TIRED OF TOEING THE LINE

Words and music by Winston Apple

School bells ring and factory whistles blow
Seems like all my life 
   they've been telling me when to come and go
They filled me up with useless information
Then I graduated to the assembly line
I'm getting tired of punching clocks and doing time
I'm getting tired of toeing the line

This must be insanity, I feel like a machine
I do the same things over and over and over again
Until you're willing to bite the hands that feed you
They're gonna go right on feeding you lies
And I know it all adds up to a wasted life
I'm getting tired of toeing the line

They say, "Work hard!  Study hard!  
If you're good, you can go to the top, 
   to the head of the line.
You can get a job, get a good job, get a better job!
Boy, it's the ticket to a better life!"
Or you get laid off, paid off 
Find yourself in the unemployment line
Or you get sent to the front lines, making headlines

Lately I've been wondering just what I'm trying to prove
I'm beginning to see that if you play their game, 
   you're gonna lose
The cards are marked and the deck is stacked
They pay you off with a heart attack
They drove my daddy to drink
They're driving me out of my mind
I'm getting tired of toeing the line
Tired of toeing the line, tired of toeing the line . . .

© Gary Winston Apple, 1980.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.



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