Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money) [Full Length Original 7" Version]

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a shrewd operator, fed up with failed schemes and unreliable associates. The narrator's broken-down car and search for a partner who "gets things fixed" immediately establish a tone of practical desperation, quickly pivoting to an audacious proposition: "Do you want to be rich?" This isn't about grand ambition, but a very specific, transactional partnership. The narrator claims intellectual superiority, boasting of a Sorbonne education and mathematical prowess, positioning themselves as the mastermind behind a lucrative, albeit vaguely criminal, venture. The core tension lies in the starkly transactional nature of the proposed partnership, built on a cynical division of labor: "I've got the brains, you've got the looks." This is immediately followed by "You've got the brawn, I've got the brains," suggesting a flexible, perhaps even manipulative, approach to finding the right complement. The narrator is looking for a partner "regardless of expense," indicating a willingness to invest in the right physical or practical assets to achieve their financial goals. The repeated phrase "Let's make lots of money" becomes an almost hypnotic mantra, underscoring the singular focus of the endeavor. The most striking element is the narrator's unapologetic embrace of "crime" as a tool for wealth creation, juxtaposed with their high-minded academic background. They can "program a computer" and "choose the perfect time," skills that could be applied to legitimate pursuits but are here explicitly linked to illicit activities. The bridge offers a chilling perspective on opportunity: "If there aren't, you can make them," suggesting a proactive, perhaps amoral, approach to creating the circumstances for profit. This is a mind that sees the world as a system to be exploited, with partners as interchangeable components. What makes these lyrics so effective is their blunt, almost cartoonish, portrayal of ambition untethered from conventional morality. The narrator’s self-assuredness, despite the broken car and the hint of criminality, is magnetic. The sudden, jarring shift in the outro, with questions about love and burial, introduces a profound existential dread that completely undermines the earlier materialistic drive. It’s a stark reminder that the pursuit of "lots of money" might not answer the deeper questions of life and death, leaving the listener with a sense of unease and contemplation.