[Verse 1] The glass door kept its Monday face The phones all learned to ring and ring A paper sign said brighter days While rent came due on everything We punched the clock, we swept the floor We kept the motor fed with hands Then found our names beside a zero Dry as dust on promised land [Pre-Chorus] You can shine a smile from a roadside board You can bless the crowd with a borrowed word But the time clock knows what the podium hides And the ledger keeps what the thunder heard [Chorus] Names on the ledger Hours in the wall We carried your tomorrow You would not carry us at all Names on the ledger Ink under the skin Pay what you promised Or do not ask to lead again [Verse 2] The campaign lights were still awake Above the lot where paychecks died Somebody locked the office safe And left our supper trapped inside No marble speech, no golden seal Can make a hungry kitchen wait A worker knows when words are real By whether Friday holds its weight [Pre-Chorus] You can call it vision, call it plan Wave both hands till the cameras bend But a debt is a debt in a working man's hand And a closed door talks like a bitter friend [Chorus] Names on the ledger Hours in the wall We carried your tomorrow You would not carry us at all Names on the ledger Ink under the skin Pay what you promised Or do not ask to lead again [Bridge] Count every hour Count every late-night ride Count every promise Pinned to the glass outside Count every mother Counting the cans for food Count every father Swallowing what he knew [Breakdown] Pay the names Pay the names Before the speech, before the flame Pay the names Pay the names The ledger remembers what power became [Guitar Solo] [Final Chorus] Names on the ledger Hours in the wall We carried your tomorrow You would not carry us at all Names on the ledger Ink under the skin Pay what you promised Or do not ask to lead again [Outro] The sign went dark at half past ten The paper stayed, the truth bled through A name is not a little thing When every hour belongs to you
