# THE CITY OWES ME A FAVOR Cairn · Original lyrics · A crooked little night in eight songs ## 1. Rent Due on the Moon ### Intro Put the skyline on my tab. ### Verse Shoes got a mouth and they both talk slick, Heel peeling back like it knows my business. I came downtown with a dollar and a myth, Told the front desk I was here for the building. Suit from a cousin with a longer reach, Cuffs past my knuckles, still cuffing the beat. Broke is a number, expensive is a mood, I got rent due on the motherfucking moon. ### Hook City owes me a favor, Put a little gold in the rain. If I cannot get the elevator, I will put the stairs on a chain. ### Verse Watch got no hands, it is never too late, Taxi drove past, I charged it for the wave. Pocket full of lint, call it cashmere reserves, Laugh if you want, that is interest earned. I got a penthouse tongue and a basement bed, A crown made of steam from the grate overhead. One loose tooth in the grin of the avenue, Whole block whistles when the wind comes through. ### Hook City owes me a favor, Put a little gold in the rain. If I cannot get the elevator, I will put the stairs on a chain. ### Bridge My phone says low battery. My mouth says encore. My shoes say honestly, How many miles more? ### Outro Put the skyline on my tab. Let it run. ## 2. Velvet Rope at the Laundromat ### Intro Spin cycle. Guest list. Same thing. ### Verse Velvet rope at the laundromat, Miss May checking pockets for the cover charge. One red sock turned the whole load pink, Now the tough guy dresses like a Valentine. Dryer number six got a four beat knock, Girl on the folding table popping that lock. I said who is the DJ, she pointed at the pipes, Building got a groove when the pressure gets right. ### Hook Wash that week off, Let the good shirt dance. Got a quarter for the heartbreak, Got a pocket full of second chance. ### Verse Man in a tux with a ketchup stain, Said the wedding was fine till the groom got brave. Miss May said baby, put it in cold, Some things set deeper when you let them get hot. Everybody here got a delicate load, Everybody here got a thing they outgrow. I folded my pride in a neat little square, Left it on the chair, nobody stole it. ### Hook Wash that week off, Let the good shirt dance. Got a quarter for the heartbreak, Got a pocket full of second chance. ### Bridge Round and round, the room leans left. Round and round, take one more breath. If you lost a little color, You can wear what you got left. ### Outro Last call for the tumble dry. Take your good shirt home. ## 3. Your Name in the Steam ### Intro You drew a door in the window. ### Verse You wrote your name in the steam, I drew a room around it. You gave the room a balcony, I put a little cloud in. The waitress set the coffee down, The glass began to clear. We watched our little rented town Get smaller and disappear. ### Hook Write it again, I was looking at your hands. Leave a little space beside it, I got nowhere else to stand. ### Verse You say you play the cello, I say I play it cool. You say I need more practice, I say I need a tutor. A bus kneels at the corner, You do not check the time. I turn my cup a quarter turn, Your thumbprint touches mine. ### Hook Write it again, I was looking at your hands. Leave a little space beside it, I got nowhere else to stand. ### Bridge You put your number on the bill. The ink stays where you leave it. For once I got a good thing Without a speech to sell it. ### Outro The window clears. Your name stays here. ## 4. Three-Card Weather ### Intro Pick a cup. Any tomorrow. ### Verse Man on the corner had rain in a cup, Sun in another, third one shut. Said ten gets you twenty, twenty gets you June, I said what is in the third, he said you. His rabbit was a mitten with a cigarette burn, His wand was a pen that the bank wanted returned. But his hands moved quick as a bad excuse, Made the whole bus stop forget the news. ### Hook Three card weather, Everybody bets on blue. Put your money on tomorrow, Watch tomorrow move. ### Verse I lost five dollars and a very good theory, He said your future likes to travel light. Then a kid asked if the rain was lonely, He put the cups down for the first damn time. Said my girl used to call me the weather man, Could make a bad day leave with a sleight of hand. She moved out west where the sky stays clear, I keep a little rain in case she misses here. ### Hook Three card weather, Everybody bets on blue. Put your money on tomorrow, Watch tomorrow move. ### Bridge He let the kid keep the empty cup. Said fill it with whatever comes. I asked him how that trick was done. He said which one, son? Which