Richard Shakespeare - Push (Sisyphus The Insurance Clark)

from SpinTunes 19 Round 2 by Spintunes

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I have always been fascinated by Sisyphus's punishment - pushing a rock up a hill never to reach the top as it always falls just before he does - and this infinity of punishment reminded me of many an awful office job I've seen - so I took Sisyphus's story and put into into a modern day office setting. Having read up on Sisyphus he was far from sweetness and light and he incurred the wrath of many of the gods for his devious antics - this gave the opportunity to create a cast of characters for the song.

lyrics

Verse 1
Sisyphus the crafty head of claims processing
Ruled his unit with an iron fist
He fired those who were not appealing
And CEO Zeus was pretty pissed

The head of claims adjustment, Salmoneus,
And Sisyphus never saw eye to eye
When his protege Tyro fell for
Sisyphus’ cynical advance

Link
All hell broke loose
Then Tyro turned her back
On Sisyphus

Chorus
He shouts “I’ve still got cases left to push,”
As his colleagues leave him for a drink
“I’m really on the brink
Of a breakthrough
I can see the finish line
I’ll work through the night just this one last time”

Verse 2
So Zeus got the union Thanatos
To chain him up in spurious claims (harassment)
But Sisyphus turned the allegations round
COO Ares had to step in (take control)

Zues sent Sisyphus to talk to HR
But Persephone couldn’t make it stick (slippy fish)
In the end Sisyphus’s hubris
Let Hades from complaints intervene (now he’s screwed)

Link 2
And Hell descends
Eternal working life
For Sisyphus

credits

from SpinTunes 19 Round 2, released April 4, 2022

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