Verse 1 Concrete walls and the smell of pellets That's where I began Fluorescent light on standing water Before I knew what I am They counted us and sorted us And took something away Said it wouldn't matter Said I'd never feel it anyway Verse 2 They opened the gate in early April Released us to the river The cold hit different than I expected Made my whole spine shiver Other fish moved like they knew something Read the current like a word I just followed, tried to look natural Tried to belong to the herd Chorus But I'm clipped I'm clipped You can see it when I turn in the light That small space where I'm not quite right I'm clipped Always clipped I came from somewhere that doesn't count I can't tell you what my life's about Just clipped Verse 3 Made it to the ocean somehow Three years of open water Learned to hunt, learned to navigate Learned to outrun the slaughter But some office keeps my number Knows exactly what I am When they pull me from the river They already understand Chorus That I'm clipped I'm clipped You can see it when I turn in the light That small space where I'm not quite right I'm clipped Always clipped I came from somewhere that doesn't count Can't tell you what my life's about Just clipped Bridge (near silence, single guitar) I made the same journey I felt the same pull I bled the same current I fought the same falls Tell me what the difference is Between his life and mine He was born in the river I was born on the line (guitar solo — melodic, searching, unresolved) Final Chorus (full band, held back just enough) Still clipped Still clipped I swam every mile that he swam I just can't prove that I'm not what I am Still clipped Always clipped I made it upstream, I made it home I built my redd out of blood and bone But I'm clipped (Outro: bass alone, then silence)
