Love, Liberty & Mortgages — A Modern War Song 🎶
A ballad for workers, lovers, and the overworked.

The lyrics read like a mix of love, worry, and satire. They take the form of a message from someone addressing their partner—called “Honey”—who seems to be caught up in the grind of modern work or even corporate “battle.” The tone shifts between genuine concern (“tell me please that you’re OK”) and biting irony (“defending our liberty / our mortgage and the GDP”). The imagery of “holding the line” and “men surviving the day” makes ordinary work sound like war, highlighting the toll of capitalism and work culture. The repeated request for a simple text back underscores loneliness and the need for connection, while the final lines (“just don’t do too much coke”) ground the song in a raw, almost cynical realism, hinting at the excesses and coping mechanisms tied to high-pressure business life.

Overall, it’s both a love letter and a critique: intimate, sarcastic, and a little tragic in how it portrays the modern struggle between personal relationships and relentless economic survival..

Vocals: Linda Ropa
Lyrics: Bastiaan Geleijnse
Trumpet: Angelo Verploegen
Alto Saxophone: Floris van der Vlugt (solo)
Trombone: Chris Abelen
Bass Clarinet: Tini Thomsen
Guitar: Thijs Huybens
Double Bass: Ulrich Wentzlaff-Eggebert
Drums: Yonga Sun
Recording: Wedgeview Studios, except vocals, trombone & bass clarinet, recorded 'at home'.
Music, editing, mixing, mastering & production: Chris Abelen

Composer: Chris Abelen

Honey will you text me back
If you can find the time
Tell me please that you're OK
that your men survived the day and that you held the line

Honey, I'm so proud of you
You're doing what is right
Defending our liberty
our mortgage and the GDP
from the morning till late at night

Honey will you text me back
You left before I woke
Darwin rules in business life and I am sure you will survive
just don't do too much coke
just don't do too much coke

Honey Text Me Back

The tunes blend different styles, drawing inspiration from Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and the late 20th-century Amsterdam jazz scene while incorporating modern elements like samples and beats that lend it a more upbeat, danceable energy—much like the vibe of "The Hall Revisited" and "At Home" from the EP "Cubicle Life."