Magic Words - lyrics & song

Bob Leggitt | Monday 8 August 2011


Magic Words is pop track which mocks the fiasco of mid noughties recruitment. It was written in 2004, when I first perceived that corporate recruitment was no longer about discretion and real compatibility, but merely one huge keyword search. I felt that the recruitment agents were typically more stupid than the candidates they were trying to assess, and didn't possess the ability to discern value in a potential employee. Candidates who 'said the magic words' would be employed, even if they were idiots reciting phrases from Internet sites, parrot fashion. Meanwhile, candidates with higher levels of initiative would be more likely to use their own terms of expression, thus often omitting crucial keywords, and failing to register as viable.

The recording mostly comprises live instruments and hardware synths, but there are also some samples. The drums mix both samples and electronic beatbox programming.

VERSE

Hints and tips for an interview
You gotta do, what you gotta do
You can arrive on a mountain bike
Smoke a fag, wear what you like

CHORUS

But say the magic words
The only way, gonna get yourself heard
Say the magic words
Come on say, come on say, the magic words

VERSE

You can't expect them to understand
What you say, gotta give them a hand
Intel Pentiums on their laps
Their brains only work when their fingers tap

CHORUS

So say the magic words
The only way, gonna get yourself heard
Say the magic words
Come on say, come on say, the magic words

VERSE

Drive, ambition and the extra mile
Focus, customer, permanent smile
Unpaid overtime, people power
Gonna do it all for a fiver an hour

CHORUS

So say the magic words
The only way, gonna get yourself heard
Say the magic words
Come on say, come on say, the magic words

VERSE

Team, team, player, player, team, team, team
Target, challenge, flexibility
Thirst for pressure 'til it f***s my head
I wanna juggle tasks 'til I drop down dead

CHORUS

Say the magic words
The only way, gonna get yourself heard
Say the magic words
Come on say, come on say, the magic words

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