[INTRO — instrumental, stomping upright bass, tense drums] [HOOK — cracked, half-yelled] Clock out, clock out (my name) Twenty-two years and I finally came To the door — with my voice — with my spine intact Clock out, clock out (my name) You can't take the work and not give it back (clock out) [VERSE 1 — agitated, tight] Twenty-two years of yes sir, sure thing, right away (right away) Twenty-two years of lunch at my desk like a stray Boss calls me buddy when he needs a Saturday Calls me by my last name when there's hell to pay Today he moved my project to the new kid's lap Two years of my work with a smile and a slap On the back — good job training him, buddy — and Something in my chest stood up where I sat I rehearsed it in the mirror every night this week Not a scream, not a scene — just a man who can speak I practiced at red lights, practiced in the shower And today at four-fifty-five came the hour I knocked on his doorframe — steady as a metronome Said: we need to talk about whose work went home [VERSE 2 — whisper cracking up to yell] My hands did the shake but my voice did the stand Told him every part I built with these two hands Told him the hours, told him the weekends missed The recitals, the games — there's a long, long list He did the chuckle — the one that means careful I said: I am being careful — twenty-two years of prayerful Silence — that's done — either the credit comes home Or my two weeks lands on your desk tomorrow, alone And he looked at me — really looked — maybe first time And something in the room rearranged on a dime He said: sit down — and I didn't — standing was the point And the credit came back with a raise — check the joint Account on Friday — I don't celebrate loud I just called my wife from the parking lot, proud Said: I said it — she said: I know, I heard you rehearsing Through the shower wall all week — the reversing Of twenty-two years of quiet — baby, it works [BRIDGE — bass only, voice bare] They teach you that the quiet man is safe They don't teach you what the quiet costs It costs a little of your name every year Till you knock on a doorframe and take it back [HOOK — cracked, half-yelled] Clock out, clock out (my name) Twenty-two years and I finally came To the door — with my voice — with my spine intact Clock out, clock out (my name) You can't take the work and not give it back (clock out) [OUTRO — sax note fades over brushes] (clock out...) Five P.M. exactly First time in years
