[Intro] (Low acoustic thumb-pick in Drop D, dragging foot stomp, slow metallic slide moan) (Low spoken baritone) Nobody saw who spilled the milk. Nobody knows who left the door wide open. Just swipe the card and don't make a sound. [Verse 1] Sinks are overflowing with a week of crusted grease, Wrappers on the carpet, but they’re all at sweet peace. I ask who dropped the carton, who let the skillet burn, They look right through my forehead like a ghost that took a turn. They got thirty paid excuses, sick days when it rains, Sleeping till eleven while I’m choking on the chains. I got a fever running hundred-two, my chest is full of rust, Pull the work boots on the porch, go trade the blood for dust. [Pre-Chorus] They can catch a cold and lay around in bed, I don't get the right to be among the dead. The only pulse that matters in this house tonight Is the little green flash of the card-reader light. [Chorus] (Hook) Yeah, feed the PIN, tap the chip, take another cut, Daddy doesn't sleep, daddy’s eyes don’t shut. Nobody’s mess, but it’s sitting on my hands, Standing in the dirt so the castle still stands. You don't care if the knuckles break, you don't ask the cost— Just don’t let the damn machine get lost. 'Cause if this ticker quits and the power line dies, The money stops spitting and you open up your eyes. [Verse 2] Came home past nine, the porch light wasn't on, Takeout cartons rotting on the table till the dawn. Three remotes on the couch, two slippers on the stair, I sweep the kitchen tiles like a phantom in the air. Nobody clocked the overtime, nobody scraped a plate, Just left the grocery list pinned right against the gate. They say they’re feeling drained, they say the week was tough, While I’m bleeding down the calf just trying to make enough. [Pre-Chorus] They can pull the blinds and call off for the week, I don't get to stumble, I don't get to speak. The only time they listen, the only thing they heed, Is the sound of the drawer opening up what they need. [Chorus] Yeah, feed the PIN, tap the chip, take another cut, Daddy doesn't sleep, daddy’s eyes don’t shut. Nobody’s mess, but it’s sitting on my hands, Standing in the dirt so the castle still stands. You don't care if the knuckles break, you don't ask the cost— Just don’t let the damn machine get lost. 'Cause if this ticker quits and the power line dies, The money stops spitting and you open up your eyes. [Bridge] (Rhythm cuts out; hollow kick-drum heartbeat with weeping slide) What happens when the iron wears down to the bone? What happens when you realize you’re walking all alone? You can’t put a sick day on a diesel fuel tank, You can’t take sympathy to the teller at the bank. One of these mornings I won't turn the key, And you'll find out the bills don’t pay themselves for free. [Guitar Solo] (Aggressive, dissonant slide guitar wailing over a heavy stomping blues groove) [Final Chorus] (Full dynamic wall of sound, gritty rasp pushed to the ceiling) So feed the PIN, tap the chip, squeeze out what is left! Treat an honest man’s labor like a daytime theft! Nobody made the trash, but I drag it to the street, Nobody cooked a meal, but you all sit down to eat! You don't care if I’m shivering, you don't ask the cost— Until the last damn dollar of the bloodline’s lost! When the gears freeze up and the motor won’t turn... Who’s gonna build the fire when the green stops to burn? [Outro] (Music slows to a stark, ticking acoustic rhythm) Out of order. Yeah... screen went dark. Go on and kick the box. See what drops out. (Final heavy boot stomp, dissonant slide scrape, and an echo fading to black)
