Chicagee Blues - This Crowded Earth by Robert Bloch

Idoru Toei's musical version of "This Crowded Earth" by Robert Bloch featured in "The Pitch Science Fiction 2Q2025" available at: https://lphi.top/p-tpsf-6
Logophilia official website: https://lphi.top/lh
Logophilia official X link: https://x.com/ToeiIdoru

Lyrics SRT:

1
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[Intro]
[instrumental]

2
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[Verse 1]
Eight a.m., the telescreen's bright

3
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Smiling Brad, another perfect light.

4
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"Good morning! Beautiful day in Chicagee!"

5
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I roll over, mutter quietly to me.

6
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One room living, convenient they say,

7
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Handy reach, saving steps every day.

8
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But polite words can’t hide the truth you see,

9
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The Housing Act's got a hold on me.

10
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[Chorus]
Chicagee blues, settling in my soul,

11
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A crowded world taking its toll.

12
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Forty miles to work, a weary ride,

13
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Just trying to survive, deep inside.

14
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Eighty miles for two rooms, a distant dream,

15
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Lost in the system, it would seem.

16
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[Verse 2]
Powdered eggs for breakfast, tasteless and cheap,

17
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Another quick meal before I fall asleep.

18
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Five hours at the agency, a long, hard grind,

19
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Wishing I worked where time is more kind.

20
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Sixty-three million in New Philly's sprawl,

21
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Thirty-eight here, watching numbers crawl.

22
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This year, next year, what will it be?

23
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A growing pressure closing in on me.

24
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[Bridge]
Headache pounding, jerking to the left,

25
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A habit ingrained, a painful theft.

26
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Why this compulsion, where did it begin?

27
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Trapped in these walls, feeling locked within.

28
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Bill can’t find my car, another delay,

29
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Just one more hurdle at the close of day.

30
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[Verse 3]
The I.C. Line, a swaying, crowded fight,

31
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A battle for space in fading light.

32
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Crushed and breathless, fighting to be free,

33
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This endless journey consuming me.

34
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Remember windows, scenery so bright?

35
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Now just a stop at every station's plight.

36
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No seats, no views, just bodies pressed near,

37
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Suffocating silence filled with fear.

38
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[Chorus]
Chicagee blues, settling in my soul,

39
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A crowded world taking its toll.

40
00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,000
Forty miles to work, a weary ride,

41
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Just trying to survive, deep inside.

42
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Eighty miles for two rooms, a distant dream,

43
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Lost in the system, it would seem.

44
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[Bridge]
They say there’s progress, peace and prosperity's grace,

45
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But all I feel is this confined space.

46
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A Naturalist yearning, a desperate plea,

47
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To break these chains and finally be free.

48
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[Verse 4]
"You want out?" he asks with knowing eyes,

49
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“Drop the bombs,” I say, beneath gray skies.

50
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Thermo-nucs to clear the crowded ground,

51
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A drastic solution, a desperate sound.

52
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But even that’s futile, he replies with care,

53
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Just more problems hanging in the air.

54
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[Outro]
Chicagee blues… fading into gray…

55
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Another day… another way…

56
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To just survive… to just get by…
Beneath a manufactured sky…