A Beautiful Mend

[Verse 1]
The settlement check hit the Mellon Bank account at noon.
Third of March, cold rain drumming a dead-bolt tune.
This new brass key feels wrong, too light inside my palm.
Smell of fresh latex paint keeping everything calm.

[Chorus]
And the architect's ghost says my lines are all true,
But these gold-plated rivets just rattle right through.
I followed the blueprint, paid every man his due,
My hands don't remember what they're supposed to do.

[Verse 2]
"It's a beautiful mend," the insurance man said with a nod.
Traced the new drywall patch like a finger of God.
But the hum from the ballast is the only real sound I know,
And I see a hairline fracture where the winter frost will go.

[Chorus]
And the architect's ghost says my lines are all true,
But these gold-plated rivets just rattle right through.
I followed the blueprint, paid every man his due,
My hands don't remember what they're supposed to do.

[Bridge]
They taught me the torch and the temper of government steel,
How to brace for the impact, how to fake what you feel.
My own trachea's welded with a low, rusted hum,
The check has been cashed, but the feeling won't come.

[Chorus]
And the architect's ghost says my lines are all true,
But these gold-plated rivets just rattle right through.
I followed the blueprint, paid every man his due,
My hands don't remember what they're supposed to do.

[Outro]
My hands don't remember...