[Verse 1] Five men punched in at dawn Same lunch pail, same rusted door Same bad coffee, same old jokes For fifty years, then fifty more Bill in blue, Ray in tan Otis cursed the winter rain Mack kept count, Joe kept peace Five chairs deep in the breakroom chain [Pre-Chorus] They knew each laugh, each scar Each birthday and each bruise Back when they were all young sons They swore they'd never lose [Chorus] Five chairs deep Five men long One hard line And the whole world gone Five chairs deep We held on Till the boy got caught And the father fell down [Verse 2] It started small, then grew teeth Missing cash and busted locks Tools gone home in laundry sacks Painkiller bottles, empty slots The father lied, then begged, then swore “It’s just a phase, he’s under heat” But the son kept taking more Left their hard-earned lives half-eaten [Pre-Chorus] They watched the old man fold Watched his hands shake in the hall When the son came back for blood The five stood up for all [Chorus] Five chairs deep Five men long One hard line And the whole world gone Five chairs deep We held on Till the boy got caught And the father fell down [Bridge] They told that son, “Pack your bags” On a rainy Friday night No more keys, no more runs No more wrecking what ain’t right The father stared at the floor Like the floor might tell him why But the door shut hard behind them And something in him died [Chorus] Five chairs deep Five men long One hard line And the whole world gone Five chairs deep We held on Till the boy got caught And the father fell down [Outro] Now the plant is quiet And the breakroom's half as bright Four old men and one empty chair Still showing up on time
