[Intro] [Factory buzzer, mechanical rhythm, piano and synth burst] [Verse 1: Male] Sixteen rows beneath fluorescent white Making little circuits through the night Number forty-seven missed a screw Supervisor said, “We’re watching you” Every second measured, every break denied Names reduced to numbers on the side Then Maria tapped a rhythm on her chair Someone found a harmony somewhere [Pre-Chorus: Male] One machine stopped Then another one The whole room waited For the trouble to begin [Female] Why are we waiting? [Male] I don’t know [Both] So let the red light go [Chorus: Both] Clock out, clock out, 1984 We’re not making someone else’s future anymore Turn the line off, throw the timecards on the floor Clock out, clock out, 1984 Raise your hands up, let the warning sirens sing Every little cog can stop the biggest thing Open every window, open every door Clock out, clock out, 1984 [Verse 2: Female] Someone rolled the speakers from the loading bay Someone changed the schedule for the day I climbed on a table with a plastic crown Pressed the yellow button, shut it down The foreman tried to shout above the beat But the bass line pulled him from his feet Even Mister Keller from accounting two Loosened up his tie and joined the queue [Pre-Chorus: Female] One voice rose Then a hundred more The walls were shaking Like they’d never heard before [Male] Are we in trouble? [Female] Probably [Both] But trouble looks good to me [Chorus: Both] Clock out, clock out, 1984 We’re not making someone else’s future anymore Turn the line off, throw the timecards on the floor Clock out, clock out, 1984 Raise your hands up, let the warning sirens sing Every little cog can stop the biggest thing Open every window, open every door Clock out, clock out, 1984 [Post-Chorus: Group] Oh-oh, stop the line Oh-oh, take back the time Oh-oh, hear the factory roar Clock out, 1984 [Instrumental Break] [Pulsing synth, theatrical piano, melodic guitar solo] [Bridge: Half-Time] [Male] They told us progress had a human face [Female] But never gave that face a name or place [Male] They built tomorrow out of overtime [Female] And sold it back to us one piece at a time [Both] So ring the bell and let the whole town know A wheel can choose the moment not to go We weren’t born to disappear behind a door Not in 1984 [Breakdown] [Handclaps and mechanical percussion] [Supervisor, spoken] Return to your stations immediately. [Group] No! [Final Chorus] Clock out, clock out, 1984 Now the whole night shift is marching through the door Leave the machines blinking like they’ve never blinked before Clock out, clock out, 1984 Raise your hands up, morning’s breaking through The future doesn’t work unless it works for you Sing it from the rooftop, sing it evermore Clock out, clock out, 1984 [Counter-Vocals] [Female] Stop the line and start the living [Male] Take the time that we were giving [Group] Every open door leads to another door [Outro] Clock out Walk out Sunrise on the factory wall Clock out Walk out Tonight we remembered we were people after all [Factory buzzer sounds, then powers down]
