wayyy back!
when the ear was king
you could stick it to the man with a toll free ring
high E above middle C was the trick
dial tone tips for the hip
phooone trips!
greasy freaks did make
sometimes puttin it on reels of tape
if you made a new method you could have a nick name
and the feds couldn't find you for your fame
allllll the trouble started with the joy bubbles
captain crunch blew the whistle and the tribe doubled
esquire magazine made an expose
and what'd every channel on the switchboard say?

YOUTH INTERNATIONAL PARTY LINE
party people takin trips, never payin a dime
phone phreaks tradin tips on a rhythm and pitch
ONE TIME FOR YOUR MIND YOUTH PARTY LINE

frayyyyed wires!
what's left behind
hangin off a payphone, pay it no mind
still i hear a ringin though i know it be a ghost
bells crackin coast to coast
tollll free!
that's the way it had to be
wise to the jive of the obsolete
now we look at screens, what a fashion
lookout! my rap's a hammer, lemme smash'm!

YOUTH INTERNATIONAL PARTY LINE
party people takin trips, never payin a dime
phreaks on the sneak, little too much spare time
YOUTH INTERNATIONAL PARTY LINE

two young men got jacked
for everything they had
said "we gotta make a move to the cathode tube, because the blue box hustle is all bad"
with solder gun and wood
they made their prototype
filled a billion rooms with an eerie white glow
now nobody's sleepin right
flaaaash forward! now the rebel is king
bite out of an apple and he's into everything
music, he uses it
talent, he chooses it
his last shred of street cred, he's losin it
but i'ma let go and learn as the world turns
the ashes of an old hack births new birds
so whether idealist or maybe realist
close your eyes, and time to time you can feel this