[Key: D minor | 96 BPM] [Intro] [Fingerpicked Acoustic Guitar, Quiet Upright Bass] [Male Vocal, Close and Matter-of-Fact] The food stamps ran out Friday. There's nothing coming in till the first. There's seven days left in October. I don't know which part is worse. [Verse 1] [Acoustic Guitar Begins Slow Downstrokes] I checked the cupboards twice this morning, like something might have grown overnight. Moved a few things round the kitchen just to make the shelves look right. There's half a jar of something, there's a packet with nothing inside. I keep opening up the fridge door like I might have missed something last time. The bills are all where I left them. The calendar's still on the wall. I know exactly when the money comes. I just can't make it come at all. [Verse 2] [Upright Bass Enters, Restrained Drums] The church pantry opens tomorrow. That's one more night to get through. I've been counting hours instead of dollars. That's a different thing to do. I could message somebody I know. They'd probably help if I asked. They already know that money's tight. I just can't say this part out loud. It's one thing to say the rent is short. It's another to say there's no food. I can tell them the car needs fixing. I can't find the words for this room. [Chorus] [Full Band Enters, Steady and Heavy] [Male Vocal, Ragged but Restrained] There's no money till the first. There's no food in the house. There's a week left on the calendar and I'm trying to work it out. I can swallow being broke. I can laugh off what I owe. But I don't know how to tell my friends I've got a family to feed and nowhere left to go. [Verse 3] [Drums Pull Back, Acoustic Guitar and Bass] I keep thinking I should ask them. I keep typing out the text. Then I read it like a stranger and delete the whole damn thing again. What do you say? We're out of groceries. Could you help us make it through? Do I say how bad it's gotten? Do I say I'm asking you? I know hunger isn't shameful. I know people need a hand. But knowing that and feeling it are two things I don't understand. [Instrumental] [Mandolin Plays a Sparse, Uneasy Melody] [Upright Bass Repeats a Two-Bar Figure] [Drums Gradually Build] [Bridge] [Half-Time, Guitar and Bass Only] [Male Vocal, Almost Conversational] I can tell you what the electric costs. I can tell you what the late fee is. I can tell you how much gas is left and what we need for next week. But there's no number on the paper for the moment that you know you can't give your family supper and you're scared to let it show. [Build] [Mandolin Tremolo Slowly Accelerates] [Drums Build Without Becoming Triumphant] I've worked. I've tried. I've stretched it thin. I've done the math and done it again. I've made a dollar do the work of ten. I'm out of answers. Here we go again. [Final Chorus] [Full Band, Ragged and Forceful, No Triumphant Lift] There's no money till the first. There's no food in the house. There's a week left on the calendar and I'm trying to work it out. I can swallow being broke. I can laugh off what I owe. But I don't know how to tell my friends I've got a family to feed and nowhere left to go. [Outro] [Band Drops Out, One Acoustic Guitar Remains] [Male Vocal, Quiet and Unsteady] The food stamps ran out Friday. The church pantry opens tomorrow. It's not even the first yet. And I don't know what we're eating. [Final Acoustic Chord Rings Briefly, Then Cuts]
