Cozy

[Intro: big band hit, walking bass, finger snaps] Watch your head Watch your step Watch the stove Welcome home [Verse 1] Name's Vinnie Marks and I sell the city by the inch Pinstripe suit in August and I never even flinch Young couple from Ohio with a puppy and a dream Thirty four hundred and they think it's what it seems Fifth floor walk up, great for cardio, I tell 'em on the stairs Elevator building, sure, it's just the building over there Door swings in and hits the bed, I call that open plan Stove beside the pillow, flip a pancake where you land Shower by the oven, that's a European touch Rinse your hair and boil your rice, you never walk too much Puppy sniffs the corner and he backs out of the room Smart dog, so I tell 'em he is measuring the room [Hook: horn stabs, group answers] It's cozy (it's a closet) Real cozy (it's a closet) It's got character (it's got a mouse) Thirty four hundred for a sweet little house It's cozy (cozy) So cozy (cozy) Shake my hand, the place is yours, and the mouse comes free [Verse 2] Window's got a brick view, I say that's prewar charm Reach out and touch the neighbor's wall, it's that close, it's that warm Radiator clanking like a drummer in a fight Free percussion section every single winter night Mouse lives in the baseboard, he's been on the lease since June Quiet little roommate and he whistles out of tune Wife says where's the closet and I say ma'am you're standing in it Husband wants a bedroom so I fold one down in a minute Now it's a table, now a bed, now a desk for your career Three rooms in a single room, I call it magic, my dear Husband's looking pale and the wife is laughing loud Puppy's in the hallway like he's waiting for a crowd [Hook: horn stabs, group answers] It's cozy (it's a closet) Real cozy (it's a closet) It's got character (it's got a mouse) Thirty four hundred for a sweet little house It's cozy (cozy) So cozy (cozy) Shake my hand, the place is yours, and the mouse comes free [Verse 3] They ask me is there any fee, I say no fee, not really Then I slide the paper over and their faces go silly Line by line I read it slow, I give it a little swing Every fee's a little song and baby, watch me sing [Double-Time Switch: stacked, no commas] Fifteen percent of a year of the rent is the fee and I take it in cash or a check Background and credit and application and key fee and pet fee and a fee for the deck There isn't a deck but the fee is a feeling and feelings are pricey in this town Sign on the line with a smile on your face 'cause the next couple's already coming around [Breakdown: horns drop out, walking bass and snaps only] Sold (snap) Keys (snap) Welcome home (snap) Watch the stove (snap) [Chopper Burst: triplet bounce, flow switch] Then I ride the train to Queens and I climb up seven flights and I jiggle the key in the rusty old lock Radiator banging like a big band drummer and a little gray mouse in the corner punching in on the clock Shower by the oven and a brick wall out the window and a neighbor I can touch from the edge of my bed Fold the table down and fluff the pillow up and eat a slice of pizza with the ceiling at my head It's the same exact layout as the one I sold 'em and I swear I wouldn't trade it for a penthouse tower Everything I love is in a single arm's reach and the mouse and me are splitting the bill for the power [Final Hook: horn shout chorus, group answers] It's cozy (it's a closet) Real cozy (it's my closet) It's got character (it's got my mouse) Two hundred square feet, the sweetest little house It's cozy (cozy) So cozy (cozy) Shake my hand, the place is mine, and the mouse stays free [Outro: big band button] Watch your head Welcome home