[Intro: Rhodes, soft bass] Knot I did not own and a name in the program Pocket full of change and a promise I was dodging [Verse 1] Cousin lent the black silk tie from a wedding in the spring last year Crease down the middle like a half forgotten thing still here My suit was a thrift find with a button hanging loose on the cuff Shoes from a roommate who said bring them back no excuse no bluff Church basement smell of coffee and old hymnals stacked in a row I signed the guest book wrong then corrected it careful and slow His mother touched my sleeve like she knew I was broke in the chest Said he talked about you when the laughter was a joke at its best I nodded like a man who had money in the bank and a plan Truth was a borrowed tie and a heart that shrank in my hand [Hook: sung soft, falsetto edges] Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Knot against my throat Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Holding what I owe Friendship is a ledger that does not forgive the late I keep adding lines I should have written on the date Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Silk I did not buy Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Teaching me to try To show up even empty when the empty is a crime And pay the debt in presence if I cannot pay in time [Verse 2] Eulogy mentioned nights we sat on a curb and talked about rent About a girl and a job that never walked where we went I missed the last three calls because my pride was loud in the room Now the phone is a brick in a silent crowd heavy with perfume Somebody passed a dish and I put in what little I had left Two singles and a vow that felt honest and sad and bereft His little brother asked if I would help with the car in the yard I said yes before I measured how far or how hard Grief is not a speech you rehearse in a mirror at dawn Grief is a borrowed tie and a voice getting clearer when he is gone [Double-Time Switch: stacked, no commas] Cousin lends the silk thrift suit hangs loose roommate shoes pinch church basement coffee hymnals in a stack sign the book wrong fix it in a flash with a shaking left hand on the page Mother touches sleeve knows the broke behind the nod eulogy names the curb talks and the job that never walked and the pride that ran from the quiet stage Missed the last three calls pride louder than the ring two singles in the dish and a vow that tries to sing for a quieter better man I failed to engage Little brother asks for help with the car I say yes before the math and I mean it like a scar I will carry and scan and turn into a wage [Hook] Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Knot against my throat Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Holding what I owe Friendship is a ledger that does not forgive the late I keep adding lines I should have written on the date Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Silk I did not buy Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Teaching me to try To show up even empty when the empty is a crime And pay the debt in presence if I cannot pay in time [Chopper Burst: triplet bounce, flow switch] Tie from a wedding then the crease then the thrift then the button then the shoes then the basement then the coffee then the book then the name then the fix then the shake that I almost missed on the line Sleeve from a mother then the broke then the nod then the eulogy curb then the calls that I skipped then the dish then the singles then the vow with a fist I design in the time Brother and the car then the yes then the math then the scar then the silk at my throat like a truth I had kissed into spine then the vow I refine in kind Borrowed does not mean fake when the showing up is real and the debt is a person you refuse to leave unmissed or unpaid or behind in the daily grind [Verse 3] After the service I returned the tie in a grocery bag Cousin said keep it you look like you need the drag I hung it on the door where I see it each dawn without fail A black silk reminder of the friend who is gone Money comes slow but the presence I can spend like a check I call his brother Friday like I promised in the end [Final Hook] Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Knot against my throat Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Holding what I owe Friendship is a ledger that does not forgive the late I keep adding lines I should have written on the date Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Silk I did not buy Borrowed tie, borrowed tie Teaching me to try To show up even empty when the empty is a crime And pay the debt in presence if I cannot pay in time [Outro: Rhodes fade, spoken soft] Knot I did not own and a name in the program I keep the tie anyway
