[Verse 1: Piano-rock male lead, pounding piano chords, crashing rock drums, full voice] Ray in 4B kicks the mailbox when it sticks Ray in 4B throws a chair at little things Mothers pull their kids in when he stomps across the lot Every street has got a man like that, and he's the one we got But the first week of July he's in a truck at dawn Comin' back with crates of thunder piled up on the lawn Paid it out of pocket, never asked a soul for one Never says a word about it, just says wait for the sun [Pre-Hook: Piano-rock male lead, ringing guitars, voice climbing] And when the dark comes down on the block He's got a lighter and a plan and a clock [Hook: Piano-rock male lead, belted, full band, piano-rock anthem] Short fuse, stand back, now light it and run Whole block on the curb and the night just begun Man who never waited for a single thing Waits on every spark until the whole sky sings [Verse 2: Piano-rock male lead, pounding piano chords, punchy bass guitar, full voice] He kneels down by the curb like he's kneeling for a prayer Checks the wind and checks the kids and checks the open air Ten seconds on a fuse feels like a year to him You can see it in his jaw, the old fire on the rim But he holds it, and he holds it, till the gold goes up the line And the whole block makes a sound like it lost track of the time Kids on shoulders, grandmas out in plastic chairs And the man nobody likes is the man that put it there [Hook: Piano-rock male lead, belted, full band, piano-rock anthem] Short fuse, stand back, now light it and run Whole block on the curb and the night just begun Man who never waited for a single thing Waits on every spark until the whole sky sings [Bridge: Piano-rock male lead, piano and voice, building] Then he sees the boy from 2C kickin' at the fence Fists all balled and burnin' and it doesn't make sense Ray walks over slow and hands the lighter down Says your fuse is short like mine, so let me show you how Light it, kid, and stand back, light it and look up And the boy lights the last one, and the whole sky blooms [Final Hook: Piano-rock male lead, mortar thumps, four low tom hits like mortars launching, then belted, full band, piano-rock anthem] Short fuse, stand back, now light it and run Whole block on the curb and the night just begun Man who never waited for a single thing Waits on every spark until the whole sky sings [End]
