[Intro] (Wurlitzer and tremolo guitar, one steel swell, brushed snare enters on the last bar) [Verse 1] Got a wrench in my left hand, a trowel in my right And a clipboard I lost sometim [Bridge] (everything drops — just Wurlitzer, one steel note held, voice near the mic) Roots go down where the wires don't reach Wires go far where the roots can't teach One holds still, one carries the charge I've been both of them in a two-car garage Some nights I can't tell the hum from the hush The corn leaning in, the fan on the flush Roots and wires, wires and roots A man's just a trellis in steel-toe boots (band swells back in slow, pedal steel rising) And if the grid goes dark, well, I've got the seed And if the frost comes hard, I've got what you need That's the whole trade — I stand in between Not the machine, not the garden — the thing in between [Verse 3] (half-spoken, lighter) Coat goes back on the nail, kettle's on the stove Checked the solar on the greenhouse, checked the beans I sowed There's a gear in my pocket and a leaf in my hat Nobody asked me, but I'm real fine with that [Final Chorus] (full band, two-voice e last night The Merchant coat's hung on a nail by the door Still smells like diesel and a hardware store I run a cable through a raised bed row Half of it hums, half of it grows Neighbors ask me what exactly I do I say "depends on what's broke, and what's due" [Pre-Chorus] The gear turns slow, the leaf turns toward the light Somewhere in the middle I get the wiring right [Chorus] I'm a rooted circuit, half dirt, half copper line Plug me in the ground and I'll do just fine Got a heartbeat that ticks and a heartbeat that blooms Take my coat off at the door, but the Kobb stays in the room Rooted circuit — I don't short, I don't wilt Just a tradesman patching what the whole world built [Verse 2] Sold a pump to a fella down on County Road Nine Threw in a tomato start, didn't charge him a dime That's the coat talking — always closing a deal Then the base Kobb kneels down to check how the soil feels Two names on one mailbox, folks think that's odd One does the invoice, one talks to the sod I ain't torn about it, I ain't confused I'm just double-booked, and both jobs get used [Pre-Chorus] The gear turns slow, the leaf turns toward the light Somewhere in the middle I get the wiring right [Chorus] I'm a rooted circuit, half dirt, half copper line Plug me in the ground and I'll do just fine Got a heartbeat that ticks and a heartbeat that blooms Take my coat off at the door, but the Kobb stays in the room Rooted circuit — I don't short, I don't wilt Just a tradesman patching what the whole world built
