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Company Sin
The John Butler Trio Lyrics


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Ben got a job, at the mine along the way
He said eveything was fine until that fateful day
thats when his life started to change,
the day he went to help and go blow up that mountain range
he been moved to town a year ago or maybee more
straight out of high school,
the whole he had in store,
Wanted to travel, needed some dough
eveybody worked the mines why should he say no
But don't ask him why,
He can't explain, why
now things for him have changed
Its not his land
They're not his songs
he can't work out why he don't belong
(chorus) x2
Part of the company
Part of the company
Part of the company sin
Wont someone please tell the lad when humbug did begin.
Now legend has it,
or so they say
The bones of an ancient people,
yeh thats where they lay
And their decendants hold close to heart,
oh that mountain range ben was helping to blow apart
And so i said things for ben werent quite right
now hes waking up screaming man every single night
Hearing voices in different tounge
The screaming of the old
yeah the screaming of the young
Don't ask him why,
He can't explain, why
why now he feels its so much pain
Its not his land
They're not his songs
he can't work out why he don't belong
(chorus) x2
part of the company
Part of the company
Part of the company sin
Wont someone please tell the lad when humbug did begin.
(guitar)
Now Bens moved on
job left him a while back
Now he's thanking God that his boss gave him the sack.
But in the mirror, yes he can face
The day he stopped helping go blow up that sacred place
(chorus) x2
now he ain't
part of the company
part of the company
part of the company sin
now he knows when all that humbug did begin

Overall Meaning

The John Butler Trio's song Company Sin revolves around the story of Ben, who took a mining job straight out of high school to earn some money for his travels. However, his life started to change when he helped blow up a mountain range that was considered sacred by the descendants of an ancient people who used to inhabit that area. Since then, Ben has been struggling to understand why he doesn't feel like he belongs and is plagued by the screams of the old and young. The chorus repeats the phrase 'Part of the company sin,' indicating that Ben's participation in the mining company's actions has made him complicit in an immoral act.


The lyrics suggest that Ben's guilt stems from the realization that the land he was mining and the songs he was singing were not his own. The pain he feels is reflected in the screaming he hears, which perhaps suggests that the spirits that once inhabited the sacred ground he helped destroy are now haunting him. As the song progresses, we learn that Ben has since left the mining job and is grateful for being fired because it helped him realize the error in his ways. In the end, he can face himself in the mirror as he acknowledges when the humbug (meaning a deceptive, false, or worthless object or idea) began.


Line by Line Meaning

Ben got a job, at the mine along the way
Ben started working at the mine.


He said eveything was fine until that fateful day
Until the day he had to blow up the mountain range, Ben was okay.


thats when his life started to change,
Blowing up the mountain range was a turning point in Ben's life.


the day he went to help and go blow up that mountain range
The day Ben helped to blow up the mountain range was the beginning of change for him.


he been moved to town a year ago or maybee more
Ben had moved to town a year ago, or maybe more.


straight out of high school,
Ben had just finished high school before moving to town.


the whole he had in store,
Ben wanted to travel and needed money.


Wanted to travel, needed some dough
Ben wanted to travel but needed money to do so.


eveybody worked the mines why should he say no
Since everyone was working at the mines, Ben decided to work there too.


But don't ask him why,
Ben can't explain why he made certain decisions.


He can't explain, why
Ben doesn't understand why he's feeling the way he does now.


now things for him have changed
Things have changed for Ben as a result of working at the mines.


Its not his land
The land doesn't belong to Ben.


They're not his songs
The songs of the land don't belong to Ben.


he can't work out why he don't belong
Ben can't understand why he feels like he doesn't belong.


(chorus) x2
Repeats the song's chorus twice.


Part of the company
Ben was part of the company that worked at the mines.


Part of the company sin
Working at the mines was a sin that Ben was a part of.


Wont someone please tell the lad when humbug did begin.
The song is asking someone to explain when the deception or trickery began.


Now legend has it, or so they say
According to legend or stories passed down, something happened.


The bones of an ancient people, yeh thats where they lay
The bones of ancient people are buried in the mountain range that Ben helped to blow up.


And their decendants hold close to heart,
The descendants of the ancient people care deeply about the mountain range.


oh that mountain range ben was helping to blow apart
Ben was helping to destroy the mountain range that the descendants of the ancient people hold dear.


And so i said things for ben werent quite right
The situation wasn't working out for Ben.


now hes waking up screaming man every single night
Ben is experiencing nightmares as a result of what he did.


Hearing voices in different tounge
Ben is hearing voices in a different language.


The screaming of the old
Ben is hearing the screams of the elderly.


yeah the screaming of the young
Ben is hearing the screams of the young as well.


why now he feels its so much pain
Ben is feeling a lot of pain now.


now he knows when all that humbug did begin
Ben understands when the deception or trickery began now.


now he ain't
Ben is no longer...


part of the company
Ben is no longer part of the company that worked at the mines.


part of the company sin
Ben is no longer part of the sin of working at the mines.


now he knows when all that humbug did begin.
Ben now understands when the deception or trickery began.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: JOHN CHARLES WILTSHIRE BUTLER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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