I knew the name before it had one

[Verse 1 — strained, barely holding it together] I knew the name before it had one I'm up again, it's half past four My hands are raw, the coffee's cold So what am I still doing this for [Chorus — desperate, rising] And the engine's still running I can see it from here The engine's still running A little closer every year [Verse 2 — physical, Savio energy] I put my body on the gears What more is there? I've played my part The machine kept running all the same I learned the shape of it by heart [Chorus — desperate, rising] And the engine's still running I can see it from here The engine's still running A little closer every year [Verse 3 — slower, heavy, cracking] I sat with it the way you sit with the dying Not one morning but the whole year through Just the quiet hum of right on schedule What else was I supposed to do? [Chorus — desperate, rising] And the engine's still running I can see it from here The engine's still running A little closer every year [Verse 4 — weary, resolute] I'll be here when it all comes due I'll be here like I've always been I'll still be standing at the gears With nothing left beneath my skin [Bridge — quiet, spent] I thought that knowing was the thing I thought that if I understood I'd throw myself against the wheel And it would do some good [Final Chorus — raw, stripped bare, building] And the engine's still running It wasn't enough The engine's still running It wasn't enough It wasn't enough It wasn't enough