About the song
A story for this song hasn’t been added yet.
Words from the artist’s archive
RETIRE lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
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Intro
It ain’t basic cable no more, nah, we past that era From rabbit ears to wire taps, now the screen’s our mirror Tony talkin’ therapy, Omar bringin’ terror TV turned to cinema, the plug became the bearer
Verse 1
It started on the stoop—Bodie slangin’ on the strip Then HBO said "hold up, let me flip the script" Network used to play it safe, sitcoms by the dime Now it’s dirty cops, and addicts tryna climb Sopranos had the dinner table full of inner war Mob ties with mommy issues, left me wantin' more I seen Chris get high, then bury his dreams While Meadow's college tour turned into silent screams Six Feet Under gave us death with no disguise Morticians plottin' futures while the corpses feed the highs No more laugh tracks—just realism and pain TV grew a backbone, started usin’ real names
Chorus
They flipped the channel from jokes to the wire Tony got issues, but he sittin’ on fire Six feet deep, they ain’t scared of desire Cable ran up, took the crown from the choir No more "yada yada"—we the post-Seinfeld empire Drama got darker, stakes got higher This ain’t your sitcom, it’s the truth with attire HBO the plug now—we don’t ever retire
Verse 2
Used to be laugh tracks and Friday night fights Now it’s shadow deals, and long-form rights Alan Ball had ‘em cryin’ over ashes and grief While Simon built a thesis underneath the chief TV used to tuck you in, now it rips you raw Pitched like sitcoms, now it’s street vs. law HBO gave artists reign, didn’t censor the mess Let Tony choke a rat, then ponder his stress Tired of happy endings, cable served the real Tired of fake justice, gave us wounds that heal No moral compass, just the truth with a lens From Baltimore to Jersey, we made TV our friends
Bridge
Cable came like Newman—uninvited, but loud Put a lens to the streets, to the grief, to the proud The sitcom died, now the scripts carry scars Now we binge trauma and call it our memoirs Streaming came next, but cable carved the path With a Bada Bing backdrop and a body in the bath
Chorus
They flipped the channel from jokes to the wire Tony got issues, but he sittin’ on fire Six feet deep, they ain’t scared of desire Cable ran up, took the crown from the choir No more "yada yada"—we the post-Seinfeld empire Drama got darker, stakes got higher This ain’t your sitcom, it’s the truth with attire HBO the plug now—we don’t ever retire
Outro
So salute to the wires and the couches where we cried To the scripts that didn’t fake it, and the heroes who died We ain't goin' back to laugh tracks and applause 'Cause real life got credits, but no applause
Chorus
They flipped the channel from jokes to the wire Tony got issues, but he sittin’ on fire No more "yada yada"—we the post-Seinfeld empire HBO the plug now—we don’t ever retire
Inside the recording
It ain’t basic cable no more, nah, we past that era From rabbit ears to wire taps, now the screen’s our mirror
They flipped the channel from jokes to the wire Tony got issues, but he sittin’ on fire
They flipped the channel from jokes to the wire Tony got issues, but he sittin’ on fire
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.