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Words from the artist’s archive
The Fifth Time Knows My Name 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
Verse 1
I kept mistaking tension for a pulse, Picked people good at leaving, then said love was at fault. Three names in my phone, one goodbye in the tone, I called distance mystery and loneliness home. When calm sat beside me, I said it felt too plain; The heartbreak changed faces, but it knew my name.
Verse 2
I blamed the month for what I spent in a night, Bought proof I was winning, then hid from the price. The fridge went quiet while the closet got loud, I wore what I owed just to blend with a crowd. Each total had my fingerprint beside the merchant name; The bill changed logos, but it knew my name.
Chorus
By the fifth time, it knows my name New mask, new room, familiar game I call it timing, I call it fame By the fifth time, it knows my name
Verse 3
Three badges on my dresser, three stories for the fall, I blamed the boss, the bus, the building, and the call. But my thumb knew snooze before my eyes knew day, My plans wore polished shoes; my habits came in late. The logo changed upstairs; the clock did not complain; I crossed another lobby, and it knew my name.
Verse 4
Four alarms by the bed, two coffees by noon, I wore tired like a medal and called rest too soon. My hands dropped the cup; I blamed pressure and pace, But the body keeps hours that the ego erases. A chair by the window taught what grind never gave: A limit is a guardrail, not a mark on my name.
Chorus
By the fifth time, it knows my name New mask, new room, familiar game I call it timing, I call it fame By the fifth time, it knows my name
Verse 5
I waited on apologies while mine stayed unsent, Counted who did not call, never counted where I went. Birthdays lost candles; the kid outgrew my chair, I said blood keeps people close while I was never there. Then I heard my own silence in a younger voice's pain; The phone never betrayed me; it knew my name.
Bridge
It was not fate at the door; it was habit with my key. Life changed the classroom; I just changed the seat. Love, money, work, my body, family strain: Five different teachers, one student dodging change. Life can deal a crooked hand; I will not call it fair, But I cannot blame the table for the bets I placed there. The pattern knew my name because I answered when it came; Now I know its name, and I can choose to change.
Chorus
By the fifth time, I know its name No mask, no room can hide the game I called it timing, I called it fame By the fifth time, I choose to change
Inside the recording
I kept mistaking tension for a pulse, Picked people good at leaving, then said love was at fault.
By the fifth time, it knows my name New mask, new room, familiar game
By the fifth time, I know its name No mask, no room can hide the game
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.