Intro
Radiator clanking in the corner of the room
Cold on the knuckles till the daylight starts to bloom
(steady)
(heat)
Verse
Winter on my collar, kept the windows down at eighty
Drove across the river just to tell myself I'm waking
Copper in the mouth from clenching molars every evening
Counting telephone poles just to regulate the breathing (breathing)
Used to treat my pulse like a tenant that was late
Put the deadbolt on the door and let the notices accumulate
Cardboard coffee sleeve burning straight into the thumb
First time in eleven months that I wasn't feeling numb (numb)
Frost on the wipers leaving tracks like little veins
Heater core rattling against the early rain
Took the heavy leather off and threw it on the floor
Never knew how much my ribs were leaning on that door
Felt the floorboards hum through the rubber of the soles
Patching up the drywall, patching up the holes
Blood moving heavy, taking corners in the chest
Learning what it feels like when you finally let it rest (rest)
Chorus
Cold iron radiator clinking by the wall
Took a couple winters just to let the shadow fall
Now the pulse is heavy and the floor is under me
Skin remembers the heat
Skin remembers the heat (heat)
Verse
Two-dollar lighter, spark is catching on the wick
Used to move so fast the minutes never seemed to stick (stick)
Now I'm standing barefoot on linoleum squares
Hearing grease pop, taking inventory on the stairs
No armor on the collar, no static on the tongue
Surviving was a reflex, living is a lung (lung)
Filled up with oxygen that tastes like asphalt rain
Old baseline rumbling underneath the freight train
Had my shoulders tucked in tight against the blowing grit
Scared of every ember in the pocket where it lit
Now the sunburn sits across the bridge of my nose
Water from the faucet finally thawing out the hose
Tracing every mark like a map along the wrist
Not to count the damage, just to know that I exist (exist)
Seasons shift their weight on the corner of the block
Hands off the emergency, rhythm in the clock
Chorus
Cold iron radiator clinking by the wall
Took a couple winters just to let the shadow fall
Now the pulse is heavy and the floor is under me
Skin remembers the heat
Skin remembers the heat (heat)
Bridge
Freezing was safe because nothing could hurt
Now the midday pavement is steaming in the dirt
Scared of the flame whenever it starts
Afraid of the kickback, the rush in the parts
That I buried so deep in the salt of the frost
Counting what's breathing instead of what's lost (lost)
Outro
Bare arm out the window on the gravel road
Engine running quiet under all that heavy load
(steady)
Let it idle slow
Skin remembers the heat (heat)
