About the song
Nobody throws a parade for the water staying on and the hallway staying dry. A song for the people who keep the building alive, and only get named when it breaks.
Uptime buys another day. No siren, no parade.
About these notes
AI-assisted song notes, based on the sources shown here. Not yet human-reviewed.
Words from the artist’s archive
UPTIME lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
Three seventeen, a cold drop taps the pillow. Toy moon on the ceiling shakes blue across the water.
Verse 1
Blue hallway, wet sock, brass lock, fast knock at the door. Pan under copper, red towel at the splash; clamp on the line, pressure fine. That ratchet keeps the rhythm while the whole floor settles down. Quarter turn; water learns the pipe has lost its song too long. Breaker smells like pennies; black ring by the spring. Fuse box, old repair, cold air, copper where it shouldn't cling. Boiler coughs, coil knocks; thin pipes tick, heat moves quick behind the paint. Elevator wakes, metal gates shake once, then stay. You paid the rent. Why should you learn which pipe can split a wall? A baby sleeps, steady beats, one hand curled by a ball. By seven, gray mop water; day gets shorter, leak down to one. By eight, carpet dry, boots slide by; job done.
Chorus
Uptime buys another day. No siren, no parade. Cup fills, hall stays dry. Train rolls, fridge stays cold. When it breaks, the nameplates arrive.
Verse 2
Next hall, rail gives; pill tin, hinge pin, garden gate. Medicine down, gate swings round; Grandma checks the latch. Battery clamps, dashboard lamps; old sedan coughs awake. Chairs unfold, air turns cold; stack them after plates. Two cousins mute; one cracked blue handset keeps both names saved. Spare key by stair three waits for whoever comes in late. Then dawn gets bigger: blue gloves, bridge thuds, rain makes steel feel cold. Inspector taps, rust maps cracks traffic cannot feel. Gauge climbs red; valve head turns before the line goes dry. Patch cords blink, bank floor syncs; an operator guards the line. Train doors close, a young child knows only that the signal stays. No clap, same map; city starts and asks for it again.
Chorus
Uptime buys another day. No siren, no parade. Cup fills, hall stays dry. Train rolls, fridge stays cold. When it breaks, the nameplates arrive.
Bridge
Cut one check, skip one test; the budget says you saved. Paint stays clean, crack unseen; rust keeps what it gave. Short shift, hand drifts; red pen, head bent, sign off and go. At two oh six the tap turns brown; train light shuts it down. Phones wake, doors break wide; names run down the screen. The room learns who was there from the bare gap in between.
Chorus
Uptime buys another day. No siren, no parade. Tap runs, train rolls by. The hands come into view. When it breaks, the nameplates arrive.
Outro
Three seventeen, the toy moon stays dry. Uptime buys another day.
Inside the recording
Three seventeen, a cold drop taps the pillow. Toy moon on the ceiling shakes blue across the water.
Uptime buys another day. No siren, no parade.
Three seventeen, the toy moon stays dry. Uptime buys another day.
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.