[Intro: soft bass, group oooh] Number seventeen, wool coat, slight tear I hand it over and pretend I do not care [Verse 1] Saturday dance at the hall above the bakery store Coat check window with a lamp and a half stuck drawer She works the tags with a pencil tucked behind her ear I always take too long just to make her say come here First week I got twenty two, second week I got nine Third week she smiled like she had planned the whole design She said, your coat is charcoal, I would know it in the dark I said, your handwriting is neater than the mark [Pre-Chorus] Group behind me humming like a warm streetlight I forget the steps and I still feel alright [Chorus] Coat check tag, coat check tag Little paper proof Coat check tag, coat check tag Hanging from the roof I keep trading numbers just to hear you say my name You keep saving seventeen like it is part of the game Coat check tag, coat check tag Pin it to my sleeve Coat check tag, coat check tag Make me want to leave And come right back before the band plays out the night Just to see your pencil and that little square of white [Verse 2] My cousin said, just ask her, stop collecting scraps I said, some courage comes in tickets, not in maps One night the drawer jammed and the line grew long and loud She laughed and stamped my palm when the paper ran out Ink on my hand said seventeen in blue I washed the dishes Monday and the number still came through Her brother ran the door and gave me one hard look Then nodded like a man who reads a well worn book [Pre-Chorus] Group behind me humming like a porch in June I find the beat a half step late and still in tune [Chorus] Coat check tag, coat check tag Little paper proof Coat check tag, coat check tag Hanging from the roof I keep trading numbers just to hear you say my name You keep saving seventeen like it is part of the game Coat check tag, coat check tag Pin it to my sleeve Coat check tag, coat check tag Make me want to leave And come right back before the band plays out the night Just to see your pencil and that little square of white [Bridge: a cappella into soft band] I wrote my shift times on the back in tiny print She wrote, I get off at eleven, if you hint We walked to the bakery while the ovens cooled down Shared a broken cookie like a crown [Final Chorus] Coat check tag, coat check tag Little paper proof Coat check tag, coat check tag Hanging from the roof I keep trading numbers just to hear you say my name You keep saving seventeen like it is part of the game Coat check tag, coat check tag Pin it to my sleeve Coat check tag, coat check tag Now I do believe Some love starts at a window with a lamp and a stuck drawer And a number you pretend you never saw before [Outro: group oooh, bass] Number seventeen, wool coat, slight tear I hand it over and I mean it this time, dear
