Third Generation Pink Slip
The Book Of Knots Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

This town′s so done
The writing's on the wall
The more the union makes demands
The more the union falls

The Eastern marketers are competing
We need another war
To bring the cost down from the ceiling
It′s what the last war was for

They can spend whole pay checks in a single day
There ain't no pensions left!
There ain't no pensions left!
There ain′t no pensions left!
And I′m a god-damn pensioner!

Don't call it home
Call it mourning day, call it inspirational
Call it toast and call it mud
I′ll be gone

I leave you someone
While learning nothing
Cancer is a blessing to you all
In your lungs and you and us

And the bottle is thick and viscous
Like the call of the tide for a battle mistress
And twice as sick and half as helpful
As the boss's bullshit timecard

We will be here ′til the day we die
Reminisce about the things we should have tried
Three generations all fine
And spend the last pay checks, all right





And I'm a god damn pensioner
Twenty-five years

Overall Meaning

The Book Of Knots's song Third Generation Pink Slip seems to reflect on the decline of a town or community that was once prosperous but is now in decline. The lyrics suggest that the union, which was once a major force in the community, is now losing its power because of its increasing demands. The Eastern marketers are said to be competing, and the only way to bring the cost down is to have another war. The chorus seems to suggest that there are no longer any pensions left, and the singer is frustrated that even though they are a pensioner, they cannot rely on this as a source of income. The song ends with the singer contemplating their mortality and the legacy they will leave behind.


The overall tone of the song is a mix of anger, sadness, and resignation. The lyrics suggest that the decline of the town is due to external factors such as market competition and war, but also due to internal factors such as the union's demands. The singer seems to have a sense of helplessness and frustration because they are unable to change the course of events.


Line by Line Meaning

This town’s so done
This town is finished, there is no life left here.


The writing’s on the wall
It's obvious that things are falling apart.


The more the union makes demands
As the union demands more, it only weakens itself further.


The more the union falls
The union is slowly losing its power and influence.


The Eastern marketers are competing
Marketers from the East are competing with us.


We need another war
We need a war to reduce the cost of living.


To bring the cost down from the ceiling
The war would reduce the high cost of living.


It's what the last war was for
The last war reduced the cost of living.


They can spend whole paychecks in a single day
People are spending all their money too quickly.


There ain't no pensions left!
There are no pensions left to rely on.


There ain't no pensions left!
Pensions aren't available anymore.


There ain't no pensions left!
Pensions are not an option anymore.


And I'm a god-damn pensioner!
I am someone who depends on pensions and there are none left.


Don't call it home
This place doesn't feel like home.


Call it mourning day, call it inspirational
This place feels like a day of mourning but also somewhat inspiring.


Call it toast and call it mud
This place is both a celebration and a mess.


I'll be gone
I will leave soon and never return.


I leave you someone
I am leaving someone behind.


While learning nothing
I exit without having learned anything.


Cancer is a blessing to you all
Disease is a gift to all of you.


In your lungs and you and us
The disease affects all of us and we are all responsible for it.


And the bottle is thick and viscous
The alcohol is thick and syrupy.


Like the call of the tide for a battle mistress
The alcohol is as irresistible as the call of the ocean for a military commander.


And twice as sick and half as helpful
The alcohol is twice as harmful as it is helpful.


As the boss's bullshit timecard
As useless as the timecards given by the boss.


We will be here 'til the day we die
We will stay here until our death.


Reminisce about the things we should have tried
We will think about what we could have done differently.


Three generations all fine
Three generations have survived without huge issues.


And spend the last paychecks, all right
We will spend our last paychecks freely.


And I'm a god damn pensioner
I depend on pensions and there are none available anymore.


Twenty-five years
I have spent 25 years of my life here.




Writer(s): Joel Alexander Hamilton, Carla Alexandra Kihlstedt, Tony Maimone, Matthias Bossi, Aaron Lazar

Contributed by Nathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions