Intro
Brass shavings dust the counter, uncle's grinder still humming
Left me the bench and the key ring, said the weight keeps you honest
Verse
Fourth blank today, teeth cut deep and even
Mrs. Alvarez lost hers third time, still I believe her
Cut it for nothing, mark the ledger in pencil not ink
Every duplicate's a promise nobody stops to think
Deshawn needs one for his mother's new door on Willet
Vending machine's broke out front, I still keep it filled
Uncle Reuel ran this bench forty years, never asked why
Said a key's just trust you hold up to the light
Peg board on the wall, names written small in the corner
Half the block's front doors hanging off my shoulder
Ring gets heavier every spring somebody moves
Every couple gone, I'm the one who removes
Their tag from the board, cuts a fresh one clean
Starts a new file, same name of machine
Doing this since twenty-two, no diploma, no degree
Just brass dust in my lungs and the block's trust in me
Chorus
This the weight I learned to carry
Not a burden, just a duty
Every key a life I'm holding
This the weight I learned to carry
Verse
Man came in Tuesday, said he lost his key to unit four
But unit four's the Ochoas, and he don't live there no more
Said his girl still got his things, just needs to grab his coat
Heard the real story from the block before he even spoke
Restraining order filed in March, I seen the paper posted
Told him no, watched his face go from asking to roasted
Said "you owe me, cut it, I know your uncle well"
Told him my uncle taught me better than to open up a cell
Back into a house he got no business walking through
He left cursing, kicked the gate, said I'd regret what I do
Three nights I slept with the shop chained double, tight
Watched the corner camera blink through the same gray light
Nothing came of it but the fear stayed lodged like splinter
Some keys you don't cut, that's the weight of the winter
Turned away the money, turned away a grown man's temper
Learned that saying no gets written in the ledger
Chorus
This the weight I learned to carry
Not a burden, just a duty
Every key a life I'm holding
This the weight I learned to carry
Bridge
Truth
