The Oncall Song

(Verse 1)
Woke up this mornin', sun in the sky,
felt a strange cold dread, don't know why.
Then the calendar hit me, sharp like a knife,
yeah, it's the worst day of my working life.
'Cause I'm a site reliability engineer, baby, and my shift just begun.
Lord, have mercy, on my soul, before the clock strikes one.

(Verse 2)
Poured my coffee, black and bitter and strong,
thinkin' everything's right where it belongs.
Then the pocket started buzzin', a desperate, high-pitched whine,
Oh, the pager keeps going off, shakin' up my peace of mind.
It ain't chirpin', it ain't singin', no, it's a mournful, painful sound.
That sweet siren of trouble, spreadin' misery all around.

(Verse 3)
I logged into the dashboard, my fingers tremblin' and fast,
Lookin' at the graphs, seein' red that's built to last.
It looks like a cascading failure of multiple systems all at once,
A real-deal chain reaction, not just some temporary dunce.
The whole architecture is groaning, slippin' down the drain,
Looks like the kind of downtime that causes managerial pain.

(Bridge)
Now I'm standin' at a crossroads, two dark choices in the street,
Gotta make a call right now, can't afford to miss a beat.
Should I raise an OMG? Shout it to the world, blow the horn?
Or can I keep it silent, just until the next day is born?
Try to patch it up myself, before the bosses see the mess,
Oh, this silent struggle for control, Lord, it causes such distress.

(Verse 4)
I'm deep in the log files, starin' at the hex code's glare,
A million lines of chatter, but the root cause ain't there.
I have no idea about the cause, my knowledge feels so thin,
Gotta find the fire-starter, gotta know where to begin.
Should I ask my team mates, but then I look stupid and green?
Yeah, that fear of the question, that's the cruelest thing I've seen.

(Outro)
So I'm sittin' here on Monday, fingers crossed, eyes wide,
Hopin' this darn platform, ain't gonna take me for a ride.
Oh, the On-Call Blues, Lord, the On-Call Blues,
Yeah, they got my soul, tied up in knots, right down to my shoes.
(Guitar solo with a heavy vibrato and sustain, fades out slowly.)