[Intro | warm Rhodes chords, vinyl crackle, subtle boom-bap drum break] [Verse 1 | conversational offbeat flow, laid-back behind the beat, dry close-mic'd] Morning post through the letterbox, scraping the floor, Another bill, another council envelope more. We’re conditioned to smile while the foundations sink, Polite little island of tea and extinct. They talk about growth from a glass-tower desk, While the damp in the hallway is turning grotesque. It's a quiet contempt wrapped in smiling debate, Pass the butter, old boy, while we forfeit the state. [Pre-Chorus | smooth vocal lift, sidechained sub bass entering] Keep the upper lip stiff while the floorboards creak, We’ve mastered the art of the passive-aggressive physique. [Chorus | melodic baritone delivery, catchy, rhythmic pocket] Warm champagne and a second-hand view, We’re all doing fine, how are things there with you? Just keeping the peace while the ceiling caves in, A nation of manners, a quiet chagrin. (Keep the peace) [Verse 2 | double-time run shifting into a half-time drawl, chain rhymes, sharp internal wordplay] Got a secure job fixed on a zero-hour line, Where the prospects are sharp and the future's divine— By divine I mean buried six feet in the red, With a mortgage on dreams that are legally dead. They market the grit like a lifestyle brand, Sandpaper dreams in a shifting sand. Got the keys to the kingdom, a box on the roof, Where the proof is the leak and the leak is the proof. [Pre-Chorus | smooth vocal lift] Keep the upper lip stiff while the floorboards creak, We’ve mastered the art of the passive-aggressive physique. (Keep Calm and Carry On, Old Boy!) [Chorus | melodic baritone delivery] Warm champagne and a second-hand view, We’re all doing fine, how are things there with you? Just keeping the peace while the ceiling caves in, A nation of manners, a quiet chagrin. [Bridge | stripped back, jazzy Rhodes and bass only, spoken-word cadence] And nobody shouts, that’s the British design, We just tut at the back of the queue, step in line. A polite little shrug as the infrastructure fades, Built on old tea-leaves and silent tirades. [Final Chorus | full arrangement, added backing ad-libs] Warm champagne and a second-hand view, We’re all doing fine, how are things there with you? Just keeping the peace while the ceiling caves in, A nation of manners, a quiet chagrin. (Mind the gap) [Outro | drums drop out, Rhodes chord lingering into tape hiss and vinyl crackle] Cheerio. (Keep moving)
