[Verse 1: gritty male rapper, steady over heavy live drums and strings] Every other Friday, five to five, I hear it knockin' Same old green coupe comin' round the corner, rockin' Pull it in the bay, and she's leanin' on the door Sayin', "It's that sound again, the one it made before" Lift it on the rack with the flashlight in my teeth Same hose clamp loose on the left side underneath Quarter turn, man, it's a thirty-second fix But I stretch it to an hour, tellin' stories, tellin' tricks She reach into her purse, and she's comin' up light I say, "Pay me next time," and she says, "Next time, right" Grease on my knuckles and a rag on my belt Fixed a thousand cars, never fixed the way I felt [Pre-Hook: gritty male rapper, the strings climb] Wipe it down, close it up, drop it off the lift Two weeks later, same sound, same shift [Hook: powerful female soul vocalist, belted over big drums] Every time it breaks, I bring it back to you Same old car, same street, same thing it always do Tell me what I owe you, baby, everything I owe Every time it breaks, I bring it back broke [Verse 2: gritty male rapper, leaning in] Third summer of it, and I'm thinkin' like a cop Clamp ain't rusted, ain't the heat, and it ain't my shop Steel don't back itself off on the same side every time Somebody's turnin' it by hand and keepin' it in line Found a thumbprint in the grease on the screw, real small Chipped red polish in the smudge, and that was all Then she's back in two weeks, same smile, same sound Same purse comin' up empty, same excuse goin' 'round Some folks send a letter, she just loosens up the clamp And I read it every Friday underneath the work-light lamp [Hook: powerful female soul vocalist, belted over big drums] Every time it breaks, I bring it back to you Same old car, same street, same thing it always do Tell me what I owe you, baby, everything I owe Every time it breaks, I bring it back broke [Instrumental Hook: the strings carry the hook melody alone, no vocal, heavy drums still pounding] [Verse 3: gritty male rapper, confessing, the piano under him] Here's the part I never told her, not a word to anyone I never tightened it all the way, I left it almost done Left a quarter turn for her so she'd never have to fake Every time that thing was rattlin', it was rattlin' for my sake Six summers of a clamp that neither one of us would fix Two grown people passin' notes in a coupe like kids at six This Friday she rolled in, and the car was runnin' clean Not a knock, not a rattle, not a single thing between She said, "Ain't nothin' broke today, I only came to see the man" And I put the wrench down, first time I ever had a free hand [Hook: powerful female soul vocalist, the gritty male rapper underneath her] Every time it breaks, I bring it back to you Same old car, same street, same thing it always do Tell me what I owe you, baby, everything I owe Every time it breaks, I bring it back broke [End]
