Verse 1 Ripped jeans, tradie boots, Centrelink text at noon Boss said "mate, no hours" — cost-of-livin’s come too soon Got a missus with two shifts, a kid who don’t sleep And a car that coughs like it’s diggin’ six feet deep Pre-Chorus They say the dream’s still there if you’ve got the spine But I just tap my card and pray it goes through this time Chorus I got the Paywave Blues, mate, livin’ week-to-week Drinkin’ Aldi red wine, watchin’ daylight leak They say it’s all goin’ digital, cashless and clean But the rent just bounced and the fridge ain’t green Yeah, I’m stuck in the system, stuck in my shoes Singin’ loud with the Paywave Blues Verse 2 Pubs got craft beers I can’t afford to name Old bandmates drivin’ Ubers, dreamin’ of fame Scrollin’ job ads like it’s a game of chance Even the pokies don’t give you that last dance Pre-Chorus A millionaires' skyline, but I still see My boots in the gutter, and it’s still just me Chorus I got the Paywave Blues, mate, tap and hope Borrowed smokes, fake laughs, and false hope They build up high and price us out So we sing from the floor, not the penthouse shout Yeah, I’m fightin’ the current, losin’ the news Drownin’ slow in these Paywave Blues Bridge (spoken or half-sung, Barnesy-style rasp): Well I had a plan once — a ute, a band, a block in the west Now it’s Afterpay dinners and Centrelink tests Final Chorus (belting) I got the Paywave Blues, mate, no end in sight But I’ll shout one more round if you last the night This barstool's cracked, but it’s all I’ve known Singin’ songs ‘bout places we used to own We’ll raise our glass, and light the fuse For one more night with the Paywave Blues
