True and Plumb

[Chorus]
(A cappella)
The dovetail's clean, the money's clear
So Anna, tell me why I'm still right here
Staring at the grain of all we've lost.

[Verse 1]
My Japanese saw cuts a true, straight line
In a kitchen in Ranmoor that will never be mine.
The air smells of beeswax and underfloor heat,
Got chalk on my hands from the end of their street.
And the lady of the house, she floats like a ghost,
Through the life I am building for someone else, almost.

[Chorus]
The dovetail's clean, the money's clear
So Anna, tell me why I'm still right here
Staring at the grain of all we've lost.

[Verse 2]
She watched my hands plane the edge of the ash,
Said, "Your work is so honest," and paid me in cash.
I packed up the van just as Thursday turned dark,
Thinking of the damp that's bloomed on our wall, that black mark.
Her windows are spotless, the lawn's razor-cut,
And the silence inside just seals something shut.

[Chorus]
The dovetail's clean, the money's clear
So Anna, tell me why I'm still right here
Staring at the grain of all we've lost.

[Bridge]
They tell you measure twice, you only get one cut,
But this frame that we live in feels warped, won't stay put.
It's a joint held together by pressure and doubt.

[Outro]
I finished the job, Anna.
I'm on my way out.