Industrial Disease
Dire Straits
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Love Over Gold
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[Verse 1] Now, warning lights are flashing down at Quality Control Somebody threw a spanner, and 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 leaking in the washroom, there's a sneak in personnel Somewhere in the corridors, someone was heard to sneeze Goodness me, could this be industrial disease? [Verse 2] The caretaker was crucified for sleeping at his post They're refusing to be pacified, it's him they blame the most The watchdog's got rabies, the foreman's got the fleas Everyone's concerned about industrial disease There's panic on the switchboard, tongues in knots Some come out in sympathy, some come out in spots Some blame the management, some the employees And everybody knows it's the industrial disease [Verse 3] Yeah, now the work force is disgusted downs 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" [Verse 4] Doctor Parkinson declared "I'm not surprised to see you here You've got smoker's cough from smoking Brewer's droop from drinking beer I don't know how you came to get the Betty Davis' knees 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, ha-ha Ha, splendid!" [Verse 5] 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 want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop Industrial Disease [Verse 6] They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to sap your energy incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Espana and Sunday striptease" Meanwhile the first Jesus says "I'd 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? [Instrumental outro 4:09-5:50]