[Verse 1] The sign said closed at dusk and dusk had already won The gate was a joke with a chain that did not mean it You looked both ways like a girl who had done this once Then you ducked the rail and the trees took us in Rows of them, crooked, half-picked, a little mean Fruit on the ground going soft in the cold You said if nobody is looking then nobody gets mean I said that is not how owning works You said watch me anyway [Pre-Chorus] We did not bring money We did not bring a bag We brought a bad idea And a season on our backs [Chorus] The orchard we never paid for Still puts fruit in my hands Every time I try to be decent I come back to that land The orchard we never paid for Was the first honest theft You took a month that was closing And you left me what was left [Verse 2] You climbed the low one like you had a right to the height I stood under you with my hands out like a net You dropped a good one and it hit my palm too hard and too ripe Split the skin, wet the wrist, made a mark I would not forget We ate standing up like the trees might tell Juice down your chin, laugh in your throat You said this is the part they cannot sell The part that does not fit On a postcard or a quote [Pre-Chorus] We did not bring money We did not bring a plan We brought our mouths and the early dark And the nerve of two people who can [Chorus] The orchard we never paid for Still puts fruit in my hands Every time I try to be decent I come back to that land The orchard we never paid for Was the first honest theft You took a month that was closing And you left me what was left [Verse 3] A truck rolled the far road and we both went still You put a finger to my mouth like I was the loud one Headlights licked the trunks and then they climbed the hill And we were just two shapes the rows decided to keep After that you got quiet in a way I still replay Not scared, just full, like the taking had a cost You wiped your hands on your jeans and you would not say If we were lucky Or if we were lost [Bridge] I have paid for dinners I have paid for rooms I have paid for years that did not taste like that Nobody sent a bill for the hour in those trees So I keep paying it In the way I cannot go back And the way I cannot stop Going back [Breakdown] Closed sign Open gate Your mouth My name Take it Take it We already did [Chorus] The orchard we never paid for Still puts fruit in my hands Every time I try to be decent I come back to that land The orchard we never paid for Was the first honest theft You took a month that was closing And you left me what was left [Final Chorus] The orchard we never paid for If you tell it, leave the theft Do not make us noble We knew what we did and we left The orchard we never paid for Is still growing in my chest I would rob that month again And I would not call it less [Outro] Gate shut Trees keep I still owe A season I still walk Those rows With empty hands And a full mouth
