New Single!: Courtesy Flush

wredfright · Courtesy Flush

This song is about pettiness in the workplace.  The semi-deranged narrator gets revenge for how he or she has been ill-treated by refusing to do a courtesy flush in the restroom of the small office.  For those unfamiliar with what a courtesy flush is, basically one flushes as soon as the excrement lands in the bowl so any resulting smell is negated by the instantaneous flush.  Not great for saving water, but if you work in a small office, it is quite nice not to have to smell poop all day.  In this case, office politics have resulted in ill feelings and a lack of the courtesy flush.  The worker's strange fecal protest doesn't mean that the management or boss is innocent.  He or she is probably also semi-deranged.  Such is the state of work in America (and probably the world today).  In any case, I had fun with this song.  In keeping with the lyrical theme, the instrumentation includes a toilet (both the flush and its use as a drum), a pencilholder as a drum (I think it actually is a drum but I've been using it as a pencilholder for years, so this is the first time it has perhaps been used as originally designed), and staplers as percussion.  Other than that, it's the usual voice, guitar, and keyboard as bass.  I like the chorus.  It reminds me of Black Flag.  Lyrics are below:

Work is starting to piss me off.
Don't know if I can make it another day.
Got my fuck-you money, my freedom fund,
so I can just walk away.

The office manager's on a power trip,
but she should know better than to give me any lip.
In the small office, there's a hush.
Nobody's getting the courtesy flush.

It don't matter what they say.
We're going to have a great day.

Office politics, collective guilt,
and only one restroom.
Used to be polite and flush right away
so the smell wouldn't linger all day.

But now they can fire me; I don't give a shit.
Well, I did, but I left it in the toilet.
Can't wait to read the passive aggressive email from the lush.
There's no more courtesy flush.

Middle management is quite useless.

I have to work to pay my bills,
but I am no one's slave.
Finks rise to the top of the hierarchy,
then they think they don't have to behave.

Asskissers, yesmen, and The Peter Principle
explain a lot about society.
But until assholes learn to blush,
there will be no courtesy flush.

For more Wred Fright music, listen to the Yeast? 7" or give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Spotify or Bandcamp!