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LOSS PREVENTION 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
Four-thirty AM, aisle three Same hoodie I used to wear
Verse 1
Sixteen, oversized Champion hoodie, mirrors don't reach aisle five Two granola bars, one juice box, Sunday service to survive Mr. Gyasi watching me on a cracked Zenith monitor Never said a word, rang a pack of gum for the bell's honor That was mercy Thirty, polo tucked, streaming the same store in 4K Kid in a black hoodie, aisle three, he sees me 'fore I see his face Tag the clip, tell Marcus, keep eyes, don't escalate Tell myself it's fair, I'm a chain, I ain't a state That's business
Pre-chorus
Built this from a handshake and a hoodie full of shame I just need to know what it cost me to change the frame
Chorus
Loss prevention, loss prevention Paid in full, don't know what I bought Loss prevention, loss prevention Same four walls, just a different kind of caught What it costs to keep it What it costs to lose it Gyasi gave me a sandwich I gave a kid a court date
Verse 2
Then Gyasi caught me, cold cuts tucked in my hoodie, stone cold Didn't call the cops, just said "come through the front door" Pulled me to the deli, turkey on rye, no mayo Said "next time, little man, knock, we'll figure a paycheck" Ate that sandwich slow, seventeen winters later still taste the rain Now Marcus on the radio, says he got one I pause three seconds, don't override him Tell myself a lot of things that sound just like my name
Chorus
Loss prevention, loss prevention Paid in full, don't know what I bought Loss prevention, loss prevention Same four walls, just a different kind of caught
Verse 3
Gyasi put me on the clock, stock the top shelf on the ladder Learned why milk was seven-fifty when Publix was cheaper He showed me invoices, freight cost, insurance on the glass What it cost to keep the lights on after dusk had passed Now I run four stores, set the margin, sign the PO Milk is eight-ninety-nine and I call it what he called it, bro Freight. Insurance. Wages. Loss. The holy quadrilateral Tell myself the number is the number, arithmetical Is it, though
Bridge
Church basement. Folding chair. Back row. Miss Deborah says the word "predatory." Don't know I'm here. Don't know whose name's on the lease. Sixteen and thirty at the same time. Don't know if I'm saving this block or bleeding it. I don't know.
Verse 4
Sat in that chair and felt my spine crack in stereo Sixteen wanted to spit at thirty, thirty couldn't say no Thirty tried to hand sixteen a sandwich and a shove Said "you don't know the freight, little cuz, you don't know the love" Sixteen said, "cost to who" Thirty ain't have an answer that ain't sound like a boardroom Preacher quoted Isaiah, a nurse quoted her rent Quoted my invoices in my head, felt my chest cave in I ain't the hero
Verse 5
Drove home down MLK, passed Gyasi's old corner Vape shop now, neon green, no sandwich in the window Keep that turkey on rye folded in my ribcage like a compass But the needle been spinning, the ground moving under us Marcus texted, kid pleaded down, got community service Ain't no clean answer in the chamber, ain't no closing bar Just a man in a polo, tryin' to remember a sandwich and a scar
Chorus
Loss prevention, loss prevention Paid in full, don't know what I bought Loss prevention, loss prevention Same four walls, just a different kind of caught What it costs to keep it What it costs to lose it Gyasi gave me a sandwich I gave a kid a court date I know, I know, I know
Inside the recording
Four-thirty AM, aisle three Same hoodie I used to wear
Built this from a handshake and a hoodie full of shame I just need to know what it cost me to change the frame
Loss prevention, loss prevention Paid in full, don't know what I bought
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.