Creative Destruction Blues

Verse 1 The boss man smiled from a glass-walled room, Said, "We're entering a brand-new boom." The numbers rose, the stock went high, Then a hundred good workers got their goodbye. Pre-Chorus They call it progress, they call it growth, They dress it up in a banker's coat. Chorus They call it creative destruction, Like it's some force of nature's hand. But it's hard to see the creation With a layoff notice in your hand. The owners count their blessings, The earners count what they lose. That's the sound of the creative destruction blues. Verse 2 The factory gates got chained one night, No warning siren, no warning light. Forty years making parts and steel, Gone with a signature and a corporate seal. Pre-Chorus The market's free, so the story goes, But freedom feels different from down below. Chorus They call it creative destruction, Like it's some force of nature's hand. But it's hard to see the creation With a layoff notice in your hand. The owners count their blessings, The earners count what they lose. That's the sound of the creative destruction blues. Bridge A spreadsheet says we're inefficient, A family says the rent is due. The boardroom sees a line of numbers, The neighborhood sees dreams fall through. Verse 3 The storefront's dark on Main Street now, Nobody asks the reasons how. The sign comes down, another goes, And nobody mourns when a business closes. Final Chorus They call it creative destruction, Like it's some force of nature's hand. But it's hard to see the creation With a layoff notice in your hand. The owners count their blessings, The earners count what they lose. That's the sound of the creative destruction blues. Outro The market never says it's sorry, It simply moves along. And the people left behind become Another verse in a song.