[Verse 1: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, grit in every line] Cone packs ready and the pyrometer lit Student ware waits on a wobbly old kit Shelf shows a hairline I almost ignore Load is behind and the clock wants more I stop the stack and I kneel on the brick Wedge in a shim where the crack wants to kick Boss would say scrap it and run the next tray I say the glaze on that cup gets to stay [Pre-Chorus: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, rising] Scrap it would be easy and the clock would forgive I wedge the crack so the cups get to live [Chorus: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, belted, full chest] Hold the fire, keep the shelf from the break Student first kiln is not yours to take Heat does the talking when the door seals tight Hold the fire, keep the shelf from the break [Verse 2: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, shelf groan, the shelf groans once under the stack, then guitars hit as she wedges the crack shut] Groan of the shelf as the weight finds the seam Guitars come in like a furnace dream Shim seats true and the stack sits proud I close the door on a heat-thick cloud Morning will show if the save was enough Cups come out clean and the crack still looks rough Kid does not know what the night shelf cost I keep the shim in my apron like frost [Chorus: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, belted, full chest] Hold the fire, keep the shelf from the break Student first kiln is not yours to take Heat does the talking when the door seals tight Hold the fire, keep the shelf from the break [Bridge: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, counting cones] One cone for bisque and two for the glaze Three for the shelf that refused to give way Four for the kid who will hold what she made Five for the night that still runs this trade [Verse 3: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, full force] I am not the artist and I am not the name I am the load that still treats it the same Fire is fair when the shelf is true Craft is the quiet that gets them through Omaha night and a kiln full of try Hold means more than a warning sign cry Hold means a shim and a crack I refused Hold means the cups that the morning produced [Final Hook: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, belted, full chest] Hold the fire, keep the shelf from the break Student first kiln is not yours to take Heat does the talking when the door seals tight Hold the fire, keep the shelf from the break [Outro: Defiant Omaha female rock lead, loud, the last shelf groan rings out and fades] Hold the fire Keep the shelf From the break [End]