[Intro — immediate live-band riff, warm melodic pickup] Well, here we go… [Verse 1 — amused, lived-in energy] Alarm got the first word, coffee missed the cup. Found my lunch beside the doorway when I was already gone. By eight-oh-three the phone lit up— three new fires, one old clock. I rolled my sleeves and told the day, “You can try, but that’s a lot.” [Pre-Chorus — melody rises naturally] I don’t need the day to like me. I just meet it on my feet. [Chorus — broad, physical, instantly singable] Monday ain’t the boss. It can holler, it can call, stack a mile-high list before the coffee’s hot. I’ll give it all my effort, but it don’t get all I’ve got. I work hard for what I love— Monday ain’t the boss. [Turnaround — guitar hook] [Verse 2 — steadier, warmer] Plans got changed, my name got blamed, somebody moved the line. I fixed what I could, owned what I should, left the rest for another time. Then I walked in to, “Dad, you’re home,” and the whole week found its place. Funny how a room can hand you back the part no job can take. [Pre-Chorus 2 — grounded conviction] A paycheck keeps the lights on. It ain’t the light inside this place. [Chorus] Monday ain’t the boss. It can holler, it can call, stack a mile-high list before the coffee’s hot. I’ll give it all my effort, but it don’t get all I’ve got. I work hard for what I love— Monday ain’t the boss. [Instrumental Break — electric guitar answers the chorus melody] [Bridge — sincere, strong, no oversized vocal] I make a living with my hands. I make a life when I get home. One deserves an honest day— the other gets my heart and soul. So when that clock starts talking like it owns every thought, I remember who I’m working for… and who I’m not. [Final Chorus — full band, open vocal] Monday ain’t the boss. Let it holler, let it call, stack a mile-high list before the coffee’s hot. I’ll give it all my effort, but it don’t get all I’ve got. I work hard for what I love— Monday ain’t the boss. [Final Tag — sung, band hitting around the vocal] I work hard for what I love. Monday ain’t the boss.
