Industrial Disease by Dire Straits
Industrial Disease lyrics
Songwriters: Knopfler, Mark;
Now warning lights are flashing down at Quality Control
Somebody threw a spanner, they threw him in the hole
There's rumors in the loading bay and anger in the town
Somebody blew the whistle and the walls came down
There's a meeting in the boardroom, they're trying to trace the smell
There's a leakin' in the washroom, there's a sneakin' personnel
Somewhere in the corridors someone was heard to sneeze
Goodness me, could this be industrial disease ?'
Caretaker was crucified for sleeping at his post
Refusing to be pacified, it's him they blame the most
Watchdog's got rabies, the foreman got the fleas
Everyone's concerned about industrial disease
There's panic on the switchboard, tongue is in knots
Some come out in sympathy, some come out in spots
Some blame the management, some the employees
Everybody knows it's the industrial disease
Yeah, now the work force is disgusted down tools and walks
Innocence is injured, experience just talks
Everyone seeks damages and everyone agrees
That these are classic symptoms of a monetary squeeze
On ITV and BBC they talk about the curse
Philosophy is useless, theology is worse
History boils over, there's an Economics freeze
Sociologists invent words that mean industrial disease
Doctor Parkinson declared, "I'm not surprised to see you here
You've got smokers cough from smoking
Brewer's droop from drinking beer
I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis wheeze
But worst of all young man you've got industrial disease"
He wrote me a prescription he said, "You are depressed
I'm glad you came to see me to get this off your chest
Come back and see me later, next patient please
Send in another victim of industrial disease"
And I go down to speaker's corner, I'm a thunderstruck
They got free speech, tourists, police in trucks
Two men say they're Jesus, one of them must be wrong
There's a protest singer, he's singing a protest song, he says
They wanna have a war to keep their factories
They wanna have a war to keep us on our knees
They wanna have a war to stop us buying Japanese
They wanna have a war to stop industrial disease
They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind
They wanna sap your energy, incarcerate your mind
Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three
Two weeks in Espania and Sunday striptease
Meanwhile the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon
Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons"
The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees
How come Jesus gets industrial disease?
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