Intro
Tap water running lukewarm on the tile
Count it back now
(back)
Verse 1
Steering wheel foam worn thin at nine and three
White-knuckle habits from an older century
Frost on the windshield biting through the vents
Spent four whole winters calculating rent
Just surviving in the shoulder of the highway lane
Counting down the exit signs through frozen rain (rain)
Had my jaw locked tight like a rusted hinge
Breathing through the static on the outer fringe
Coffee went cold before the steam could rise
Heavy coat zipped straight up to my eyes (eyes)
Numb to the touch, didn’t register the ache
Waiting for a fault line or a bridge to break
Then the heater coughed a little honey in the dash
Yellow filament glowing through the ash
First tiny prickle running down the bone
Sensation creeping back into the stone (stone)
Chorus
Pins and needles waking up the fingers
Morning air where the condensation lingers
I can feel the blood returning to the seam
Trading in survival for a waking dream
Circulation in the palms, heat across the skin
Took a long time letting all the feeling back in
(back in)
Circulation in the palms, heat across the skin
Took a long time letting all the feeling back in
Verse 2
Peeled a small clementine, fingernails orange
Creaking open slow like an ungreased hinge (slow)
Felt the citrus oil sting a paper cut
Glad for the sting, keeping eyes wide shut no more
Wool blanket scratchy on an unmade cot
Radiator clanking till the pipe turns hot (hot)
Used to run on diesel and a phantom spark
Pacing out the perimeter alone in the dark
Now the pulse at the wrist got a heavier thud
Thawing out the sediment inside the mud (mud)
Picked up the pen, wasn't shaking from the freeze
Bare feet resting on the maple floorboards, ease
Not running from the siren, not bracing for the crash
Spreading out the fingers on the window sash
Let the copper coin settle flat against the palm
Funny how the quiet isn't heavy, it's just calm (calm)
Chorus
Pins and needles waking up the fingers
Morning air where the condensation lingers
I can feel the blood returning to the seam
Trading in survival for a waking dream
Circulation in the palms, heat across the skin
Took a long time letting all the feeling back in
(back in)
Circulation in the palms, heat across the skin
Took a long time letting all the feeling back in
Bridge
No armor on the collarbone today
No flinching when the shadow rolls away (away)
The frost gives up its grip against the lawn
A slow river moving where the ice was drawn
I open both hands to the kitchen sink
Give myself the space to simply breathe and think
The warmth isn't borrowed, the blood is my own
Learning how to live inside the flesh and bone (bone)
Outro
Tap water warm
Ten fingers stretching out long
(long)
Circulation in the palms
Still warm
(calm)
