[Sparsely picked acoustic guitar intro, slow rhythmic thumb-thump] [Verse 1] The battery’s at four percent, the screen is cracked and gray Sixty seconds on the clock before it fades away The dial tone is heavy, like a stone inside my hand Looking for a savior or a place to make a stand I’m scrolling through the graveyard of the bridges that I burned The numbers of the women and the backs that I have turned Wondering if twenty years of venom and of spite Could be washed away on shoulder of the highway tonight [Chorus] [Vocal intensifies slightly] If you had one last phone call, tell me who you’d dial? Who would you beg for a minute of their smile? Who’s gonna hear your shaky voice before the line goes dead? What’s the one burning thing that you ain't never said? Oh, but pray you find a better grace before your time is through Where the phone stays on the table… ’Cause there’s nothing left to do [Verse 2] [Steady rhythmic acoustic guitar] They say a dying man will claw to fix the things he broke To sweep away all the lies and the bitter words he spoke To tell his brother that he’s sorry for the money and the pride And yell into a piece of plastic everything he hid inside But that’s a heavy kind of panic, that’s a bitter way to leave Scrambling for a witness while you’re choking on your sleeve Trying to pack a lifetime in a desperate, final breath Trading sixty seconds for a temporary death [Chorus] If you had one last phone call, tell me who you’d dial? Who would you beg for a minute of their smile? Who’s gonna hear your shaky voice before the line goes dead? What’s the one burning thing that you ain't never said? Oh, but pray you find a better grace before your time is through Where the phone stays on the table… ’Cause there’s nothing left to do [Bridge] [Guitar strumming grows slightly harder, more urgent] But there’s a quiet kind of holy that comes with a clean slate Where you don't have to bargain with the hour or the date You don't need to call your babies ’cause they know just where they stand And the woman sleeping next to you is holding your hand You don't need to call an old ghost just to ask him to forgive You already dug that grave and let the living learn to live [Guitar Solo] [Sparse, mournful acoustic guitar solo, notes ring out] [Verse 3 / Breakdown] [Vocal drops to a quiet, conversational whisper] [Guitar stops strumming, single slow low-string thump] If you had one last phone call… you wouldn't dial a soul You wouldn't need a stranger’s voice to make the story whole No shaky words to whisper before the line goes dead No jagged, broken pieces left rattling in your head [Acoustic guitar fades out completely] You just watch the red light flicker till the screen goes dark and blue And you leave it on the table… ’Cause there’s nothing left to do [Outro] [Spoken word, very quiet] Just a clean ledger. No debts to pay. No smoke left from the fire. [End]
