[Verse 1: Eighties AOR male lead, high and clean over the gated drums] I was the backup goalie in a borrowed pair of pads Understudy in the school play, second best of all the lads Got the job because the first guy didn't show Got the girl because the first guy let her go Spent my whole life waiting by the door with my coat Like a tire in the trunk on the shoulder of the road Then I read about a list a hundred thousand long And I thought, I got a spare, and for once I'm not wrong [Chorus: Eighties AOR male lead, full band] I was the spare, I was second in line Keeping it warm on the bench every time Now there's a heartbeat a stranger can keep I was the spare, now I'm the part you need [Verse 2: Eighties AOR male lead, the guitars chiming wider] Seven tubes of blood and a doctor with a chart Said "You're healthy as a horse with a pretty stubborn heart" Then they called me on a Tuesday, said "We found you a match Bus driver in Missouri, and the clock is running fast" Three years on a machine every other afternoon Still drove the morning route and still sang the kids a tune I said "Put me in, coach," like I always wanted to For the first time in my life I'm the starter, not the crew [Bridge: Eighties AOR male lead, monitor beep, the kick follows the hospital monitor, uneven, then steady] Count backward from ten with the mask on my face Somewhere down the hallway she is waiting in her place Beep, and a skip, and a beep, and a breath Beep, beep, beep, and it's steady, and it's yes [Chorus: Eighties AOR male lead, full band] I was the spare, I was second in line Keeping it warm on the bench every time Now there's a heartbeat a stranger can keep I was the spare, now I'm the part you need [Verse 3: Eighties AOR male lead, the gated drums enormous] Woke up with a scar and a card upon the tray Shaky little letters saying "Thank you, see you someday" Six weeks later there's a bus outside my house Driver leaning on the horn and the whole route shouting out Kids pressed on the windows with a banner made of sheets Saying "Number one" in marker, hanging down across the seats Spent my whole life as the backup, as the second, as the spare Turns out all along I was the part that's needed there [Final Chorus: Eighties AOR male lead, high clean AOR tenor at full height] I was the spare, I was second in line Keeping it warm on the bench every time Now there's a heartbeat a stranger can keep I was the spare, now I'm the part you need [End]
