[Intro: organ alone, then brushes and walking organ bass] [Verse 1: daughter, younger voice] They put my name up on the glass on the forty first floor Silver letters, Associate, I never had a door before I work till twenty to ten, every lamp but mine goes dark And the rule up here's a clean desk, not a paper, not a mark So I lock up every folder, I don't leave a single sheet Then I fold a little letter, and I drop it at my feet [Chorus: daughter, mother answers] Clean desk (clean desk) Like the policy says Clean desk (clean desk) Not a paper left But I fold you one small letter And I drop it in the bin 'Cause I'm gone at twenty to ten, Mama And at ten you're coming in [Verse 2: mother, warm alto] Twenty six years on this floor, ten at night to six I emptied every basket for the men on the partner list I knew them by their coffee cups, I knew them by their ties Not a one of them knew my name, not once in all that time Now there's one who writes me Mama on a paper folded small Says, the soup in the fridge is yours, let the young men haul the bins down the hall And I write back, eat something green, sit up straight, I'm proud, amen And I leave it on her keyboard where the morning sun comes in [Chorus: mother, daughter answers] Clean desk (clean desk) Every night the same Clean desk (clean desk) And the glass with her name So I leave her one small letter Where the keyboard meets the light 'Cause she's gone at twenty to ten, Lord And at ten I start my night [Bridge: drums drop to brushes and organ, mother] Then one Thursday all the partners kept the big room lit till late And I rolled my cart up to the door, and one said, come back, it can wait And my baby put her pen down, and she stood up from her chair [Spoken: daughter] No. That's my mother. She's been on this floor longer than any of us. Come in, Mama. [Verse 3: both voices, trading lines] So the partners filed out quiet, and a few said, evening, ma'am And she took the other bottle and the rag out of my hand And we did the floor together, every office, every hall And I showed her how you do the corners, and she missed them all And at two we ate the soup up by the window, forty one And the city lit below us like a desk that's never done [Final Chorus: both] Clean desk (clean desk) Like the policy says Clean desk (clean desk) There is nothing left But I didn't fold a letter Didn't drop one in the bin 'Cause tonight I didn't leave at twenty to ten, Mama I was waiting when you came in [Outro: organ alone, spoken mother, laughing] Now lift your feet, baby. I'm doing under there.
