[Verse 1]
Walked out through the razor wire gate
Plastic bag with his papers and a paperback
Sun felt wrong on his skin
Like a stranger trying to shake his hand back
Twenty years of metal doors
Clanging in his head like church bells
He could still smell the bleach on the floors
But he’d learned every page they said he’d never spell
[Chorus]
Now he’s got a shovel and a suit in the backseat
Work boots muddy
Diploma on the wall
Picking up after dogs in the rich part of town
Whistling like he never took a fall
He keeps on walking past the part they wrote him off
Heart like a freight train coming through
He says
“I ain’t who I was
But I’m the only one I answer to”
[Verse 2]
Night school in a folding chair
Coffee from a pot that always burned
Professor called his name wrong
He just laughed and underlined each word
Wrote essays in the laundromat
Over hum and rattle
Spin and rinse
Every load another page
Every stain a sentence he convinced
[Chorus]
Now he’s got a shovel and a suit in the backseat
Work boots muddy
Diploma on the wall
Picking up after dogs in the rich part of town
Whistling like he never took a fall
He keeps on walking past the part they wrote him off
Heart like a freight train coming through
He says
“I ain’t who I was
But I’m the only one I answer to”
[Verse 3]
Shipyard dawn
Breath turned to steam
Rust and salt stuck under his nails
Chain hoists singing out of key
Back and shoulders telling old tales
Met her over paper cups of soup
Both of them too tired to pretend
She asked about the ink on his hands
He said
“That’s just a map of where I’ve been”
[Bridge]
They got a little house near the freeway bend
Paint peeling where the roses climb
He still wakes up when a truck rolls past
Thinking it’s count time
Count time
But there’s her breath on his shoulder
Groceries on the passenger seat
Two rings on the windowsill
Drying in the summer heat (oh)
[Chorus]
Now he’s got a shovel and a suit in the backseat
Lunch pail rattling
Kid’s drawings on the fridge
He walks past the river where the ships lean out
Like they’re bowing as they slip under the bridge
He keeps on walking past the part they wrote him off
Heart like a freight train coming through
He says
“I ain’t who I was
But I’m the only one I answer to”
[Outro]
Keys on a hook by the kitchen door
Steel-toes lined up neat in a row
He kisses her cheek
Kills the porch light
Says
“Tomorrow I get to go”
Not “have to”
“I get to go”