[Short intro: nylon-string guitar, warm electric bass, spare piano] [Verse 1: weathered male singing, relaxed phrasing] I came in holding five good cards, With more years than I could spend. The dealer said the first was cheap. I thought he was a friend. [Dry drums enter, electric guitar answers] I won a night without the hurt. I thought I'd come out ahead. Then started betting mornings Just to get myself from bed. [Chorus: fuller roots band, warm Hammond organ] You see me folded at the waist. I folded long before. One card at a time I gave away The hand I came here for. You laugh and film and walk on by. There's nothing new to see. Don't mistake the way I stand For all there is of me. [Short electric guitar response] [Verse 2: restrained band, steady bass and drums] An ace became a borrowed night. A king became a debt. I kept on betting tomorrows I hadn't lived with yet. [Spare piano fills] The people who would call me Got tired of hearing “soon.” I let the phone keep ringing. Lost another afternoon. [Chorus: organ rises, electric guitar adds weight] You see me folded at the waist. I folded long before. One card at a time I gave away The hand I came here for. You laugh and film and walk on by. There's nothing new to see. Don't mistake the way I stand For all there is of me. [Bridge: quieter groove, nylon guitar and low organ] I've known a lot of friends who folded. I knew them standing tall. Some still wave when I drive past. Some don't wave at all. You call it “the Fenty fold” And hold your camera high. I know the man you're laughing at. We used to work side by side. [Brief instrumental turn: electric guitar and piano] [Final chorus: full band, restrained emotional lift] You see him folded at the waist. He folded long before. One card at a time he gave away The hand he came here for. [Band drops to nylon guitar and voice] You laugh and film and walk on by. I stop and say his name. He lifts his head enough to ask If mine is still the same. [Outro: soft Hammond organ returns] He had a laugh you'd recognize. He had somewhere to be. Don't mistake the way he stands For proof he wasn't you— [Voice alone] Or me. [Short nylon guitar and organ resolution] [End].
