.4 Cents a Play

from Of Hard Times & Harmony by Windborne

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lyrics

My father was a folk musician, he used to sell LPs
Cassette tapes in the 1980s, and later on: CDs
I told him I’d take up his trade, but he looked at me to say:
It’s very hard to work for just .4 cents a play!

.4 cents a play my friends, just .4 cents a play
It’s very hard to work for just .4 cents a play

He said back in the good old days the lines would all be long
As people queued to buy CDs, they formed a joyous throng
But now the music’s all online, for discs they will not pay
My darling child, the times have changed–that’s how it is today...

For now they put the CDs down and with a curious eye
They ask the dreaded question then: are you on Spotify?
And with a sigh we answer yes, but this we’d rather say:
It’s very hard to work for just .4 cents a play!

.4 cents a play my friends, just .4 cents a play
It’s very hard to work for just .4 cents a play

At the cafe just down the street they roast a tasty bean
I order up a cappuccino, it costs a thousand streams
And if I want to pay my rent, I’m very sad to say:
It costs a quarter million streams at .4 cents a play!

.4 cents a play my friends, just .4 cents a play
It costs a quarter million streams at .4 cents a play

I have not come to tell you all that Spotify is bad
In fact I sometimes stream some music
while hanging out with dad
But if I love an artist’s songs, for their CD I’ll pay
‘Cause I know how hard it is to work for .4 cents a play!

.4 cents a play my friends, just .4 cents a play
‘Cause I know how hard to work for just .4 cents a play

.4 cents a play my friends, just .4 cents a play
So support musicians because they’re worth
more than .4 cents a play!

credits

from Of Hard Times & Harmony, released December 2, 2022
Music: S. Matthews
Words: Windborne

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