Phantom Torque

[Verse 1]
The #4 Conveyor on the second floor
Still whines the same high C it did in '04.
I’m tracing a hairline fracture with my thumb,
The air tastes like ozone, my fingers feel numb.

[Pre-Chorus]
Last Tuesday, you leaned in, flashlight in your teeth,
Said, “That sound’s a gasket, givin' up underneath.
One more cycle, Johnny, and this whole line's gonna seize.”

[Chorus]
But tell me, Kaz, since you've been gone,
Does a gear still turn when the grease is drawn?

[Verse 2]
Your sister cleaned the locker out, she left me the tapes.
Parliament, The Meters, all your weekend escapes.
I tried one last night, driving home in the sleet,
Felt the bass in the floorboards like a missing beat.

[Pre-Chorus]
Remember patching up that rust spot on your driver-side door?
You swore this Gary grit wouldn't hold you anymore.
You were aimed at the skyline, you were ready for the war.

[Chorus]
So tell me, Kaz, where you are now,
Does a gear still turn without the grease, somehow?

[Bridge]
A sheared-off bolt, a busted hydraulic seam,
Your last punch-out just a line on a screen.
They just wiped the spot clean and they reset the whole machine.

[Chorus]
And tell me, Kaz, Lord, tell me now,
Does a gear still turn without the grease, somehow?

[Outro]
Just that high C whine... 'til the break of dawn.