Life is a Loan Shark
Life's Loan Shark: Finding Meaning Beyond Bills and Smiles
Lyrics
What you got to be sad about?
Questioning why the listener is feeling sad.
Your bills are paid
Pointing out that the listener's basic needs are met, as bills are paid.
Your teeth are clean
Highlighting good dental hygiene, suggesting overall well-being.
Your bed is made
Noting the comfort of having a neatly made bed.
By hands they aren't as soft as yours
Contrasting the listener's hands with those less soft, possibly emphasizing privilege.
You open doors by grinning
Suggesting that the listener gains access or favor through a cheerful demeanor.
You skip the line by smiling
Implies that the listener's happiness allows them to skip waiting in lines.
You've got everything but your stomach is sick
Despite outward success, the listener is internally troubled, particularly in the stomach.
Oh la la la
Expressing a carefree, almost dismissive attitude with "Oh la la la."
La de da
Continuing the carefree expression with "La de da."
Love never gives you a thing that it won't soon reclaim
Love may bring joy, but it also takes things away eventually.
You found a note to yourself that you left as a child
Discovering a note from childhood, possibly a nostalgic or introspective moment.
Should you ever need something to pray on
Suggesting that the note serves as a source for prayer or reflection.
You hope it might be some kind of map back home
Expressing hope that the note provides guidance like a map leading back home.
Scribbled in crayon
Emphasizing the childlike, possibly imperfect nature of the guidance, written in crayon.
When I was a barefoot boy walking in the woods
A reminiscence about childhood, portraying innocence.
I found a stack of magazines
Finding magazines, possibly representing worldly or adult content.
They've been picked apart by vultures
Magazines have been scavenged, suggesting a loss of innocence or corruption.
In ball caps and blue jeans
Describing the scavengers with specific details (ball caps and blue jeans).
All the naughty parts were gone
Noting that explicit or tempting content has been removed.
Yeah the bones were clean
Emphasizing the thoroughness of the scavenging, leaving only clean bones.
Oh la la la
Repeating the carefree expression with "Oh la la la."
La de da
Continuing the carefree expression with "La de da."
Life never gives you a thing in its totality, you see
Life doesn't provide everything; there are limitations and incompleteness.
Life's a loan shark, yeah
Life is compared to a loan shark, suggesting a demanding and predatory nature.
Everyone's paying through the teeth
Everyone pays a price for life, and it can be burdensome ("through the teeth").
Tell me that ain't true
Challenging the listener with a rhetorical question, asking if they agree with the sentiment.
You're not the only one
Asserting that the listener is not alone in facing life's challenges.
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