Lyrics of 'Proletariat Blues' by Blue Scholars

Back in the days when I was a teenager
Minimum wage earning, rocking an apron
I was pushing hella carts asking plastic or paper
To bastard ass customers plus most of us had,
Relatives working in the same supermarket
When boss wasn't looking rolled the dice on the carpet
In the lunch room, listening to Biggie and Nas
But not as much as Snoop, Forty Water, and Pac
Me, I rocked the Walkman instead writing rhymes
In my head often bored, I'd recite them outloud
And memorize a song long before I'd write it down
In lunch room freestyles is where I learned to clown
Plantation style (?), yellow, brown, black majority
Half the young cats either enlisted in the Army
Or the Navy or Marines, but I was having dreams
And I ain't even halfway there yet

It seems that we never get paid what our labor is worth
That's why we often in a daze on the way to our work
And when we get there, we can't wait to be out
So let me tell you what it's about
And now we never get paid what our labor is worth
That's why we often in a daze on the way to our work
And when we get there, we can't wait to be out
So let me tell you what it's about

The next place of employment's no better than this
My first day thinking this some fuckin' "Office Space" shit
But not me boss(?), these conditions ain't suitable
Hide the pen and pad, writting rhymes in a cubicle
Automated phone click, dial tone, phone(?) calling
Hoping for some gullible folks to take the offer
A mission for commision, tuition for college
"Please put our number on your do not call list"
Half the whole staff graduated with honors
And you're trying to tell me telemarketing's your best job option?
This shit is not poppin'
Working to the bone
Livin' at home
Facing up debt and student loans
Now the manager's a tool and a clown
But productivity increases anytime he's nowhere to be found
And this tight ass environment makes me want to hurl
Like watchin Flava Flav tongue kissin' old girl

Now we never get paid what our labor is worth
That's why we often in a daze on the way to our work
And when we get there, we can't wait to be out
So let me tell you what it's about
And now we never get paid what our labor is worth
That's why we often in a daze on the way to our work
And when we get there, we can't wait to be out
So let me tell you what it's about

The dotcom phenomenon, fuck the city boss
Stock Market falls down, hundred thousand's layed off
Got with Amazon.com, it had a lot of cross-dressers, goth cats, ex-cons, and single moms
On the elevator up, my Walkman on, flash a badge for security, the mark of the beast
But with skills to persuade through speech, you'd be amazed to see how many customer service reps are MCs
At each instance, different job descriptions
What kept a brother going was the music that I listened to
Initiate the day with an anthem to work through
Then the supervisor started blastin' Dave Matthews
Shit is bad news
Working for some assholes in suits, straight singing middle management blues
And so I quit on the last day of training
And when I got home my notebook was waiting

I said we never get paid what our labor is worth
That's why we often in a daze on the way to our work
And when we get there, we can't wait to be out
So let me tell you what it's about
And now we never get paid what our labor is worth
That's why we often in a daze on the way to our work
And when we get there, we can't wait to be out
I told you what this shit is about