A Test

I arrived at work some friday morning, early ohsix

plaided out and sleepmouthed, dragging dawn for my coffee fix

checked my email, waiting bolded

someone@jwt.com wanted to give me ten thousand dollars

so macy’s could use my song

I confirmed indeed it was for real

everyone i told kept telling me this could be a big deal

But i was not convinced, i did not believe

boosting bright buy culture and selling sweatshop sweaters

seemed antithetical to my precious integrity

though intangibles aren’t accepted by collection agencies...

Conflicted, i wrote back: i needed time,

i asked for the weekend to talk to my wife and make a decision

they said that’s fine, but summer’s coming,

soon we’ll need the contract signed

i researched, i waffled, i justified

the money - so soothing - made it all right

like a tetherball, i was drawn to the green light

i’d be crazy not to, fame is waiting

just like

moby wrote those essays but had no such qualms

when ad firms signed the cheques not everything was wrong

k’naan cut the poor to wave the flag for coke

nike made sure saul won’t live hand to mouth no more

m.i.a. led a coup for honda’s coupe si

feist counted as apple’s chinese workers died

it’s worthless without a *****,

whatever you have inside, you’re

going to have to monetize it

A man without a code

is a flimsy tent that folds

when a strong wind starts to blow

monday i awoke

and i said yes

* * *

I never heard from them again.

and so my big break came and went,

untangling the knot inside my chest

though i’d still feel awful whenever people asked.

sometimes i think the whole thing was

a test devised in shadows by some dark controlling class

to expose how small a sum it took to make me dance

and pass around the transcripts at their gatherings and laugh

about how easily i sold my soul to hold a cheque i could not cash

So i slunk back to my high horse, still in debt

my songs circled like birds and taunted me

i’d like to think i learned something from that

when i saw myself undressed, and didn’t know the person underneath

* * *

I was working overtime

when the call came down the line

they said that my home was on fire