There are three artists known as Endeavor.

1st: The New Jersey-based… Read Full Bio ↴There are three artists known as Endeavor.

1st: The New Jersey-based hardcore band Endeavor comprised vocalist Mike Olender, guitarists Kevin Tunney and Mike Duffy, bassist Mark Zeveney and drummer Mike Rummel. After issuing their debut Crazier Than a Shithouse Rat on the Conversion label in 1997, they signed to Trustkill for the follow-up Constructive Semantics, released later that same year.

2nd: The Chicago-based Christian band Endeavor comprised vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Thomas Hirschler; bassist Chris Kress, Geoff Kovarik, and Jim Geske; vocalist and pianist, Melody Hirschler; and drummer Nathaniel Hirschler. They released their debut album The Farmer's Rain together in 2010.

3rd: The Netherlands-based ambient/electronic musician.

Koko Puffs
Endeavor Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The shift of blame towards the poor distracts us from the real cause of the problems. Take a step back and look at who's pulling the strings. Who has the ability to dictate if we live in prosperity or wade in poverty up to our knees with empty promises of a fair economy? The economy thrives as they lease the Third World overseas an alternative to minimum wage that promises darker days. But if they could only bring it home... Third World come home. "Workfare" can keep them here with a guarantee to profiteer. Free labor, no union rights, and a public subsidy to lock it all in place. And the layoffs make room for this slave labor. The laid off enter poverty. Real wages fall, but blame it on the poor, blame it on anyone but the corporations responsible. Yeah, don't bother to pack, the Third World is coming home.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Endeavor's song "Koko Puffs" are highly critical of the economic systems that exist perpetuating poverty and exploitation, blaming corporations with the power to manipulate international labor policies and to profit from worker exploitation. The lyrics urge listeners to look beyond the blame put on the poor or the unemployed and to see the real culprits behind poverty and underemployment. The song takes aim at political systems that use workfare programs to force poor people and low-wage workers to do free labor without any benefits, minimum wages or protections, trapping them in a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation.

The term "Koko Puffs" refers to the popular American breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg's, that is advertised as a healthy and nutritious breakfast option. However, the irony is clear as the song suggests that the "Koko Puffs" we consume hide the dark and dirty secrets of the economic and political systems that drive people into poverty and worker exploitation.

Interestingly, the song was released by a hardcore punk band in 1995, at the height of the anti-globalization movement, when concerns about worker exploitation, labor rights, and the free-market economic system were at their peak. The song was and remains a powerful critique of these issues and remains relevant to this day, as worker exploitation continues globally.

Line by Line Meaning

The shift of blame towards the poor distracts us from the real cause of the problems.
Blaming the poor for the problems in our society is a tactic used to distract us from the true root of the issues.

Take a step back and look at who's pulling the strings.
It's important to examine who holds the power and control in our society.

Who has the ability to dictate if we live in prosperity or wade in poverty up to our knees with empty promises of a fair economy?
Those in power can determine whether we experience economic success or struggle, and often make false promises of equality.

The economy thrives as they lease the Third World overseas an alternative to minimum wage that promises darker days.
The economy benefits from outsourcing labor to underdeveloped countries that offer lower wages, even though it may result in negative consequences.

But if they could only bring it home... Third World come home.
If companies could replicate the cheap labor overseas in their own country, they would do so.

'Workfare' can keep them here with a guarantee to profiteer.
Programs like 'workfare' ensure that companies can exploit cheap labor in their own country and make a profit.

Free labor, no union rights, and a public subsidy to lock it all in place.
Workers in 'workfare' programs often lack basic rights like union representation and work for free, while the government grants subsidies to support these practices.

And the layoffs make room for this slave labor.
When companies lay off workers, they make room for cheap, 'freely' offered labor often operating in a form of slavery.

The laid off enter poverty.
Workers who are laid off often become impoverished.

Real wages fall, but blame it on the poor, blame it on anyone but the corporations responsible.
Despite the fact that corporations are responsible for falling wages, they blame the poor and others to avoid responsibility.

Yeah, don't bother to pack, the Third World is coming home.
Companies will continue to exploit and extract resources from underdeveloped countries, and third world practices will be adopted in developed ones.

Contributed by Liliana F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS