Working my life away

(((Verse 1)))

I punch the clock in every city, my name on a different sign,

Trading daylight for red-eye flights and a calendar that won’t rewind.

Supper missing from the table, dreams on layaway, the sunrise costs a price,

Hours grind like worn-out gears, and still I drive the midnight vice.

(((Pre-Chorus)))

Screens glow like hotel lobbies, neon fading into town,

I’m counting minutes like a loan, but they never slow me down.

(((Chorus)))

I’m rich in tasks, poor in the moments that matter,

Money buys a smile I can’t afford today.

Nine to five, but my five-year plan just sighs,

If life is a river, I’m upstream, chasing miles and miles away.

(((Verse 2)))

Inbox bites, ambitions fade into overtime’s cold edge,

Rings on the desk, a hollow beat where my heart pledged.

Jet wheels turning, losing summers to a ledger’s cold embrace,

Clock hands spinning, but there’s a longer road I long to chase.

(((Pre-Chorus)))

Screens glow like a motel sign in a restless town,

I’m counting minutes like a coin, but they don’t turn around.

(((Solo with ol’ time feel like trombones etc.)))

I’m rich in tasks, poor in the moments that matter,

Money buys a smile I can’t afford today.

Nine to five, but my five-year plan just sighs,

If life is a river, I’m upstream, drifting away.

(((Bridge)))

Caffeine fuels the grind; hope runs on empty,

Yet I hear the quiet call of home that always tempers me.

Wage slips through fingers like a slow, relentless tide,

I count the minutes, but they never count me back, night after night.

(((Verse 3)))

I’m a manager on a run, a traveler with a heavy load,

Climbing ladders of airports, chasing targets down every road.

I’m trading my afterglow for a brighter corporate glow, pride worn like a badge,

If life’s a river, I’m upstream, where the current won’t look back.

(((Subtle fiddle fill and country twang)))

I’m rich in tasks, poor in the moments that matter,

Money buys a smile I can’t afford today.

Nine to five, but my five-year plan just sighs,

If life is a river, I’m upstream of the current, drifting away.

(((Outro)))

Gently lay the passport down, let the evening settle in,

I’m stacking minutes like coins, chasing that final win.

Till the last note fades, till the dawn we breathe again,

I’ll keep riding the wish that time won’t steal me then.