[Intro: distant siren, upright bass] Three fifteen Shh [Hook] Three fifteen and the city wide awake Every streetlight blinkin' like it knows your face Watch your step, watch your back, watch the bus that never came Three fifteen, baby, I don't sleep, I just wait [Verse 1] I'm the steam from the manhole, I'm the hum in the line I'm the cab with the light on that'll pass you every time I'm the corner store with glass two inches thick And a cat on the register that watched every trick I'm the nurse on a smoke break, hands still red I'm the baker at the oven 'fore the city's out of bed I'm the kid on a bike with a backpack he can't open I'm the cop at the light with the window up, nothin' spoken I'm the bridge with the names spray-painted on the rail Some of 'em are love notes, some of 'em farewells I don't blink, I don't judge, I don't snitch, I just keep Every secret you whisper when you think I'm asleep [Hook] Three fifteen and the city wide awake Every streetlight blinkin' like it knows your face Watch your step, watch your back, watch the bus that never came Three fifteen, baby, I don't sleep, I just wait [Verse 2] See the man in the parked car, engine warm, lights out Been sittin' there since two with a photo and a doubt Got an address on his phone and a grudge he can't digest And a jacket hangin' heavy on the left side of his chest Fourth floor, she's sleepin' with the TV on low Changed her number, changed the locks two weeks ago Restrainin' order folded in a drawer by the bed Paper never stopped nobody with a fire in his head He step out the car and I feel it in the street Every pigeon on the wire feel it underneath their feet Fuck that [Beat Switch: heavy orchestral strings, drums go full force, bass drops] So I flicker every streetlight on the block like a warnin' Set a dog off barkin' from the house on the corner Pop a transformer, sparks rainin' on his hood Fourth floor light comes on like I knew that it would Siren on the avenue, I didn't call it, I'm it He jump back in the car and swear he planned it, he didn't Don't fuck with my people at three fifteen I'm the mother of the ones that nobody's ever seen You can run to the highway, you can run to the sea Every road out of here was paved on top of me [Verse 3: back to brushes, quiet] Four a.m., she's on the phone with her sister, cryin' Pushed the couch against the door, she ain't sleepin', she ain't lyin' Five a.m., the trucks come and the gates roll up Corner man unlockin', pourin' coffee in a cup Sun come up, everybody think the night was calm Nobody ever thank the dark for keepin' 'em from harm That's cool, I don't need it, I'll be back again Same time tomorrow, and you know when [Final Hook] Three fifteen and the city wide awake Every streetlight blinkin' like it knows your face Watch your step, watch your back, watch the bus that never came Three fifteen, baby, I don't sleep, I just wait [Outro: siren fades, whisper] Go home It's late
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