Set Down the Names

Lyrics

[Intro] Old names in the papers, rain on the glass A town holds its breath while the black cars pass [Verse 1] Queens on the map, red circles in ink Men made a promise they were scared to rethink At the kitchen table, my mother folded shirts While the radio counted who was hurt I learned every silence, the weight of a stare How a room changes shape when the wrong men are there Then the long winter broke; I walked out alone With a borrowed old coat and no claim to the throne [Chorus] I left that life at the edge of the road Set down the names, set down the code Now I build with my hands, let the past lose its hold A new day is made from the choices I own [Verse 2] No victory lap, no clean alibi Just a dawn bus rolling beneath a pale sky I took work where the foreman remembered my face Kept my head down and earned back my place There’s a kid at the counter who asks what I did I tell him the truth, not the legend they hid You can come from the fire and still choose what you’ll be The lock turns once more; I keep the key [Chorus] I left that life at the edge of the road Set down the names, set down the code Now I build with my hands, let the past lose its hold A new day is made from the choices I own [Outro] The old city fades in the rearview glass I keep what I learned; I don’t carry it back