THE GREAT SALESMAN Lyrics

John was awoken by the loud blaring of his alarm clock at 630 AM prompting him to get out of bed and start his day

He hit the snooze button on the alarm and stared at the ceiling for about 3 minutes before checking his phone

We all know a John in our lives you can attach any significance to his name

He's a normal person just going through the motions of life

But lately he's been going through a lot

And I think I would be too

He ignores the messages mostly from his co-workers and his family and checks social media to see what he missed while he was asleep

After about 20 minutes John reluctantly slid his feet over the side of his bed and made his way to the bathroom to start his morning routine

John turned on the hot water of the shower and quickly shampooed his short blonde hair washing his body with a bar of scentless dove soap

After about 15 minutes John hopped out of the shower and made his way to the sink where he combed his hair and brushed his teeth

Now what I said earlier about John might sound concerning

Or it might just sound totally banal to you

I think that it's something we've all experienced

But it's never easy to know what to do

He's just like you and me really

He's just like you and me really

He's just like you and me really

He's just like you and me really

John checked the time on his phone 715 giving him about an hour of free time before he had to drive to work so he gets dressed

He puts on his trusty uniform a white collared dress shirt gray slacks and a brown belt heading into the kitchen to have breakfast

John drinks a cup of black coffee with his breakfast consisting of a plain bagel with a few slices of an orange

He likes to keep his breakfast light as he's never really that hungry in the morning and had never loved traditional breakfast food

Because John isn't a particularly interesting person

That makes him a really good candidate for menial labor

He never complains turns in his work on time walks the talk

But the spark that once lit up his childish eyes has long faded

There is no witness to the actions of his fateful choice

He stands alone

And some might tell you that he couldn't voice his concerns

None of which mattered

His life has been an exercise in repetition of the void

Becoming annoyed

With all the little things that John could not keep fucking trying to stand

All worthless demands

For one man

Imprisoned

For one man

Imprisoned

As John ate his breakfast he scrolled through news articles of tragedies and scandals until one story in particular caught his eye

It was local news a body had been found washed up on the shore of the river the police suspected it was suicide

As John read the article a horrible feeling began to rise in him as everything the article described about the body sounded like someone he knew

He soon reached the end of the article and his fears were all but confirmed as a picture of his co-worker Mike smiled right at him

John stared at the picture of Mike for a while

His heart sank as he felt the reality of the situation set in

Mixed emotions; sadness anger guilt and then he realized

That he hadn't read the messages on his phone yet

None of them had anything to do with what happened just chatter about

The upcoming quarter the monthly stipend a virtual water cooler conversation

Then as if it was on cue John got a message from his boss addressing what happened to Mike and it read as such

Hello Team if you didn't read it on the news we have unfortunately lost one of our most loyal employees Michael He was a great salesman

(Nothing else? That's all we fucking get? He was a great salesman? What about his family? His friends? How does John feel? Where is the conclusion? Who even is Mike anyway? Why was he shoehorned into this plot? Where does this all come together? Why? It doesn't make sense It just doesn't make any sense This was such a waste of my time)

(Mike was a person just like John He had a family loving parents a wife two kids and all he gets is a footnote at the end of a story He was a cog He realized it too late It ate away at him for years 10 long years of nothing but sales sales sales Money Money Chase the fucking bag Nothing else There was nothing else for him in this world He left it He decided it was enough)

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

He was a great salesman

And then John went to work after finishing his breakfast