I saw this girl with a crooked smile,
And we hung out for a little while
She said, “What the h*ll, man? Times are wild.”
But she don’t complain, said it’s not her style

Celebs in escrow, on an opiate
Like, “Dream on, sales associate”
She does her level best, but who’d have guessed
That what you give ain’t what you get

Retrograding, dream is fading

Burning out on nine-to-five (What a time to be alive)
Spin the wheel, win the prize (What a time to be alive)
Bread is everywhere, and none is mine (What a time to be alive)
So if you can’t escape, and you can’t survive, sing (What a time to be alive)

Her brother’s biz tricked stimulus
But his friends all ride for the rest of us
WIC and food stamps, he hates to beg
The boots are off, and the baby’s eye on his neck

Data mining the silver lining

Is the promise real, or just a gag
To trick us all to hold the bag?
Bail the bank and shop the floor
And still can’t close a concrete door

So if you’re burning out on nine-to-five (What a time to be alive)
Dead of night to summertime (What a time to be alive)
State patrol and FBI (What a time to be alive)
If you can’t escape, then you can’t survive, sing (What a time to be alive)

The Elms are:
Owen Thomas: Lead vocals, guitar
Christopher Thomas: Drums, vocals
Thomas Daugherty: Lead guitar, vocals
Nathan W. Bennett: Bass, vocals

Written and produced by The Elms
Recorded by Niko Albanese at Primary Sound, Bloomington IN
Additional recording by Thomas Daugherty
Mixed by Thomas Daugherty
Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound
Visuals by Absorb.