Every New Brick

[Verse 1]
His Chelsea boot leaves a mark on the door frame
Of the flat above the bookie's on Corporation Street.
He’s a load-bearing column of triumph and new shame,
A victory march on two blistering feet. The air tastes of diesel and doubt.
He’s the king of a kingdom he finally bricked himself out of.

[Chorus]
Every new brick laid on the old crack,
Is it still the same house if you can't go back?
Every new brick, a promise you keep,
While the original foundation is buried somewhere too deep to sleep.

[Verse 2]
It’s a Tuesday in March, the sky's the colour of lead.
His palm feels too smooth on the condensation-cold pane.
She holds a Sports Direct mug by its chipped, white head,
And studies the stranger who came in from the rain.
"You've gone all aloft," she says, hands in her lap,
Just another stress fracture caught in the trap.

[Chorus]
Every new brick laid on the old crack,
Is it still the same house if you can't go back?
Every new brick, a promise you keep,
While the original foundation is buried somewhere too deep to sleep.

[Bridge]
The chip-shop glass shows a face in the steam,
A well-made ghost of a forgotten dream.
His father's watch on his wrist feels obscene.

[Outro]
He won. He's out.