[Intro] (Dragging boot stomp, heavy muted acoustic pulse in Drop D, weeping metallic slide scrape) (Low spoken baritone) I pay the mortgage. I buy the food. I wash the pans, I sweep the floor, and I take out the trash. So let me ask one honest question... [Verse 1] Woke up at five to an unmade sink, Coffee pot crusted, couldn't pour a drink. I scrubbed the skillet from your midnight snack, Put ice on my knees and heat on my back. Worked ten hours in the sleet and the wind, Cashed that check just to watch it run thin. Walked back through the front door shivering cold— Piles of coats right where you let 'em fold. Nobody’s mess, nobody’s stain, Just me on my knees scrubbing down the drain. [Pre-Chorus] Y'all lay on the couch talking 'bout being tired, While I’m the only wire that hasn't backfired. If I’m the mule, the maid, and the man who pays the score... Somebody tell me: [Chorus] (Hook) What the hell do I need y’all for? If I gotta mop every foot of this floor, Work through a fever, never call in sick, Tap this plastic for your every trick. I buy the bread, I cook the meat, I sweep the gravel off of your feet! If I gotta pull the plow and drag the cart to shore— Tell me straight... what do I need y’all for? [Verse 2] Three cars parked in the dead-grass drive, None of 'em washed, but they’re all alive. I change your oil, change your wiper blades, Fill up the tanks while you pull the shades. Y'all got headaches, y'all need space, Leaving empty cartons all over the place. I do the grocery haul sixty pounds deep, Haul it all inside while you’re dead asleep. I patch the drywall, I fix the leak, And swallow back the poison every time I speak. [Pre-Chorus] You think of me as an iron door, An endless drawer with a secret floor. If I'm keeping the lights on and keeping the peace, And cleaning up all of your dirty grease... [Chorus] What the hell do I need y’all for? If I gotta mop every foot of this floor, Work through a fever, never call in sick, Tap this plastic for your every trick. I buy the bread, I cook the meat, I sweep the gravel off of your feet! If I gotta pull the plow and drag the cart to shore— Tell me straight... what do I need y’all for? [Bridge] (Rhythm drops down to a stark kick drum pulse; raw acoustic strum) Company’s nice when the load gets shared, Love feels good when somebody cared. Company’s cheap when it’s living on your dime, Taking your health and stealing your time. I’d have three times the money, half of the grief, A quiet dark room and some sweet relief. I don't need a shadow watching me bleed— If I'm doing the things that a grown man need! [Guitar Solo] (Screaming, nasty slide resonator solo, low notes rattling the fretboard over a driving train beat) [Final Chorus] (Full throttle, venomous rasp, crushing snare thumps) So what the hell do I need y’all for?! I’m sick of carrying dead weight through that door! I take no sick days, I get no rest, Living like a stranger in a hoarder's nest! I cut the timber, I pay the bill, I clean the mess on the windowsill! If I’m doing the work and taking the chore— Look me in the eye... What do I need y’all for? [Outro] (Tempo slows down to a stark, single acoustic ring) Kitchen’s clean. Trash is out. Tank is full. Wallet’s empty. (Low chuckle) Yeah... I’m doing the math. And y’all don't add up. (Final heavy boot stomp on raw wood; slide scrapes to silence)
