**Broken Ladder, Burning Clock**

american primitivism 2-step, griot reggae · 4:18

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Once we had a steady path ahead
Nine to five with pension when we're dead
Careers that climbed like ladders to the sky
Now we're stuck in gigs that pass us by
Standing calls us precariat today
Flexible but insecure they say
No more promises of golden years
Just uncertainty and growing fears

[Chorus]
Future's fading, time's colliding
Present moment's all we're finding
Burnout culture, always rushing
Dreams of tomorrow keep on crushing
No more ladder, just surviving
In the now we keep on striving
Future's lost its guiding light
Living paycheck, day to night

[Verse 2]
Han describes the weary modern soul
Achievement pressure takes its heavy toll
We optimize ourselves like machines
Chasing metrics, losing human dreams
Self-exploitation dressed as freedom's call
We push ourselves until we hit the wall
Depression strikes when we can't perform
The burnout society becomes the norm

[Chorus]
Future's fading, time's colliding
Present moment's all we're finding
Burnout culture, always rushing
Dreams of tomorrow keep on crushing
No more ladder, just surviving
In the now we keep on striving
Future's lost its guiding light
Living paycheck, day to night

[Bridge]
Remember when retirement seemed so real
When careers had time for us to heal
Now it's hustle culture every day
And the future's slipping all away
Precarious work and endless stress
Leave us with this temporal mess

[Verse 3]
Project-based and temporary roles
Leave us scrambling to reach our goals
Can't plan ahead when work's unsure
The future feels less and less secure
Standing warns of dangerous unrest
When society fails its crucial test
Without hope for what's to come
We're left feeling overrun

[Final Chorus]
Future's fading, time's colliding
Present moment's all we're finding
Burnout culture, always rushing
Dreams of tomorrow keep on crushing
We must reclaim our sense of time
Make the future yours and mine
Break the cycle, find the way
Build tomorrow from today

[Outro]
The precariat needs more than just today
The burnout cycle's got to fade away

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