[Verse 1] In the market square where products gleam Things appear much more than they seem A simple chair holds mystery deep Social relations hidden underneath Workers' hands that shaped the wood Are invisible where shoppers stood The commodity stands alone and bright Hiding labor from our sight [Chorus] Use value, exchange value, labor power too Three concepts that Marx wanted me and you To understand how capitalism flows Commodity fetishism nobody knows Use value what you need it for Exchange value what you pay at the store Labor power sold by the hour That's the source of profit's power [Verse 2] Use value is the concrete need A coat to warm, a book to read Exchange value's abstract form Numbers dancing in the storm Ten dollars, twenty, fifty more Measured by the market's score But neither tells the fuller tale Of human effort without fail [Chorus] Use value, exchange value, labor power too Three concepts that Marx wanted me and you To understand how capitalism flows Commodity fetishism nobody knows Use value what you need it for Exchange value what you pay at the store Labor power sold by the hour That's the source of profit's power [Bridge] Labor power is special goods Sold by those in working hoods Creates more value than it costs While the worker pays what's lost Surplus value flows upstream To the capitalist's dream This is how the system turns While the laborer barely earns [Verse 3] Behind each thing upon the shelf Lives a story of ourselves Human labor crystallized In forms that leave us hypnotized The fetish makes us all forget The social bonds within our debt Objects seem to have their own Power that's not theirs alone [Chorus] Use value, exchange value, labor power too Three concepts that Marx wanted me and you To understand how capitalism flows Commodity fetishism nobody knows Use value what you need it for Exchange value what you pay at the store Labor power sold by the hour That's the source of profit's power [Outro] When you see that shiny thing Remember what these concepts bring Social relations hide in plain sight Marx's lens brings them to light
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