We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Wage Slave

by Cruel Hope

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 CAD  or more

     

about

Wage Slave speaks to the maddening frustration felt by today's working class as we are forced into ever-worsening working and living conditions, all while our employers grow their fortunes from our labour. It also cautions those in power that there is a limit beyond which working people cannot be further exploited, and that we will soon reach it. This song came to me in two parts; I wrote the chorus years ago while working at an automotive assembly plant, and finished the song while working in musical instrument retail throughout the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

lyrics

Am I,
Not worth enough?
To feed myself off more than scraps watching you stuff,
Your face with decadence,
And is it because,
I’m somehow lesser than you?
Or is it just that that’s exactly the way you want me to feel?

It’s hard to hold onto what you used to believe,
When the corporate Koolaid is sickeningly sweet,
But I know as soon as I’m no longer in their plans,
They will gladly support me,
Like the noose supports the hanging man,

I can’t live honestly,
Surrounded by thieves and cowards,
So beat the shit out of me,
For $20 an hour,
Cause this new world so brave,
Calls for a new type of whore,
I’m nothing more than a wage slave,
And master I’m yours,

Master I’m yours,

Am I,
Not worthy of,
Respect and decency,
And honesty and love?
The things you take for granted,
Cost you too much to give,
The people from whom you’ve stolen,
Everything you have,
Who’ve made you everything you are,
Who made you?

And on the backs of others,
You’ve gotten far,
So exploit my desperation,
Set a lower bar,
Cultivate false hopes and promises,
To keep us in check,
Just watch out for golden handcuffs,
As they wrap around your neck,

I can’t live honestly,
Surrounded by thieves and cowards,
So beat the shit out of me,
For $20 an hour,
Cause this new world so brave,
Calls for a new type of whore,
I’m nothing more than a wage slave,
And master I’m yours,

Master I’m yours,

When my friends and I,
Run out of food to eat,
When the developers call and our landlords,
Throw us out on the street,
Why did you think that we would quietly,
Lay down and die at your feet?
Or simply bow our heads and bend our knees,
Accepting our defeat?
Why would we let our bodies,
Fill the gutters,
When we can fill the streets?
And why’d we ever starve our sons and daughters,
When you’ve fattened yourselves enough to eat?

We’ll eat you,
We will drive you from your homes,
We’ll eat you,
Leave behind nothing but the bones,
We’ll eat you,
There’s a hunger only you can sate,
We’ll eat you,
Like AAA bourgeoisie steak

We’ll eat you,
We will drive you from your homes,
We’ll eat you,
Leave behind nothing but the bones,
We’ll eat you

credits

released January 14, 2022

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Cruel Hope image

Cruel Hope Toronto, Ontario

Silence is violence.

These three words, emblazoned on frontman Liam Horrigan’s guitar in red and white electrical tape, describe the essential principle underpinning Cruel Hope as a band. Self-styled as “political alt punk”, the Toronto-based power trio swept onto the Canadian music scene in early 2022 with a clear mission: to advocate for a fairer and more sustainable world through music. ... more

contact / help

Contact Cruel Hope

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Cruel Hope, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Seafood Sam joins the show to discuss his newest album, " Standing On Giant Shoulders".
listen now