Track Insight / Lyrics
Steam marks the windows at four
Spatula taps like a metronome
A worn brick corner waits
Through one more cold, gray morn
The old wall keeps the score
A painted outlaw slept there
With colors rubbed into grime
The coffee steam found the cracks
One stripe slipped loose in time
Rain wrinkled every layer
But stubborn color climbed
The cook clocked in with ashes
A silver ring in his hand
He patched the split with copper
And mapped it on the tin
Fresh bricks drank all the flashes
While masked men passed again
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Watch the stubborn colors fade to gray
One loose edge is waving, saying stay
Cracks in the wall, but the paint remains
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Not every bright mark is built to stay
The dishwasher laughed from the doorway
A opener flashed in the light
The cook left fingerprints easy
Across one stubborn stripe
A brass bell kissed the espresso
The regulars called it right
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Watch the stubborn colors fade to gray
One loose edge is waving, saying stay
Cracks in the wall, but the paint remains
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Not every bright mark is built to stay
A landlord brought a sledgehammer
And called each colored scar a debt
The cook poured syrup thin and golden
Where brick and black paint met
He saved one torn-off shadow
Then swore each scar was set
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Watch the stubborn colors fade to gray
One loose edge is waving, saying stay
Cracks in the wall, but the paint remains
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Not every bright mark is built to stay
The gloves let go of fragments
The broom swept clean the floor
One stripe hung over danger
Half-black against the door
He wiped his hands and laughed
The battered wall held four
By closing time, the paint had thinned
A scarlet corner caught the heat
A mustard ghost beside the griddle
Defied another hard defeat
The cook turned down the burner
And nodded toward the street
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Watch the stubborn colors fade to gray
One loose edge is waving, saying stay
Cracks in the wall, but the paint remains
Watch the old graffiti peel away
Not every bright mark is built to stay
No, not every bright mark is built to stay
The last stripe curled at sunrise
A flake of crimson on the floor
The cook flipped down the grille
And pushed the door once more
The wall was scarred, not finished
The colors lived, though thin and worn
