Intro
Dellmore Avenue, Yusuf's window humming light
Fourteen carats glowing dull through Tuesday night
Buzzer cracks like knuckles when the door pulls wide
Every ticket in that drawer's got somebody's pride
Verse 1
My father's watch went in there, oh-six, early spring
Rent was due, the fridge was bare, I needed everything
Yusuf weighed it on the scale, said forty for the band
Took the cash and left it warm still ticking in his hand
Told myself I'd get it back before the month was out
Told myself a lot of things I wasn't sure about
Ms. Odalys ran a tab, said take your time, it's fine
Said your daddy shoveled snow off her stoop back in oh-nine
Ninety days, the ticket burned a hole in my back pocket
Interest climbing like the fire escape, gotta stop it
Picked up shifts at Palmer's lot, wiping down the chrome
Every dollar folded twice, walking three miles home
Kept the ticket folded soft, the corners going gray
Some nights I'd stand outside the glass and stare into the display
Watch was sitting next to rings that other hands let go
Whole block's history stacked behind that pawn shop glow
Chorus
Pawn Shop Halo, gold under glass
Everything we hocked to make the month last
Pawn Shop Halo, ticket in my coat
Some things you buy back, some things you let go
Verse 2
My man Odie pawned his amp the week his son was born
Said the crib mattered more than the sound he used to warm
I copped him studio time anyway, free of charge
Told him music don't stop just cause the wallet's large
He looked at me like I owed him something running deep
Like the favor came with interest I was tryna keep
Two months later my car got towed off Dellmore Square
He pulled up quiet, no words, paid
