[Verse 1: powerhouse gospel tenor male singer, half-sung and half-rapped over the Hammond] Six-fifty out the depot with Route Nine up on the sign Hospital's the third stop, and she's standin' there on time Badge flipped backward on her scrubs, a coffee stain across the blue Twelve hours on her feet, and she still climbs on like it's new She pays full fare every mornin', says a wife don't ride for free Takes the first seat on the side so she can watch the road with me We talk inside the mirror, I tell her who got on at five She tells me who she lost last night and who she kept alive And the old man with the cane at Locust tips his hat and lets us be Fourteen stops on a weekday, that's the whole of her and me [Hook: powerhouse gospel tenor, full voice, the drums huge] Fourteen stops from the hospital door I ride the brake like I never did before Every red light, baby, I'm prayin' for Fourteen stops, and I want one more [Verse 2: female MC, rapped hard and clear, her side of the ride] Seven to seven on the cardiac floor, I don't get to sit Twenty beds and nine hearts on a wire, I'm the one who's watchin' it They offered me the day shift in March, then June, then last July Better money, normal sleep, a window and a parkin' spot outside Three times I told 'em no, and my supervisor shook her head Said "You'd rather work the graveyard than sleep normal in your bed?" 'Cause on days I'm home by four, and by eight he's out like a light We'd be two names on a lease that only meet on Sunday night So I pulled out all the stops to keep the fourteen that we got He thinks the night shift picked me, but I picked it for the stop [Hook] Fourteen stops from the hospital door I ride the brake like I never did before Every red light, baby, I'm prayin' for Fourteen stops, and I want one more [Bridge: gospel tenor, the drums down to the kick, the harp running under him] Thirteen gone and one to go, I let the big bus crawl I can see our kitchen window and her plants along the wall [Fermata: the whole band sustains a single long chord while he sings it alone, then the drums crash back in] This is our stop [Verse 3: gospel tenor, rapped with full weight, the band at full power] Last February, nineteen inches, city shut down every school Every route got pulled but mine, the hospital still needed crews Took three hours and ten minutes for the fourteen stops that day Chains on every tire and the wipers keepin' time the whole way She was singin' with the heater, I was laughin' at the plows Best three hours that we had since we stood up and made our vows So let the drivers lay on horns, let dispatch call me on the line I ain't runnin' late for nothin', baby, I'm right on time [Hook] Fourteen stops from the hospital door I ride the brake like I never did before Every red light, baby, I'm prayin' for Fourteen stops, and I want one more [End]
