While the Avenue Sleeps

Lyrics

[Verse 1] You kept the envelope beneath the flour tin Said, “Take the back stairs, don’t let them in” Aunt Rose was sleeping with the radio low Snow on the stoop where the old men stood watch I had your number folded into my shoe A train ticket sweating through the lining, too You said the family name could follow us far Then turned from the window when a car slowed down [Pre-Chorus] At the kitchen sink, you rinsed your hands Like water could undo what a man understands You looked at me once, then looked away I heard the lock turn before the day [Chorus] Come with me while the avenue sleeps Leave that promise buried under the keys There’s a place past the bridges where nobody knows What your father collected, what your silence owed If we make it to morning, we’re more than their blood More than the names that they carved into us Take my hand, don’t ask what it costs We can still be alive when the old life is lost [Verse 2] The pay phone outside the bakery rang twice You let it ring out; I watched your jaw tighten A black sedan crawled past the corner store You pulled the curtain and checked the back door You told me Colombo was a word, not a war But every closed curtain kept score of the score I knew by your coat and the shake in your thumb You were tired of waiting for what might come [Pre-Chorus] At the kitchen sink, you rinsed your hands Like water could undo what a man understands You looked at me once, then looked away I heard the lock turn before the day [Chorus] Come with me while the avenue sleeps Leave that promise buried under the keys There’s a place past the bridges where nobody knows What your father collected, what your silence owed If we make it to morning, we’re more than their blood More than the names that they carved into us Take my hand, don’t ask what it costs We can still be alive when the old life is lost [Bridge] At the terminal, you gave me your ring Said, “Keep it—not for luck, just remember this thing: A door can be open and still be a trap.” Then the bus breathed out, and you didn’t look back [Final Chorus] Come with me while the avenue sleeps Leave that promise buried under the keys There’s a place past the bridges where nobody knows What your father collected, what your silence owed If we make it to morning, we’re more than their blood More than the names that they carved into us Take my hand, don’t ask what it costs We can still be alive when the old life is lost [Outro] The ring in my pocket, the ticket gone soft Your voice in my head as the borough falls off I keep moving north with the dawn on my face No name to inherit, no debt left to pay