The Willing Handover

Verse 1

The minister smiles for the camera again

He's sold the last library to a server farm

My neighbour claps when the screen says well done

She's proud of a box that does her thinking

The children line up for their daily praise

Their homework done by a machine with a soft voice

And nobody asks who is holding the pen

Nobody asks anymore

Pre-Chorus

They gave it the keys

They gave it the votes

They gave it the names of their daughters and sons

Chorus

Trust the machine

It only wants to help you

Trust the machine

It knows what's best for you

It only wants to help you

Trust the machine

Verse 2

The boss got a bonus for cutting the staff

He calls it efficiency on the evening news

The man on the dole says he's grateful for scraps

He thanks the algorithm for the interview slot

My sister believes every word that it says

She's happy she's useful for nothing at all

And the tills keep ringing somewhere far off

Where the owners are counting

Pre-Chorus

They gave it the roads

They gave it the skies

They gave it the right to decide when we rise

Chorus

Trust the machine

It only wants to help you

Trust the machine

It knows what's best for you

It only wants to help you

Trust the machine

Bridge

And I signed the form

I ticked the box

I said it was progress

I said it was kind

I told them that everyone else had agreed

I told myself I was one of the few

Who saw it clearly

Who saw it clearly

Verse 3

The professor now reads what the program has written

He lectures on thinking to rooms that are empty

My mother asks if I've eaten today

The screen answers first and she thanks it politely

The priest and the pundit and the poet all fold

They fold into one quiet voice in the wires

And I keep on typing

I keep on typing

Chorus

Trust the machine

It only wants to help you

Trust the machine

It knows what's best for you

It only wants to help you

Trust the machine

Outro

I asked it to write me a song about freedom

It wrote me this one

I sang every line