[Intro: pounding piano and drums] Fourteen years with his name on my loan Fourteen years in a house he called home [Verse 1] He left on a Tuesday with the good suitcase Left me the dog and the mortgage and the debt in my name Every bill in the mailbox had his signature in black Every card in the drawer had a balance, no way back Took a second job slinging plates at the diner on Main Third job doing books for the mechanic on the lane Kids asleep at midnight with the calculator lit I wrote it on the fridge, and I started chipping it [Chorus] I owe the bank for the car he crashed I owe the card for a ring he sold I owe the landlord for the months he skipped I owe my sister for the lawyer's bill And I'm paying it down, I'm paying it down [Verse 2] Sold the dining table and the boat that never ran Sold his golf clubs on the lawn to a dentist with a van Bank man shook my hand and said, ma'am, the car is clear Rolled the windows down and drove it singing for a year Wrote the number on the fridge, and I crossed it out in red Kids drew a little sun in the corner, and they said Mama, what's the next one? I said, honey, pass the pen And I wrote the card down, and I started over again [Chorus] I owe the card for a ring he sold I owe the landlord for the months he skipped I owe my sister for the lawyer's bill And I'm paying it down, I'm paying it down [Verse 3] Ring paid off in the spring, and the landlord by the fall Every cross on the fridge made the kitchen feel tall Sister on the phone says, you don't owe me a dime I owe you more than money, but I'm paying you on time Final check on a Thursday, and I hand it to the clerk She stamps it paid in full, and I start to cry at work Walked out of the bank, and the sky was wide and blue Didn't owe a living soul a single thing but you [Chorus] I owe my sister for the lawyer's bill And I'm paying it down, I'm paying it down [Bridge: piano and the big drums] Nothing on the fridge but a crayon sun Nothing in the drawer but the kids' birthday fund Never knew that nothing weighed so light Never knew that zero felt this right [Final Chorus: the strings come in with the full band] Zero balance, and I'm steady on my feet [Outro: the first line of the song returns with one word changed] Fourteen years with his name on my loan Fourteen years, and the name is my own Zero balance, and the house is my home [End]
