A Tremor In The Frame

[Verse 1]
(Sound of a voicemail tone, then the gentle hum of workshop machinery starts under the beat)
Hey… man. It's late. See the light on at that house on Tradd Street.
He's up again, third floor, just a silhouette on the sheet.
Got this tremor in his left hand when he lifts his coffee cup.
Spends all night trying to sand a surface smooth that's just too rough.

[Chorus]
And he tells himself the muscle knows the way back home.
Yeah, the muscle knows the way back home.
Even when the spirit's just a splintered bone.
The muscle knows the way back home.

[Verse 2]
Saw his wife on the porch swing back in the heat of July.
Heard her tell him through the screen door, "Baby, don't you even try
to build another wall against it." The air was thick with salt and rain.
He just stared at his own hands, trying to work out the grain.

[Chorus]
And he tells himself the muscle knows the way back home.
Yeah, the muscle knows the way back home.
Even when the spirit's just a splintered bone.
The muscle knows the way back home.

[Bridge]
It's a funny thing, watching a man drown from a hundred yards away.
Seeing my own reflection in the window where he stays.
This restless work my hands do… is just a different kind of pace.

[Chorus]
(Key changes up a whole step, vocals strain with raw emotion)
And I tell myself the muscle knows the way back home.
God, the muscle knows the way back home.
Even when your spirit's just a splintered bone…
The muscle knows the way…

[Outro]
(Beat continues, with ad-libbed vocal chops and the sound of a phone clicking off)
…knows the way…
…just let the tide recede…