CashOrGrass

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Gate C-17, the screen just flipped to delayed I've got a voicemail half-recorded, thumb still on the saved You'd say I always do this, narrate instead of call So I'm talking to a phone that's gonna hold it all [Pre-Chorus] I can see the polaroid tucked in my wallet fold Two kids on a boardwalk, one shirt two sizes old The gate agent's calling zones, and I'm still standing here With a message I keep starting and deleting every year [Chorus] It's cash or it's grass, that's what you told me then Either put the money down or put your roots back in I've been circling the runway like a plane that won't commit Cash or grass, and I'm still not over it [Verse 2] They're boarding rows by number, I'm the last one in the line The polaroid's gone soft at the corners, like a rind You said a man who won't decide is just a man who's scared I laughed and said the grass don't pay, and you just stared [Pre-Chorus] Now the jet bridge smells like coffee and a rain that never came I've got forty unread messages and none of them your name The flight attendant's smiling like she knows I'm gonna stay I hit record again and then I wipe it all away [Chorus] It's cash or it's grass, that's what you told me then Either put the money down or put your roots back in I've been circling the runway like a plane that won't commit Cash or grass, and I'm still not over it [Bridge] Maybe grass just means the Tuesday when you're sitting on the porch Not a field, not a fortune, just the screen door and the torch I kept waiting for a sign to make the whole thing black and white But the sign just says the flight's delayed again tonight [Chorus] It's cash or it's grass, that's what you told me then Either put the money down or put your roots back in I've been circling the runway like a plane that won't commit Cash or grass, and I'm still not over it [Verse 3] So I'm walking past the gift shop, past the magazines and gum Past the woman with the neck pillow, waiting on her son I find a payphone that don't work, I put a quarter in for luck Then I call your number anyway, and let it ring and ring and [Outro] Click. "Hey, it's me. I'm at the gate. I know I'm late." "I bought a ticket home. I'm not getting on the plane." The gate agent locks the door, and I let the voicemail send Cash or grass — I picked the grass. I'm coming back again.