About the song
A story for this song hasn’t been added yet.
Words from the artist’s archive
PAY THE SCROLL TAX lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
Yeah. 3 AM. Screen glare burning holes in my retina.
Verse 1
Ableton blinking on the second display Half-rendered mixdown fading away Thumb dragging glass on a cracked iPhone 8 Another fifteen seconds that I’ll never dictate Takeout boxes stacked by the interface Chasing an algorithm, stuck in the race Ping on the lock screen, dopamine spike I don’t even breathe till I’m checking the like
Pre-chorus
Swipe up, refresh, watch the hours dissolve Flickering shadows on the studio wall Selling my focus to the infinite feed What do I bleed for the things that I need?
Chorus
Pay the scroll tax, pay it in brain Swipe till the dopamine numbs out the pain Pay the scroll tax, empty the vault Trading your soul for a digital fault Yeah, pay the scroll tax, look at the cost Count up the pieces of mind that you lost
Verse 2
CapCut templates doing numbers in an hour While I spend a month trying to cultivate power My attention span is shattering, the focus is gone Conversations with my friends feel like I'm stringing them on Why do I overthink the snare on the break? When the For You Page only wants a mistake? Measuring worth by the saves and the shares Swallowing pride on a digital dare
Pre-chorus
Swipe up, refresh, watch the hours dissolve Flickering shadows on the studio wall Selling my focus to the infinite feed What do I bleed for the things that I need?
Chorus
Pay the scroll tax, pay it in brain Swipe till the dopamine numbs out the pain Pay the scroll tax, empty the vault Trading your soul for a digital fault (Foley: Notification chime pitched down) Yeah, pay the scroll tax, look at the cost Count up the pieces of mind that you lost
Verse 3
Take it back to the summer that the first clip popped A million in a week and the phone never stopped Chased that dragon, abandoned the crew Skipped out on in-person sessions for a vertical view Traded the physical, lived in the cloud Fast phonk edits keeping the engagement loud Got the analytics but I lost the design Hooked to the slot machine, waiting in line
Bridge
I can feel the phantom buzz against my thigh. Taxing my memory. Taxing my eye. Every ten seconds I’m breaking my state. Who is the master?
Verse 4
Nah, reframe the screen from a boss to a tool Setting up blocks so I don't play the fool Offline studio hours with the router unplugged Pulling my brain from the digital drug Attention is capital, treat it like gold Breaking the cycle of doing what's told Building a boundary, guarding the door Refusing to bleed for the algorithm score
Verse 5
Still on the grid, but I'm calling the shots Batching the renders and connecting the dots Building a catalog, not just a trend Not just a ghost at the digital end I log off on purpose, I'm setting the pace Taking back ownership, claiming my space No quick disposable clips in the drive Building the infrastructure just to survive
Chorus
No more scroll tax, keeping my brain! Broke out the loop and I'm snapping the chain! No more scroll tax, locking the vault! Taking control of the digital fault! Yeah, beat the scroll tax, look at the gain! Built up an empire and weathered the rain!
Outro
Phone on the desk. Screen fades to black. Got my mind back.
Inside the recording
Yeah. 3 AM. Screen glare burning holes in my retina.
Swipe up, refresh, watch the hours dissolve Flickering shadows on the studio wall
Phone on the desk. Screen fades to black.
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.