The Ghost Who Pays the Rent

[Verse 1] She moves like static through the floorboards, Whispers hum through rusted wire. Carved her name in nailhead scars, Her hurt in bulbs that won’t catch fire. The whiskey bottle’s still half-empty, Frost won’t thaw on windowpanes. I sell warmth by the hour, But her name won’t leave my veins. [Chorus] North was hope, South was sin— East, the truths I choked within. West was where the rent got spent On ghosts who never seek permission. She don’t haunt—she collects. Every echo’s a debt. I keep livin’ in the wreck, Like I owe her the rest. [Verse 2] Gavel-cracks in midnight thunder, Courtroom etched in kitchen stone. Pled guilty to her memory, While time served sentence on its own. Her grip’s in secondhand sweaters, Dust-scratched runes on broken glass. The mirror holds her shadow’s verdict, Laughing at the man I was. [Chorus] North was hope, South was sin— East, the truths I choked within. West was where her chains were sent On ghosts who never seek permission. She don’t haunt—she collects. Every echo’s a debt. I keep livin’ in the wreck, Like I owe her the rest. [Bridge] She ain’t memory—she’s muscle, She’s the pulse in blackened wire. Not a ghost, but a landlord, Leasing love I can’t retire. [Outro] When I die, don’t close the shutters, Leave the lease and let it burn. She’ll return to check the meter, When the ashes start to churn. And the debt’s still hers to turn.