Split Receipt

[Chorus]
That Claiborne overpass, rain-slick and black
Your face ten feet high, ain't no turning back
Yeah, we split the receipt on a decade of doubt
This ain't the dream we talked about, it's the only way out

[Verse 1]
Leo mops the floor at the Circle K, Tuesday, quarter to three
The fluorescent hum is a soundtrack to the humidity
He wipes condensation from the glass with his sleeve
Sees a new billboard gleaming, a truth he can't un-believe
It’s a face he knows better than his own reflection in the pane
From sharing smokes and secrets in the neutral-ground rain
Pulls the cracked phone out, thumb hovers on the screen
Types, "Saw the sign, kid. Damn." The most he's said since seventeen.

[Chorus]
That Claiborne overpass, rain-slick and black
Your face ten feet high, ain't no turning back
Yeah, we split the receipt on a decade of doubt
This ain't the dream we talked about, it's the only way out

[Verse 2]
Mac's behind the bar, polishing a highball with a rag
The shift's almost done, just the stragglers and the lag
His pocket buzzes once, a phantom limb sensation
Ignores it for a minute, part of the nightly equation
Serves a last Sazerac, the smell of bitters and rye
Then checks the screen beneath the bar, away from any prying eye
A number he ain't seen since they paved Desire street
A ghost from a past life, a victory bittersweet.

[Bridge]
Two shotgun houses on the same damn block
Used to race the streetcar, trying to beat the clock
Now one clock's a billboard, and one's still on the wall
And pride is a flavor that tastes like alcohol.

[Chorus]
That Claiborne overpass, rain-slick and black
Your face ten feet high, ain't no turning back
Yeah, we split the receipt on a decade of doubt
This ain't the dream we talked about, it's the only way out

[Outro]
The text sits on 'read' by the neon beer sign's light
Two check marks go blue in the deep New Orleans night.