They Don't Go By Numbers

[Verse 1] First night clocked in at a quarter past ten Steel-toe boots and a borrowed pen Supervisor pointed down the line "Forklift Four will do you fine" Old Joe laughed and shook his head "That's not how things work," he said The whole crew stopped and stared my way Like I'd said something wrong that day [Pre-Chorus] I looked around, confused as could be Seven forklifts parked in receiving three Same yellow paint, same lights, same frame But nobody called them by their names [Chorus] They don't go by numbers in this warehouse town Nobody says "Number Three," they just point around "Betty's mad again" and "Pete's freaking out" And everybody somehow knows what they're talking about They don't go by numbers, haven't for years The names spread around through jokes and gears Seven forklifts lined up plain as can be But they all seemed different to me [Verse 2] Joe walked over and pointed them out Like introducing friends without a doubt "That's Bitchy Betty over there by the wall She'll judge every pallet, every turn, every call Complaint Carl's the one by the dock Nothing's ever right around that block Panic Pete thinks the world's on fire Every little bump sends him higher" The crew all nodded like this was fact I wondered if everyone here had cracked [Chorus] They don't go by numbers in this warehouse town Nobody says "Number Three," they just point around "Betty's mad again" and "Pete's freaking out" And everybody somehow knows what they're talking about They don't go by numbers, haven't for years The names spread around through jokes and gears Seven forklifts lined up plain as can be But they all seemed different to me [Verse 3] "Whiny Wendy hates the morning cold Grumpy Gus just hates getting old Paranoid Paul thinks every rack will fall Happy Hank's the favorite of all" I laughed and said, "They're forklifts, right?" The break room got unusually quiet Joe looked at me and sipped his coffee slow Like there was something I didn't know [Bridge] The supervisor handed me keys and said "Take Wendy." My confidence instantly fled. A long hydraulic squeal echoed through the air And every worker suddenly looked over there One guy whispered, [Spoken] "Yep. That's Wendy." [Final Chorus] They don't go by numbers in this warehouse town The decals faded but the names stuck around Seven forklifts waiting underneath the lights Like they'd been there every night They don't go by numbers, that's all I'll say You'll learn who's who before too many days I climbed aboard and heard a groaning plea [Spoken] "Oh no..." The forklift squealed. [Spoken] "You're Whiny Wendy, aren't you?" [Outro] The engine started. The forks rose slow. Somewhere across the warehouse floor, a different forklift let out three sharp beeps. Old Joe looked up. [Spoken] "Sounds like Betty's in a mood tonight." And for the first time... I wasn't completely sure they were joking.