[INTRO — instrumental, stomping upright bass, tense drums] [VERSE 1 — agitated, hushed] Saturday errands, me and the boy, aisle nine (aisle nine) Need a hinge for the bathroom, need some twine He's been quiet since the driveway — nineteen, home From his first year, something heavy in his dome I let it ride — that's the trick with sons You don't chase the quiet, you just bring it along We pass the drill bits, pass the PVC And he stops between the mops and the paint, and he Says: Dad — I got something — and the whole store goes thin Like somebody turned the volume down to the skin I'm gay — two words in the paint aisle light And a dozen little speeches elbow to be first — right There — I grab a paint swatch, it's called Summer Rain I say: hand me that hinge, son — and I steady my lane [BRIDGE — bass only, voice bare] Fathers think they need the right words Sons just need the hands to stay steady I bought a hinge and a length of twine And a boy who trusted me in the paint aisle Best haul I ever carried home [VERSE 2 — whisper cracking up to yell] What I said was: okay — thank you for telling me What I said was: pass the level — carefully What I meant was louder than the forklift beep I meant: you're my whole heart, boy, aisle nine to the street I meant: I don't know the words yet, but I'll learn I meant: whoever you love, there's a chair at my turn Of the table — and he nodded at the hinge like a man Checking measurements — and I knew he had a plan For weeks to say it — picked the hardware store 'Cause I'm happiest there — the kid did reconnaissance, sure And in the truck he finally cried a little bit And I let him — and the dashboard listened to it And I said: your mom's gonna hug you till you crack And he laughed through the wet — and we drove back [HOOK — cracked, half-yelled] Aisle nine, aisle nine (stand tall) Between the mops and the paint, that's all It took — two words — and nothing broke Aisle nine, aisle nine (stand tall) He watched my hands, I kept 'em steady, spoke (aisle nine) [HOOK — cracked, half-yelled] Aisle nine, aisle nine (stand tall) Between the mops and the paint, that's all It took — two words — and nothing broke Aisle nine, aisle nine (stand tall) He watched my hands, I kept 'em steady, spoke (aisle nine) [OUTRO — sax note fades over brushes] (aisle nine...) Summer Rain — that's the color We're painting the bathroom together
