Professional

One Main Version

* (1981) - Chemical Playschool 1 (3:32), Prayer for Aradia Bonus Tracks (3:30)

Both appearances use exactly the same mix. A brief sped-up snippet of another song appears in the middle. There are noticeable tape glitches during the fade out.

Instruments: Single drum machine pattern; synth bassline; organ keyboard melody; discordant plinking melody in the background that cascades up and down during the middle break; single vocal track; another keyboard melody that appears during the last minute.

What It's About:

The lyrics aren't exactly polished or direct, but they seem to be drawing a parallel between professional soldiers and prostitutes, selling themselves into war even though they don't particularly want to...it's just a job for them.

Lyrics (adapted from the Cloud-Zero archive):

Got luxury lungs, they're cheap to run, they're lined with darkest velvet.
I breathe in deep, my face turns green, light flashes on my helmet.
Hell, it's not my choice. I'm shy, like to hide away in corners
and saunter down the street so carefree. They don't allow it.

Professional.

Start to prostitute myself, sell my body to the snipers
who lean on distant windowsills, silhouettes behind their rifles.
Sure I'm scared, but I carry on, is it one day, maybe more?
There's wars to fight, there's claws to bite. Some things you have to stifle.

It's just a job.
A profession