Do they want the pub boarded up? Do they want the chip shop shut? Who’ll bake the bread when the baker’s bust? In the high street they let turn to dust
You’re gonna have to go to Tesco Get a couple of cans to go They want you to go to Tesco Tesco’s where they want you to go
When you’re keeping warm in the library Or the café with a two-hour cup of coffee ‘Til you need to leave this table, sorry That’s not where they want you to be
They want you to go to Tesco Tesco’ll have their gas bill dough They want you to go to Tesco Tesco’s where they want you to go
A nation of shopkeepers shutting up shop When the gas price rises just won’t stop And the Government’s asleep at the wheel Tell me, how does it feel
When all that’s left is to go to Tesco Like it used to be but somehow less so They want you to go to Tesco Tesco’s where they want you to go
Like Boris Johnson gaslighting you about your gas bill, the myth of hard work is that if capitalism isn’t working for you it’s because you’re not working hard enough, and nothing to do with the whole crooked system being engineered to make very rich people even richer at your expense. Prime Minister in Waiting and co-author of Britannia Unchained, Liz Truss, is precisely one of those people who benefit from you believing that all you need to succeed is a little hard work and this country’s failing infrastructure is your fault for not grafting quite hard enough; her role after all is to protect the private sector and big business at all costs and not to look after you, no matter what she says. Don’t let her get away with it.
John Henry had his hammer, Stakhanov a jackhammer too But Liz says that the British worker is an idler through and through Now, hard work killed John Henry, and hard work will kill you too So, when Liz says you need more hard graft, you know what you have to do
Tell her we’ll do a good day’s work, but for a good day’s pay And when the union comes calling, we’ll take our work away ‘Cause we won’t break our backs for a boss who won’t pay tax And we’ll do our stint together and our way, oh yeah We’ll do our stint together and our way
John Henry, he built the railroad, Stakhanov, he mined for coal But Liz says that the British worker prefers life on the dole Now, hard work killed John Henry, and hard work will kill you too So, when Liz says the nation lacks skill and application, you know what you have to do
Tell her we’ll do a good day’s work, but for a good day’s pay And when the union comes calling, we’ll take our work away ‘Cause we won’t break our backs for a boss who won’t pay tax And we’ll do our stint together and our way, oh yeah We’ll do our stint together and our way
John Henry was buried in the morning, Alexei raised a glass But Liz says that the British worker needs a kick up the arse Now, hard work killed John Henry, and hard work will kill you too So, when Liz comes promising some levelling up, you know what you have to do
Tell her we’ll do a good day’s work, but for a good day’s pay And when the union comes calling, we’ll take our work away ‘Cause we won’t break our backs for a boss who won’t pay tax And we’ll do our stint together and our way, oh yeah We’ll do our stint together and our way, oh yeah We’ll do our stint together and our way
She had to stop watching the news when she became the news Another poverty safari into a lifestyle she didn’t choose She hardly has the lights on at this time of year And like the feeling going around She’s feeling like she’s gonna drown And she don’t know what she’s gonna do when the sun goes down She don’t know what she’s gonna do She don’t know what she’s gonna do She don’t know what she’s gonna do when the sun goes down
Blackouts to hide from bailiffs rather than warplanes But it’s war just the same, in all but name, with a wartime price to be paid And something to eat will have to wait until tomorrow now ‘Cause like the feeling going around She’s feeling like she’s gonna drown And she don’t know what she’s gonna do when the sun goes down She don’t know what she’s gonna do She don’t know what she’s gonna do She don’t know what she’s gonna do when the sun goes down When the sun goes down When the sun goes down She don’t know what she’s gonna do when the sun goes down
Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter
They’re talking ‘bout the price of gas They say handouts are kinda crass The sinking ship’s still fulla rats Who like to think they’re friends with cats
(While) Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter
They’re talking ‘bout the price of you The pay rise that you’re due They’re telling you to join the queue For the credit card they overdrew
(And) Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter
If in the morning they were all gone Everyone would see the con If the billionaires had upped and run All the work would still get done
