THE PEOPLE WHO STAY

who keeps ten feet alive

A stairwell, a candle, and the neighbours who never left — the ones who keep a corridor of life open for everybody else.

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THE PEOPLE WHO STAY lyrics

Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.

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Intro

The cameras found the tallest room. Down here we counted floors.

Verse 1

June clocked out a quarter past six. She watched the last bus go. She tied her hair, she took the list, and started down the row. The corner freezer in Building C had one more working hour. She stacked the thawing boxes out and gave away the power.

Pre-chorus

Nobody sent her. Nobody signed. The dark came down the stairwell, floor by floor to nine.

Chorus

The people who stay keep ten feet alive. Ten feet of hallway, ten feet of stair, ten feet of somebody still breathing there. The people who stay don't get the whole block. They count to nine.

Post-chorus

Ten feet. Ten feet. Oh, ten feet.

Verse 2

A kid hauls a crate up the stairs to the eighth, his arms give out and he sets down the weight. An old man on six calls and calls for his daughter. A wrench turns twice and the motor starts talking. A truck at the curb turns a phone to a lifeline, the school gym fills up with cots in a tight line. The broom finds the glass and a hand finds the broom. The count gets to eight and it stops in that room.

Pre-chorus

Somebody calls up the shaft, who's still up there tonight? The block calls back every number. Nobody says nine.

Chorus

The people who stay keep ten feet alive. Ten feet of hallway, ten feet of stair, ten feet of somebody still breathing there. The people who stay don't get the whole block. And nobody's on nine.

Post-chorus

Ten feet. Ten feet. Oh, ten feet.

Bridge

I gave a hundred strangers whatever the freezer had. I never looked up once. I never took a stair. My father sat on nine all night, a candle and a chair. He heard the whole block working. He never called for help. I counted every door on this street and skipped the one that's mine.

Chorus

The people who stay keep ten feet alive. Ten feet of hallway, ten feet of stair, ten feet of somebody still breathing there. The people who stay don't get the whole block. Somebody climbed to nine.

Post-chorus

Ten feet. Ten feet. Oh, ten feet.

Outro

They brought him down at four. He asked her who they were. The people who stay.

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01 / The opening