[Intro] (Ugh) (Yeah) Here we go again... [Verse 1] Phone pressed to my ear, I can hear the quiet sobs Another fight, another night where he ain't do his job So you dial my number, hopin' I can pick the locks On the feelings he ignores, I'm just a toolbox, see? You need a wrench to fix the plumbing that your man broke I'm the emotional handyman, a shoulder you can soak But the leak is in your house, so tell me, what's the use? I patch you up, you go right back to his abuse, it's a loop And I'm caught inside it, you ask me for advice and I wanna tell the truth, but I know you're not enlightened Enough to wanna leave, you just need a brief reprieve A little validation you can wear right on your sleeve My own foundation's weak, got cracks in the plaster I'm trying to rebuild from my own damn disaster But you don't ever ask, you just take what I can give Then you wonder why a guy like me is scared to live And you ask me why I'm single... when the answer's simple. [Chorus] I'm the late-night repair guy, the emotional spare tire You only ever call me when your world is on fire I build you up with words he's never learned how to speak Then you're gone by the morning, promise that you'll keep in touch But I know it's a lie 'cause you got what you came for Just a temporary fix to cover up the pain, or Maybe I'm the one who lets you feel like you're adored But I'm never the choice, I'm just the placeholder [Verse 2] I listen to you list the ways that he's neglectin' you It's funny, you're neglectin' the fact I'm a person too You paint him as the villain, you're the damsel in distress But you're the one who stays and cleans up his entire mess The listening ear, the deep connection, the shoulder Then it's back to the man who just treats you colder You use my empathy against me, it's a weapon, I get it My trauma made me a fixer, a fact I'm beginnin' to dread, it's A pattern of behavior, a symptom of the sickness I'm sortin' through my wreckage, bearing my own witness To all the damage done, tryna figure out the "why" While you use my recovery as your emotional supply Like a pharmacist, dispensing all the things you lack And you never stop to think what kind of toll it might exact On the person on the other end, who's also incomplete You want a full-course meal, but only offer trick-or-treats And the irony is killing me, the question I always get "How are you still alone?" while I'm drowning in regret. [Chorus] I'm the late-night repair guy, the emotional spare tire You only ever call me when your world is on fire I build you up with words he's never learned how to speak Then you're gone by the morning, promise that you'll keep in touch But I know it's a lie 'cause you got what you came for Just a temporary fix to cover up the pain, or Maybe I'm the one who lets you feel like you're adored But I'm never the choice, I'm just the placeholder [Bridge] And what about me? You ever think to stop and ask that? Or am I just a soundin' board for everything your life has lacked? You want the benefits of my healing without the scars You want the open heart without showing me who you are Behind the panicked phone calls and the tears that always fall Yeah, I wanna feel connection, I wanna give my all But not like this, not as the second-string, the backup plan I know I'm not ready, I know I'm a broken man But that doesn't mean I'm your facility for rehabilitation I'm a person, not your project, not your free-trial relation So why do I pick up? Why do I always let you in? Guess the part of me that wants to heal sees where you could begin And I hate it. [Outro] Let it ring... Just... let it ring.
