[Intro: shuffle ride, soft harmonica] Pin on my jacket like a promise I still keep Friday stool warm even when the room goes cheap [Verse 1] Mill gates locked on a Monday with a notice and a chain Foreman's voice cracked when he said do not come back again I went home and folded my coveralls like a body in a drawer Told my wife the math would work if we were careful with the store Friday came anyway like a clock that did not get the news I walked into Murphy's with the pin and a pair of worn shoes Bar used to roar with the second shift laughing off the heat Now it is me and the TV and a quiet that feels like defeat [Chorus] Union pin, union pin Holding to my coat Union pin, union pin Catching in my throat I order two beers like the stool beside me still has a name Habit is a kindness when the payroll is a shame Union pin, union pin Silver going dull Union pin, union pin Empty and still full This bar remembers payroll jokes and coffee in a tin I wear the metal so the quiet does not win [Verse 2] Benny moved to Florida with a cousin and a van Rosa took a night job at the hospital and a plan I still get texts that say we should meet up sometime soon Then the thread goes cold like a lunch room after noon Bartender knows my order before I find the words Sets the second glass down like he is feeding the birds I leave it untouched until the foam falls flat and thin Then I drink it slow for the men who will not walk back in [Chorus] Union pin, union pin Holding to my coat Union pin, union pin Catching in my throat I order two beers like the stool beside me still has a name Habit is a kindness when the payroll is a shame Union pin, union pin Silver going dull Union pin, union pin Empty and still full This bar remembers payroll jokes and coffee in a tin I wear the metal so the quiet does not win [Bridge: harmonica soft, voice close] Wife says take the pin off, let the Friday go to sleep I say the pin is how I keep a promise I can keep Work is not a paycheck when the paycheck disappears Work is showing up for ghosts that still deserve your ears [Verse 3] Some nights a stranger asks me what the little metal means I tell him it meant brothers and a floor of shared routines He nods like a man who never punched a clock at dawn I buy his first drink and I talk until the talking is gone [Final Chorus] Union pin, union pin Holding to my coat Union pin, union pin Catching in my throat I order two beers like the stool beside me still has a name Habit is a kindness when the payroll is a shame Union pin, union pin Silver going dull Union pin, union pin Empty and still full This bar remembers payroll jokes and coffee in a tin I wear the metal so the quiet does not win [Outro: shuffle fade, harmonica] Pin on my jacket like a promise I still keep Friday stool warm even when the room goes cheap
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