(While) Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter
Fat cats Get fatter Fat cats Get fatter Fat cats Get fatter Fat cats Get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter
They’re literally printing money (not literally) Their uplands are always sunny While the country descends into poverty They’re all on fuckin’ holiday
(‘Cause) Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires The bosses the bankers and the billionaires The bosses the bankers and the billionaires The bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter Fat cats get fatter and you don’t matter To the bosses the bankers and the billionaires Fat cats get fatter
Waitrose Woman loves Meal Deal Man But she’s doesn’t understand How he’s just getting by
Waitrose Woman loves Meal Deal Man But she doesn’t understand And she’s forgetting why
Waitrose Woman works in the city Loves low taxes and the NHS Waitrose Woman lives in Surrey Has two kids and a dog called Bess Waitrose woman likes Radio 4 She doesn’t really feel the culture war She feels very sorry for the kids of the poor She buys their dusters at the door She knows that she’s okay She knows that she’s okay
Meal Deal Man lives in the city He’s already eaten his one-a-day Meal Deal Man works for a living But he’s going to the food bank today Meal Deal Man gets his benefits paid He lies in the bed they say he made His shirt is clean but his collar is frayed He used to vote but just feels betrayed He knows he’s not okay He knows he’s not okay
Meal Deal Man drinks a Wetherspoons coffee It’s not very nice but the pub is warm Meal Deal Man knows there’s heat in the bookies And they’ll leave him alone to study the form Meal Deal Man’s card gets declined Meal Deal Man knows life’s unkind Meal Deal Man’s been left behind Even though he’s always tried He knows he’s not okay He knows he’s not okay
Waitrose Woman likes a glass of wine A ripe avocado and wholemeal bread Waitrose Woman loves her warm kitchen And cool sheets when she slips into bed Waitrose Woman knows we’re all the same She feels very sorry for the sick and the lame She thinks that poverty is a shame But hard work is the name of the game She knows that she’s okay She knows that she’s okay
Waitrose Woman loves Meal Deal Man But she’s doesn’t understand How he’s just getting by
Waitrose Woman loves Meal Deal Man But she doesn’t understand And she’s forgetting why She’s forgetting why She’s forgetting why She’s forgetting why
Trickle-down misery Trickle-down poverty Trickle down lies And trickle-down dishonesty Trickle-down rules From a trickle-down clown Only trickle down In Trickle-Down Town
Trickle-down parties With trickle-down cakes Trickle-down suitcased Trickle-down fakes Trickle-down fines Come trickling down From fifties to thousands In Trickle-Down Town
The trickle-down cough’s Still trickle-down persistent The trickle-down prof.’s Still pretty non-existent Now poxy monkey pox Is trickling down ‘Cause the A/C’s always off In Trickle-Down Town
The trickle-down penny Still hasn’t dropped The trickle-down rises Still haven’t stopped Rishi’s five pence Is nowhere to be found On any forecourt In Trickle-Down Town
Trickle-down prices Are trickle-down rising A trickle-down crisis Is hardly surprising When trickle-down profits Are still never found In the trickle-down pockets Of Trickle-Down Town
The trickle-down prince Reads a trickle-down speech To a trickle-down house With trickle-down reach Sat on a trickle-down throne Next to a trickle-down crown Now they boo the national anthem In Trickle-Down Town
They’re crying about woke They’re crying she’s a bloke They’re crying ‘bout appendages The vestiges of yesterdays
They’re crying about words That they think are absurd They’re crying ‘bout the language Being savaged for the damaged
It’s bin bags Bin bags It’s just bin bags Bin bags
They’re crying about Bragg They think that it’s a drag That he’s standing with the persecuted Most disputed and excluded
They’re crying about caring And storytelling scaring They’re crying ‘bout the activists Who won’t assist the anti-ists
It’s bin bags Bin bags It’s just bin bags Bin bags
They said you couldn’t call ‘em By the colour that they are They said it was the looney lefties Who had gone too far They say that what goes around Comes around again And now it’s gender critical, it’s You can’t call it’s Minds are small, it’s
Bin bags Bin bags It’s just bin bags Bin bags
They don’t like their lives disrupted Opinions deconstructed To understand it’s complicated Other people should be feted Not just accommodated And your words can show that you care Your words can show that you care
It’s bin bags Bin bags It’s just bin bags Bin bags
Steve White & The Protest Family 