Riding the Bowl (Pissing My Life Away)

[Verse 1] When I was just thirteen Before nostalgia was a thing We lived life from day to day And Sundays were a time to pray [Verse 2] We never used to fear the sun With pocket knives and pellet guns At skateparks, trying to ride the bowls No thought of corporate jobs we'd hold [Chorus] Now it's an hour thirty on the four-o-five To clock in at work at a quarter to nine The start of another monotonous day Just sitting here pissing my life away [Verse 3] Then I got a job and a uniform Told to conform to the working norm I punched the clock and I paid my dues For pocket change and a book of rules [Verse 4] Now the management wrecking crew whispers low Deciding exactly who has to go They're tracking what jobs they can automate While I sit here giving it all away [Chorus] Now it's an hour thirty on the four-o-five To clock in at work at a quarter to nine The start of another monotonous day Just sitting here pissing my life away [Bridge] Fluorescent lights and a swivel chair Breathing the stale, air-conditioned air Copy and paste, hit reply and repeat A million dead keystrokes, dragging my feet Formatting spreadsheets till vision goes blurred A lifetime of labor, unseen and unheard [Final Verse] The email drops at a quarter to three A "brief consultation" for HR and me A sterile white room and a severed tie They don't even look me right in the eye "Your role is redundant," they coldly state Replaced by the system I helped to create