Twenty-Two Years and a No-Reply

Intro Twenty-two years. And the email came from no-reply.

Verse 1 Four fifty-eight on a Thursday Phone lit up in my chest pocket "We thank you for your years of service" Signed by nobody at the top I finished out my shift anyway Swept the floor like Daddy taught Hung my gloves on the same bent nail And let the whistle blow for naught

Pre-Chorus You can't shake hands with a server Can't look software in the eye Man gives half his life to a building Ought to hear a human say goodbye

Chorus Twenty-two years and a no-reply That's what a back is worth I gave 'em my knees, my prime, my pride They gave me a no-reply Machine don't shake your hand, boys Machine don't watch you die Twenty-two years and a no-reply

Verse 2 They auctioned off the line last month Sold the presses off for scrap I bought my own locker back For seven dollars and the tax There's men I bled with on that floor Scattered now like busted glass We put a million truck beds out Ain't one of 'em to haul us back

Bridge My granddad got a gold watch My daddy got a pension I got a cardboard box And a signature on a non-compete Twenty-two years and a no-reply That's what a back is worth I gave 'em my knees, my prime, my pride They gave me a no-reply Machine don't shake your hand, boys Machine don't watch you die Twenty-two years and a no-reply

Outro Clocked out. For good.

Find this song on YouTube