This song is a social commentary based on assumptions about people who use the laundromat.
lyrics
The sign on the door said, “Not an exit”
I saw a lady enter anyway.
She had a key.
She had a lot of keys.
So much power in her hands,
That she could bend the rules.
Oh now old man folding clothes,
Why are you here?
Yes the obvious answer is you’re doing your laundry,
And this is a laundromat…. But why are you here?
What did you want to be when you were young?
Did all your dreams come true?
I see your car,
I see the things you have.
They are as worn out as the skin on your face.
Is this what you wanted?
Why are you here?
But then again,
Why am I here?
Why are any of us here at the laundromat today?
We’re all trying to be our best,
Trying to look presentable,
Trying to convey to others that we’re all just doing fine.
But we’re trying to get our clothes clean,
In dirty used up water,
That everyone in town has been through before.
It’s the same dirty water that everybody drinks.
And it’s the same dirty water that mingles with our piss in the pipes.
I think it’s safe to assume,
That life didn’t go
According to the plan.
Because rich folks don’t come here,
They got washers and dryers of their own.
Oh life’s been cruel to you,
Oh life’s been cruel to you.
And it’s easy to see you’re living alone,
‘Cause most men your age have wives to do their laundry.
“Well now everybody’s trying to push
This liberal humanistic civil rights garbage on me,
And I just get defensive.
I don’t know why.
It seems like they’re trying to tell me that equality is synonymous with fairness,
But it’s not…….. Hell!
Some of us are born taller, and stronger, and faster, and smarter, and richer than others.
Any of this talk, that we’re all the same, is just wishful thinking,
And anyone who wants to try and tell you otherwise is just trying to sell you something.
After all, we’re all looking out for number one, right?”
Some say when life hands you lemons you should make lemonade,
Then you can sell it on the corner for a quarter for a cup,
But the cups and signs for advertisement all cost money too,
And no one wants to buy your juice,
They’ve got lemons of their own.
Oh life’s been cruel to you,
Oh life’s been cruel to you.
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