Systems Engineering Shuffle

[Cold open: banjo boot sequence]
One, two—
Check the logs, boys.
Fiddle says warning,
banjo says deploy.

[Verse 1]
Well the day came in sideways with a flicker and a cough
Coffee went cold and the Wi-Fi dropped off
Truck in the laneway, forms in the tray
Three little fires all asking me to stay

I checked the gauge, I checked the book
I said, “I’m not that kind of engineer but I’ll take a look”
Somebody yelled from the back of the room
“Is this a hard crash or just gathering doom?”

[Pre-Chorus]
I said hold your horses, save your blame
Every broken system has a middle name
When the lights go dim and the warnings compute
Sometimes what you need is a super soft reboot

[Chorus]
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
Step left, step right, let the hot mess breathe
Graceful degradation underneath your feet
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
No big explosion, no dramatic dispute
Just a river-timed rollback and a super soft reboot

[Verse 2]
Now I’m not that Chris Jones, let the record reflect
There’s a lot of us out here with a similar defect
One builds software, one tunes phones
One disappeared in a spreadsheet zone

I’ve seen cloud computing \u0026 cannabis
Sold as a cure for what’s hazardous
But the big bluegrass blueprint said plain in the book
“I’m not that kind of engineer but I’ll take a look”

[Pre-Chorus]
So pass me the fiddle, pass me the broom
Clear one corner of the incident room
If the whole stack shakes from the roof to the root
We’ll document the risk, then super soft reboot

[Chorus]
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
Step left, step right, let the hot mess breathe
Graceful degradation underneath your feet
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
No big explosion, no dramatic dispute
Just a river-timed rollback and a super soft reboot

[Bridge: call and response]
Caller:
Was it a hard crash?

Band:
Might’ve been Tuesday.

Caller:
Was it bad luck?

Band:
Might’ve been loosely.

Caller:
Who owns the system?

Band:
That depends on the chart.

Caller:
Who fixed the banjo?

Band:
A fella with heart.

Caller:
Are you that Chris Jones?

Band:
No sir, different folder.

Caller:
Are you that kind of engineer?

Band:
Not quite, but older.

Caller:
Can you save the whole thing?

Band:
We’ll reduce the blast.

Caller:
Can you make it perfect?

Band:
No, but we’ll make it last.

[Final Chorus]
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
Step left, step right, let the hot mess breathe
Graceful degradation underneath your feet
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
No big explosion, no dramatic dispute
Just a river-timed rollback and a super soft reboot

Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
From the server rack down to the gravel road
Some loads get lighter when you name the load
Do the Systems Engineering Shuffle
Big bluegrass blueprint, one last look
I’m not that kind of engineer but I’ll take a look

[Outro]
The logs roll quiet
The river runs clean
The banjo hums low
On the recovery screen

Hard crash behind us
Boot lights ahead
Graceful degradation
And the whole band said—

Super soft reboot.
Super soft reboot.
Super soft reboot.
By the river.