The Factory Must Grow

[Verse 1] Shift whistle Black coffee Clipboard Barcode Row by row Every bolt Exact torque Every mind on status quo Green cursor blinking Orders streaming Targets stacked in tidy rows Margin rising Hands revising Till the numbers overflow [Chorus] The factory must grow Feed the steel Feed the glow Every second Every soul In the spreadsheet In the flow The factory must grow Zero failure All control Count the bodies Count the load We are data on a road [Verse 2] Clock-in chime Same sharp time Fingerprint and frozen smile Overhead The slogan reads “Perfect work makes perfect lives” Tiny crack In perfect glass Someone coughs Then falls in line “Tolerance” One part in ten For the parts Not for your spine [Chorus] The factory must grow Feed the steel Feed the glow Every second Every soul In the spreadsheet In the flow The factory must grow Zero failure All control Count the bodies Count the load We are data on a road [Bridge] What is a life To a limit state? What is a name To a license plate? Error flag flashing Hearts run low Clear the fault (let it go) Start the line (make it so) [Chorus] The factory must grow Feed the steel Feed the glow Every second Every soul In the spreadsheet In the flow The factory must grow Till the circuits overflow When the sum of us explodes Print “completed” Then reload