Service Entrance

[Verse 1]
The Dexter bus at 4:32 breathes a disinfectant sigh.
Her knuckles chapped raw from the bleach they use on Grosse Pointe floors so high.
She's tracing the verdigris on the pull-cord rail with a tired, steady thumb,
Watching the windows fog with the breath of everyone going home.

[Chorus]
And I wanna scream for her, a quiet kind of loud.
They only see the uniform, they never see the crowd
Of ghosts she carries in her bones, the love that keeps her proud.

[Verse 2]
Heard the man of the house through the dumbwaiter shaft, all casual and rough,
Say, "'Just make sure she uses the service entrance,' like she wasn't good enough."
She wipes the dust from their silver frames, sees the children she'll never know,
A little borrowed warmth from a pilot light before she has to go.

[Chorus]
And I wanna scream for her, a quiet kind of loud.
They only see the uniform, they never see the crowd
Of ghosts she carries in her bones, the love that keeps her proud.

[Bridge]
Some roots gotta learn to grow in the pavement cracks, you see.
Graft a garden from the dust, then let the whole damn world just be.

[Outro]
The bus just keeps on rolling on...
Yeah, the engine keeps its hum...