[Intro: nylon guitar, soft brushes] Five dollar card and a payphone on Ferry Street Thirty eight minutes and the wind around my feet [Verse 1] Sunday after Mass I take the corner by the bread Dial the long numbers that I carry in my head Zero one one, five five, and then the silver code A lady in two languages says hold, please hold Then your voice comes through the ocean small and slow and bright Asking am I eating, asking do I sleep at night [Verse 2] I learned to talk in a hurry and to listen soft and long Tell you all the good news first and never what went wrong You tell me that the mango tree is heavy by the wall The dog still sleeps on my old shoes at the end of the hall I laugh into the receiver so you hear me doing fine And the snow on Ferry Street can stay a secret on the line [Refrain] Phone card, phone card, thin as a prayer Silver on my fingers and your laughter in the air Thirty eight minutes and an ocean on the line I give you all the sunshine and I keep the winter mine [Verse 3] I never say the night shift or the landlord or the rent I say I bought a coat, Vo, I say it's money well spent You say the church got painted and the bus fare went up again You say you pray for me at six and I say I know, and then [Interlude: spoken, soft] You have one minute remaining [Bridge] One minute left and all the words begin to race Beijo, Vo, beijo, I can almost see your face Then the dial tone hums like a door that someone shut And I hold the dead receiver till my fingers lose their touch [Refrain] Phone card, phone card, thin as a prayer Silver on my fingers and your laughter in the air Thirty eight minutes and an ocean on the line I give you all the sunshine and I keep the winter mine [Guitar Solo: nylon, soft, eight bars] [Verse 4: hushed] That April Tia called and I could hear it in her breath I flew home to the mango tree and my shoes beside the bed There's a card inside my wallet that I never threw away Four minutes left the Sunday I hung up to catch the eight Sometimes I dial the numbers just to hear the lady say You have four minutes remaining, and I talk to you anyway [Final Refrain] Phone card, phone card, thin as a prayer Silver on my fingers and your laughter in the air Four little minutes and an ocean on the line I give you all the sunshine, Vo, I keep the winter mine [Outro: nylon guitar fade] Five dollar card and a payphone on Ferry Street Four little minutes and I spend them slow and sweet
