Sounds of not-so-quiet quitting: The disgruntled ditty
I’ve No More F***s To Give by Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq is all over Instagram. And he’s not the only one. It seems a welcome new genre is emerging: protest poetry for a generation that’s just starting to rage against the machine.
It’s a song that seemed destined for social media. Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq’s 2019 work, I’ve No More F***s To Give is playing all over Instagram Reels and other video platforms. It’s a comic ode to dropping the ball on needless responsibility at work and just giving up. Consider these lyrics:
I strive, strive, strive, to get everything done
I’ve played by all the rules, but I’ve very rarely won
I’ve smiled, I’ve charmed, I’ve wooed and laughed, alas to no avail
I’ve run round like a moron, to unequivocally fail!
And this genius bit:
The effort has just not been worth the time or the expense!
I’ve exhausted all my energy, for minimal recompense!
The rest of the song drops the F-bomb too many times for Wknd to publish. But almost overnight, it’s has become an anthem for all those exhausted by the post-pandemic slog.
The video has 11 million views on YouTube. The comments are full of tired employees cheering the hoedown manifesto.
Wild has other songs in the same vein. They call out jobs terribly done, celebrate getting drunk at home alone on a Friday night.
Consider Wild’s work alongside the 2021 song It Costs That Much by Laura Jane Barnes of Woah Dude. The song gripes about creative people constantly being asked to work for free or lower their prices.
You need to pay for my skills ‘cause exposure doesn’t pay the bills
It costs that much ‘cause it takes me f****ng hours
It seems a welcome new genre is emerging – the disgruntled ditty, protest poetry for a generation that’s just starting to rage against the machine, and needs the machine to take it viral.
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