Stuck On The Treadmill – Richard Thompson

Well, the money goes out, the bills come in
Round and round we go again
I come close but I never win
I’m stuck on the treadmill

Another day of punching steel
Till my arm’s too numb to feel
Like a hamster on a wheel
I’m stuck on the treadmill

Wish I knew a better way to keep myself alive
Shaking sheets of metal every day from 9 to 5
Others may be living but me I just survive, me I just survive

Machine’s screaming in my ear
Wasn’t I just standing here?
Went to sleep, grabbed a beer
I’m stuck on the treadmill

Me and the robot working away
He looks at me, as if to say
‘I’ll be doing your job some day’
Stuck on the treadmill

I wish I knew a better way to keep myself alive
Shaking sheets of metal every day from 9 to 5
Others may be living but me I just survive, me I just survive

Jobs are going by the score
They’re laying off a hundred more
Twenty years and they show you the door
I’m stuck on the treadmill

Strike’s coming, trouble’s brewing
Whole town going to rack and ruin
Next year, what’ll I be doing?
Stuck on the treadmill