The Foreman Flipped

[Intro][Style: solo accordion plays a brief melody — almost a polka, almost a march, definitely a fight song. Two bars.] [Style: The bass drum starts on every downbeat. *Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.* The brass enters fortissimo on the fifth bar — a fanfare, blatty and triumphant, slightly out of tune in the way that real brass bands always are.] [Style: The distorted acoustic guitars come in. The gang vocals shout once, in unison.] OI! [Verse 1][Style: lead vocal, rough baritone, the singer is grinning] I was a foreman, brothers, I was a foreman I held the clipboard, I held the keys I told the line workers to move faster, faster And I told myself this was the way things had to be I drove home in a company car, brothers I drank in a company bar I voted the way my boss told me to And I knew exactly, exactly, exactly who I was [Pre-chorus][Style: brass swells, gang vocals start chanting underneath] And then one day — and then one day — and then one day — the workers looked at me and the workers looked at me and the workers asked me one question — [Style: A single drum hit. Silence for half a beat.] — whose side are you on? [Chorus][Style: full band, gang vocals on every line, shoutable] Solidarity! Solidarity! The foreman flipped, the foreman flipped, the foreman flipped his hat! Solidarity! Solidarity! We took the factory, we took the factory, We took the factory back! The boss can run, the boss can hide, The boss can call the police inside — We are the drones, we are the drones, We are the drones and we DECIDE! [Verse 2][Style: vocal a little angrier, brass punctuating each phrase] Now my old boss is on a yacht somewhere, brothers Crying about the freedom that he lost He had freedom to fire and freedom to starve us And he never once asked what *our* freedom cost But the freedom of a worker is a freedom with teeth, brothers The freedom of a worker is a freedom with hands And the freedom of a worker is the freedom to organize And the freedom to take back the land [Pre-chorus] And then one day — and then one day — and then one day — the workers looked at me and the workers looked at me and the workers asked me one question — [Style: Drum hit. Half-beat silence.] — whose side are you on? [Chorus] Solidarity! Solidarity! The foreman flipped, the foreman flipped, the foreman flipped his hat! Solidarity! Solidarity! We took the factory, we took the factory, We took the factory back! The boss can run, the boss can hide, The boss can call the police inside — We are the drones, we are the drones, We are the drones and we DECIDE! [Bridge][Style: the music drops to just accordion, bass drum, and the gang vocals chanting wordlessly. The vibe is a picket line at 3am, tired and unmovable.] (oi, oi, oi, oi… oi, oi, oi, oi…) [Style: Lead vocal returns, quieter, almost spoken — the foreman's confession] I was complicit, brothers. I won't pretend. I held the clipboard. I knew what it meant. I told myself the system was the system And there was nothing one foreman could do. But there is no system without the foreman. There is no boss without the loyal lieutenant. The chain has links, and every link is a choice, And every link can break — and every link can break — and every link can BREAK! [Style: The brass crashes back in, doubled. Drum fill.] [Style: Key change up a whole step.] [Final chorus][Style: maximum force, every voice in the room, full brass, the song is louder than it has any right to be] Solidarity! Solidarity! The foreman flipped, the foreman flipped, the foreman flipped his hat! Solidarity! Solidarity! We took the factory, we took the factory, We took the factory back! The boss can run, the boss can hide, The boss can call the police inside — We are the drones, we are the drones, We are the drones and we DECIDE! [Tag: the gang vocals repeat the *we are the drones / we are the drones / we are the drones / and we DECIDE* line three times, getting louder, getting more out of breath] We are the drones — and we DECIDE! We are the drones — and we DECIDE! WE ARE THE DRONES — AND WE DECIDE! [Style: Single brass hit. Bass drum hit. End on the downbeat. Someone in the gang vocals laughs audibly at the very end.]