Keep My Hands Busy (Patch)

[Verse 1, low, rough, restrained] They look at the horns before lookin’ at me Like that tells the whole o’ what I’ll ever be Cheap hands for the wires, cheap blood for the ring That’s what the fine folk make o’ everythin’ Aye, I learned quick — keep quiet, get paid Take the hard shifts, don’t ask, don’t break If the world wants teeth, then teeth it gets Ye live by grit an’ by old regrets [Pre-Chorus, rising, bitter] The highborn talk like they built this town But it’s held by hands they keep lookin’ down on [Chorus, powerful, raw, defiant] So I keep my hands busy Keep the sparks alive Keep m’self movin’ Keep the dead bit quiet inside Aye, I’ve been hit, I’ve been bled, I’ve been called every name But I still stand here, same as I came If survival’s ugly, then ugly I’ll be Just leave me my work An’ let me breathe [Verse 2, steady, scarred, more intimate] There’s peace in a wire when it hums the right way In a lamp comin’ back at the end o’ the day In takin’ broke things an’ making them run More honest than priests, more honest than guns An’ fightin’? Aye, sometimes I need that too When the bell goes hard an’ the blood runs true Not for pain, no — just to feel something clear One man, one breath, no rich lads here [Bridge, quieter, emotional, worn down] I dinnae need mercy I dinnae need pride Just somethin’ that works At the end o’ the night A bottle, a bench, a job for these hands One room where I’m not less than a man [Final Chorus, bigger, emotional, still grounded] So I keep my hands busy Keep the sparks alive Keep m’self movin’ Keep the dark from eatin’ me alive Aye, I’ve been used, cast aside, shoved down in the grime But I’m still here workin’ one piece at a time If survival’s ugly, then ugly I’ll be Just leave me my work An’ let me breathe [Outro, low, tired, resolute] Let me mend Let me fight Let me earn One quiet night