**JOE DA PROGRAMMA** --- [intro] [pitched android voice drop] [taiko drum hit] [shakuhachi flute] Joe... codes by day But the kanji... won't... obey --- [verse 1] Six AM, terminal open, coffee black Stack Overflow on the left, Anki on the back Hiragana flash cards pinned to the monitor screen Trying to read katakana but he don't know what it means He typed a function, now he's typing in romaji His rubber duck don't speak Nihongo, don't you see Boss wants the prints done, Joe's got furigana dreams Nothing is as easy as it seems [vocoder vocals] learning learning learning learning working working working working coding coding coding coding --- [chorus] [talkbox vocals] Joe the programmer, late night grind Dictionary open, blowing his mind Mi looks like an H, su like a hero Ka with a karate kick, Joe keeps it runnin [record scratch x4] --- [verse 2] [aggressive fast delivery] He's got Duolingo streaks but that ain't enough Minna no Nihongo yeah the grammar's rough Particles wa and ga got him losing sleep Ga marks the subject when the meaning runs deep Joe built a dashboard, Python SQL flow But the kanji database got eighty thousand rows His IDE's bilingual and his brain is bleeding [vocoder choir] benkyou benkyou benkyou [taiko drums accelerating] studying studying studying studying not stopping stopping stopping stopping keep copying copying copying the writing writing writing writing [vinyl scratch pitch drop] --- [chorus] [talkbox vocals] Joe the programmer, late night grind Dictionary open, blowing his mind Mi looks like an H, su like a hero Ka with a karate kick, Joe keeps it runnin [record scratch x4] --- [bridge] [shakuhachi solo] [slow pitched android voice] I will read the signs in Tokyo I will order sushi on my own I will not use Google Translate I will learn Japanese for fun [record scratch hard stop] [taiko drum single hit] --- [verse 3] [turntablist scratches between bars] Joe found woodblock prints online at night Birds on a branch yeah that felt right [scratch] He learned tsu ain't shi don't get it twisted fam [scratch] Katakana'll break you if you think you understand [scratch] Wabi-sabi mindset imperfect and raw Every kanji missed is one more he saw Joe the programmer he ain't gonna quit One more flashcard one more commit [vocoder] commit commit commit push pushing pulling pushing pulling rushing rushing rushing rushing keep coding coding coding coding [DJ scratch explosion] --- [outro] [taiko drums] [shakuhachi flute] [vocoder fading] Joe... Joe... programmer... Joe [pitched android voice] stack overflow... in Japanese [record scratch hard cut] [taiko single hit fade]
