Wednesday Don't Let Go

[Verse 1] He woke up Wednesday With a mouth full of nails Rain in the kitchen Mud on the rails His coffee tasted Like a fistful of dirt His mirror said nothing But the mirror looked hurt He kicked at the calendar Tore out the square Tuesday was dying Thursday wasn't there The sun hung crooked Like a busted streetlight He said, "If this is living Then living ain't right" [Chorus] Wednesday's got me by the throat Wednesday's got me by the throat Monday made a promise Friday's coming home But Wednesday don't go nowhere Wednesday don't let go Wednesday's got me by the throat [Verse 2] He wore his Sunday jacket To a Tuesday funeral Black shoes shining For nobody at all He bought a red balloon And fed it to the rain Watched it rise laughing Then watched it fall again He said, "Give me my childhood I'll pay what it costs." The butcher said, "Buddy, Everything's already lost." So he followed a shadow Down a dead-end street Where the houses leaned forward To smell his defeat [Chorus] Wednesday's got me by the throat Wednesday's got me by the throat Monday made a promise Friday's coming home But Wednesday don't go nowhere Wednesday don't let go Wednesday's got me by the throat [Verse 3] At midnight he found it— A carnival light Burning in daylight Burning at night No tent. No music. Just a red little glow. Something behind it Was whispering, "Go." He reached for the curtain But stopped at the seam Because behind the canvas He saw seventeen Seventeen summers Seventeen skies Seventeen versions Of his own eyes [Bridge — stripped down, bass and distorted guitar] He could have been younger He could have been thin He could have been handsome He could start again He could have his first kiss He could have his first fight He could have the whole world For one Wednesday night [Whisper] One Wednesday night. [Full band erupts] [Verse 4] He tore through the canvas He fell through the dark Came out with a heartbeat That wasn't his heart His hands were still shaking His hair had gone white But somewhere inside him Something was seventeen tonight He laughed like a child He cried like a thief He danced with the shadows And called it relief Then somebody whispered— "Do you want to be free?" He said— "Free from Wednesday?" [Pause] "No. Free from me." [Final Chorus — increasingly ragged] Wednesday's got me by the throat Wednesday's got me by the throat Monday made a promise Friday's coming home But Wednesday don't go nowhere Wednesday don't let go Wednesday's got me— [Band drops] By the throat. [Outro — distant children's voices] Wednesday... Wednesday... Wednesday... [Male storyteller, quietly] And that's when the calendar Started turning by itself.