[INTRO] Clock in… chin up… crown slightly crooked— (heh) Yeah… [VERSE 1] Punch the clock like I own the place, Plastic throne in a break room space, Oasis ringing through blown-out phones, I build my empire on crumbs and loans. Grease-stained dreams in a paper hat, “Mind the gap” but I’m fine with that, Every shift is a royal decree— If this is hell, then it bends to me. [PRE-CHORUS] Blurred ambition in fluorescent light, Pulp fiction dreams on a Friday night, Suede on credit, never quite paid— Still I walk like I’ve got it made… [CHORUS 1] I! AM! THE KING! OF MINIMUM WAGE! Cheap suit swagger, centre stage! The Verve in my blood, I don’t behave— Long live the king of minimum wage! [VERSE 2] Elastica cool with a counterfeit grin, Ocean Colour Scene where the cracks set in, Cast my hopes in a late-night shift, The Charlatans say it’s a temporary gift. Manic Street sermons in staffroom air, Sleeper dreams in a folding chair, Ash to ash in a payslip haze, Kula Shaker chants through the dull malaise. [PRE-CHORUS 2] Swipe that card, let the system hum, Smile wide like I’ve overcome, Every “sir” is a borrowed crown— But I’ll wear it ‘til it breaks me down… [CHORUS 2] I! AM! THE KING! OF MINIMUM WAGE! Cheap suit swagger, centre stage! The Verve in my blood, I don’t behave— Long live the king of minimum wage! (I! AM! THE KING!) (OF MINIMUM WAGE!) [BREAKDOWN] Bow to the barcode, kiss the machine, Catatoni-calm in a retail dream, Count every coin like a sacred rite— Your majesty fades by the morning light… [FINAL CHORUS] I! AM! THE KING! OF MINIMUM WAGE! No golden crown—just a fluorescent cage! Cheap suit swagger, centre stage! Still I rage! Still I rage! The Verve in my blood, I don’t behave— Long live the king of minimum wage! I! AM! THE KING! OF MINIMUM WAGE! Long live the KING!!! [OUTRO] Same time tomorrow… …your majesty.
