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Malfunction (or "Broken All Along​!​")

from * (Asterisk) by Derek Brink

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References: "Player Piano," "Mother Night," and Humanism.

As noted in the write-up of the previous song, I like Vonnegut's secondary titles. I like them so much, I gave this song a secondary title. Good for me.

A major theme in Vonnegut's work is the timeless tale of Man vs. Machine. He seemed to side with one them the other at alternate intervals, but ultimately believed in humans more. He both seemed to adore and abhor the concept of automation. He saw robots as a blessing and a curse. Above all, he believed the human spirit would overcome anything a machine could possibly take away from it, given enough time.

I took that idea and added my own twist--that the damn things are sometimes just broken in the first place.

lyrics

We’re colder to each other
than we’ve ever been.
The machines are winning
and we’ll let them win.
If we ever switch them off,
we’ll switch them on again.
And we’ll find a way to be happy
or not in the end.

Plug me in and turn me on.
I’m getting something,
but I think the wiring’s wrong.
Next thing you know
the signal’s gone, gone, gone.
It might have been
broken all along.
(Maybe it’s a malfunction.)

Isolation is easy.
It’s revolution that’s hard.
Stand up and be counted
whoever you are.
It doesn’t really matter
what you’re fighting for.
It’s up to you to choose
the master you adore.

Chorus

An automaton myself
I can’t prevent
my fall from grace.
Guilty of crimes against myself,
much less the human race.
To crack the code,
I’d have to know
what I said in the first place.
In the universal chess match
even my castle isn’t safe.
What a disgrace!

Chorus

credits

from * (Asterisk), released November 11, 2018

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Derek Brink St Louis, Missouri

If you press "Buy" and put in your price as $0.00 you can download everything here for free. Or you can pay if you want. I just want to be heard.

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