"Sammy"| Bari Zezmore

[Intro] Sammy, Sammy, say it softly Shammy-purple, shame-lit, off me Whisper, whisper, winter-panic Purple gremlin, pretty manic [Verse 1] The men need more help than the women can give ’em Bent-kneed, more hell than the women can lift ’em It’s all hedonism, head in the prism It’s all heteroschism, split in the system But a man can do well for the family and state Hand to the wheel, keep the ballast and weight So women, be patient, the ache has a cadence Low-lit, long-suffering, waiting on changes Your day will come when the burden is broken Gray dawn, numb tongue, with the curtain blown open When men find a cure for the greed in their heads When need finds a door from the fever in beds And the man with the cure, making good of your freedom Has a hand on the wound, has a vow that can clean him He’ll have your respect, he can rattle the lease He can have the correct little cut of the keys To the apartment of the man who helped him cheat on you To the dark-hearted hand that held the heat on you [Pre-Chorus] And the key will be the name of the gremlin you tamed And the teeth of the shame that the gremlin reclaimed He’ll only say it to you in the dark Holy, half-afraid, with his tongue on a spark [Chorus] Oh, you can whisper it to me Low, let it blister through me It’s a purple gremlin named Sammy Burble-devil, little saint Sammy The key is— Oh, you can whisper it to me Slow, let it glitter and bleed It’s a purple gremlin named Sammy The key is Sammy, the key is Sammy [Post-Chorus] Sammy in the ceiling, Sammy in the seams Shamey little feeling with a lavender gleam Sammy in the lockjaw, Sammy in the lie Shammy little soft-claw scratching at the light [Verse 2] The boys need more balm than the women can hand ’em Bent-backed, more harm than the women can stand ’em You won’t find it in school or independent studies You won’t bind it with rules or the ink in your buddy’s Little footnotes, blue books, beautiful theories Crooked old loopholes, too cooked to free me But a man plays his part when his conscience stays straight If his hand learns to heal what his appetite ate So women, hold steady, the hurt has a rhythm Low-lit, low-burning, held in the system Your day will come when the burden unbuckles Gray rain, sun-gun, and the curtain unstumbles When men break the spell of the greed in their heads When the need gets lured from the teeth of the bed And the man with the fix, offering up your redemption Has a palm on the scar, has a promise for mention He’ll earn your regard, he can jingle the lease He can carry the proper, permitted release To the rooms of the man who once lied through his teeth to you To the cold-hearted hand that once dealt out the heat to you [Pre-Chorus] And the key stays the name of the gremlin you claimed And the fangs of the flame that the gremlin reframed He’ll only breathe it to you in the dark Lowly, half-ashamed, with his tongue like a spark [Chorus] Oh, you can whisper it to me Low, let it blister through me It’s a purple gremlin named Sammy Burble-devil, little saint Sammy The key is— Oh, you can whisper it to me Slow, let it glitter and bleed It’s a purple gremlin named Sammy The key is Sammy, the key is Sammy [Bridge] Name him and the lock turns Blame him and the clock burns Tame him till the talk hurts Claim him when the dark learns Sammy in the plaster Shame in the master Purple little pastor Preaching from disaster Key in the kitchen Greed in the stitching He says it like a secret You hear it like a sentence [Final Chorus] Oh, you can whisper it to me Low, let it blister through me It’s a purple gremlin named Sammy Burble-devil, little saint Sammy The key is— Oh, you can whisper it to me Slow, let it glitter and bleed It’s a purple gremlin named Sammy The key is Sammy, the key is Sammy [Outro] Sammy, Sammy, breathe it slower Shammy-violet, shame worn lower Murmur, murmur, midnight-panic The key is Sammy The key is Sammy