Side hustle

Work… work… work…

Clock in… clock out…

Dreams don’t sleep… so neither do we…

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Alarm at 6 but I slept at 4,

Feet hit the ground, already at war,

Coffee like courage in a paper cup,

Tell myself “one day” just to keep me up.

Inbox full and my rent still due,

Boss want smiles like I ain’t see-through,

Clock watch tickin’ like a time bomb loud,

I’m drownin’ in a sea but I fake that I’m proud.

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Work! Work! Never stop!

Climbin’ high but stuck on the block!

Hustle! Grind! Don’t you drop!

Dreams on hold ‘til you reach the top!

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Nine-to-five then I flip it to a five-to-nine,

Turnin’ spare change dreams into dollar signs,

Rideshare lanes, late trains, no sleep in my veins,

Every second that I’m breathin’, I’m collectin’ the pain.

Got a side gig, two gigs, maybe three on deck,

If I stop, everything I built’ll reset,

So I run, never done, always chasin’ the sun,

But the day don’t end when the daylight’s done.

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Friend:

When do you rest? When do you breathe?

Is this the life that you believe?

Lead:

If I slow down, I lose my place,

This whole damn world’s a running race!

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LEAD (half-sung):

I hear my heartbeat sync with the grind,

Tickin’ like clocks that are stuck in my mind…

ENSEMBLE (layered whispers):

Go… go… go… don’t fall behind…

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This is the side hustle symphony!

Every note is survival in me!

Strings of stress, drums of debt,

Play it loud ‘cause I ain’t done yet!

This is the side hustle symphony!

No conductor, just agony!

But I’ll rise, I’ll fight, I’ll be—

More than what they expect from me!

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LEAD:

Mama said, “Baby, don’t burn out fast,”

But the future’s expensive, I can’t outlast,

Every dream got a price on the tag,

And ambition’s heavy in a broke man’s bag.

ENSEMBLE (echoing):

Heavy… heavy…

LEAD:

I tried slow, but slow don’t pay,

So I gamble my health just to make a way…

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LEAD (soft):

What if I stop?

What if I fall?

What if the climb ain’t worth it at all…?

You carry it… carry it… carry it all…

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I’m a product of pressure, a diamond or dust,

Every sacrifice I make is a matter of trust,

In a future I can’t see but I swear I believe,

There’s a version of me that gets to breathe.

So I push, don’t look, never break, never bend,

Every loss that I take just a means to an end,

And the rhythm of the grind is a war that I fight—

But I’m still standin’ here at the end of the night!

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This is the side hustle symphony!

Hear the fire inside of me!

Every scar, every debt,

Every moment I ain’t quit yet!

This is the side hustle symphony!

Write my name in the melody!

From the grind, from the pain—

I will rise, I’ll break these chains!

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