[ Featuring Mathias Kom ]
Talking Gig Economy Blues
(spoken word intro)
Woe is me, my degree in ethnomusicology
Doesn't seem to be knocking down the doors of opportunity
Or was it my door it was supposed to knock on?
If the world's a stage, my part's a walk-on
I've been bamboozled, I've been robbed
And I can't get a job.
Some people say I'm overqualified, then others tell me I don't have the experience. But mostly people just don't get back to me at all.
So the gig economy is the economy for me
And honestly who doesn't like a gig?
I'll volunteer to work the door, I think I've seen this band before
They've been at it for a while it's weird they never did get big
I found my bootstraps, I gave a tug, I became addicted to prescription drugs
Now the lights are flashing I'm somehow standing here on this plush red rug
Remember that band I worked the door for?
Now I'm their producer, which I won an award for
The wheel has turned, and they're on top
But I'm not sure it's a job.
Their manager said I'm going to get paid in points, whatever that means. I tried to use points to pay for groceries the other day but they said I didn't have enough. So I had to put everything back. I dropped the eggs by accident and a teenager told me I'd have to pay for them. I asked him if he knew anything about points. Which he didn't.
The gig economy is the economy for me
Though possibly some gigs are less than kosher
My ambition is my biggest muscle, see me bustle, watch me hustle
If you're short of crypto you can pay me in exposure
Oh don't ask, don't ask, my friend - the band became born again
And not for the first time, I'm being replaced by Baby Jesus, amen
But He's a terrible producer I'm not fired, I quit
I've got other skills in my set and tools in my kit
Now I'm biking around delivering kebabs
It's almost kind of a job.
I mean at least I can set my own hours. And you know, with all the cycling I'm really losing a lot of weight. But sometimes I find myself just sitting on the curb and bursting into tears for no reason at all. But at least I can set my own hours. Did I say that part already?
The gig economy is the economy for me
Authority and me are oil and water
Oh yes ma'am and sir, for sure, I'll sail the good ship entrepreneur
I'll do whatever people ask me for a dollar
Just when I was getting my most desperatest and my delivery bike had been repossessed
I got an email from a professor saying she'd looked at my CV and she'd been impressed
She offered me an internship working for free, which I figured I could quit if it wasn't for me
When I arrived, I recognized the university: it was the same place where I had received my degree.
But you know, it's sort of nice to be back after all. The whole place has a kind of desperate energy. Plus, looks like I still have my old cafeteria coffee card and I'm just one stamp away from a medium latte for free. Life starts, and then it stops. And I don't think I'll ever get a job.
The gig economy is the economy for me
Autonomy is more precious than a pension
When times are tough and money's tight I'll stay up working half the night
Necessity is the mother of apprehension
