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The End of Work

from The End of Work (Single) by Aaron J. Shay

/

lyrics

We put on our aprons, we put on our ties
We put on our coveralls, and watch the day go by
Full time or part time, it all feels the same
When you wake up in the morning feeling tired and tame
Closing time comes, so you punch the clock
So close up the gate and then fasten the lock

Then it’s the end of work, it’s the end of the day
You’re emotionally spent, and everyone you feels the same way
No resolution, just the passing of time
Churning out a living paid out in nickels and dimes
It’s the end of work

On your way home, you think a change has got to come
A radical solution to all of our conundrums
The safety net is falling apart
And as for congress, where the hell do I start?
You imagine a time when things were less dire,
When some people could actually afford to retire

Which is the end of work, it’s the end of a career
When you can kick back and savor your golden years
And do all the stuff you wanted to do
When you were busy, working away your youth
It’s the end of work

But someday soon, we’re gonna see a transition
You’ll show up for work and a computer’s taken your position
You ask your boss what’s going on
She says, “It’s the post-scarcity economy,
The obligation to work is gone.”
You dance outside, now that you’re finally freed
And then you get a benefit card for your basic needs
You’ve got all of the time that you could ever use
What would you do first? What do you have to lose?

It’s the end of work, it’s the end of just having a job
For the sake of getting by
It’s the end of work, it’s the end of unemployment
And the beginning of hard AI
It’s the end of work, it’s the end of our current
Labor market paradigm

It’s the end of work!

credits

from The End of Work (Single), released February 5, 2021
Written by Aaron J. Shay
String arrangement by Mercury Shadow

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Aaron J. Shay Seattle, Washington

He/him.
Sci-fi storyteller and banjo balladeer. I believe in the good kind of apocalypse.

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