one? ### Outro Pick a cup. Leave the rain. ## 5. Penthouse for a Pigeon ### Intro Top floor. No deposit. ### Verse Penthouse for a pigeon, marble on the ledge, Million dollar sunset, chewing on some bread. Doorman got a headset, bird got a wing, Guess who got upstairs without knowing anything? Tower full of windows, not a curtain moving, Whole place sold out, nobody living through it. I knock on the glass like hello, anybody? Echo sent a lawyer, told me quit the lobby. ### Hook Up, up, look at that, Little street bird in a luxury flat. No keys, no lease, no looking back, City got a crack, let the wings through that. ### Verse Bird said coo, I said preach, my brother, He stole my lunch, we had a brief discussion. I respect your hustle, but that was my supper, He left me a feather like a business number. I got plans too big for the room I rent, Still got room for a friend with a bent antenna. We built a roof garden out of three milk crates, Now the skyline got a place to put its elbows. ### Hook Up, up, look at that, Little street bird in a luxury flat. No keys, no lease, no looking back, City got a crack, let the wings through that. ### Bridge I am not asking the clouds for a discount. I am coming with a chair. If the view is worth a million, We can split it while we are there. ### Outro Top floor. Bring your own bread. ## 6. Do Not Disturb the Ghost ### Intro I keep the hallway quiet. ### Verse There is a ghost in my apartment, It does not move a chair. It only orders extra noodles And forgets you are not there. It keeps your side a little cooler, It knows which floorboard sings. It never learned to say your new name When the wedding pictures came. ### Hook Do not disturb the ghost, It finally fell asleep. I can miss you in the morning, Let the night belong to me. ### Verse I met somebody at a diner, They drew a window on a wall. I almost told the ghost about it, Then I did not speak at all. I opened up the actual window, The curtains took a breath. The city sounded out of tune, I liked it better than I guessed. ### Hook Do not disturb the ghost, It finally fell asleep. I can miss you in the morning, Let the night belong to me. ### Bridge One bowl in the cupboard. One spoon in the sink. One number on a receipt. More room than you think. ### Outro Sleep well, old ghost. I am going out. ## 7. Borrowed Thunder ### Intro Power went out. Nobody told the drummer. ### Verse Whole block black, then a bucket said boom, Little kid answered with a kitchen spoon. Miss May came down with a bag full of quarters, Shook that thing like the rain owed her water. Magician got a rhythm out of three old cups, Pigeon on the railing looking deeply unimpressed. I got a mouth, got a chest, got a pulse, That is three good reasons we can turn this up. ### Hook We got borrowed thunder, Bring it back before the dawn. If the lights go under, We can make a little of our own. ### Verse No plug, no pass, no guest list, Just a trash can talking with a bent lid. One lady laughed so hard she snorted, Now the whole damn band wants a sample of it. I came for the skyline, stayed for the sidewalk, Girl with the cello let a low note crawl. Every loose screw in the city found a pocket, We did not fix a thing, we made it knock. ### Hook We got borrowed thunder, Bring it back before the dawn. If the lights go under, We can make a little of our own. ### Bridge Then the lights came back. We kept the beat. Then the lights came back. So what? Repeat. ### Outro Give the bucket some. Give the whole block some. ## 8. Breakfast for the Last Two People ### Intro Two eggs. Two coffees. Keep the window seat. ### Verse You got a feather in your jacket, I got a quarter in my shoe. The waitress says you two look tragic, We say make the coffee rude. A bus rolls by with empty windows, The sun clocks in without a tie. You ask if I got what I came for, I say let me check outside. ### Hook Breakfast for the last two people, Till the rest of the world gets in. Let the butter find the corners, Let the day begin again. ### Verse The tower never learned my first name, The moon still wants its rent. My shoes have filed a formal grievance, My last five dollars came and went. But you are drawing on a napkin, A little house with crooked stairs. I add a roof for our rude pigeon, You draw two people sitting there. ### Hook Breakfast for the last two people, Till the rest of the world gets in. Let the butter find the corners, Let the day begin again. ### Bridge City owes me a favor. You say maybe this is it. I look down at the paper. There is room for both of us. ### Outro Keep the window seat. I will get the tip.