The story behind this song
At 5:45 the floorboards give him away, though he's sure he's silent and has been for thirty years. The chipped white mug he never replaces, two sugars stirred so the spoon won't ring, set down like it's made of morning and the door closed on its slowest hinge. He glued the handle the year they moved the piano, said it pours just fine.
Some men write poems or buy roses by the lake. He said it all in the coffee, every single morning, the bad ones and the mornings after the fights included. For the wife who lies still just to hear him trying to be quiet — the softest daily riot there is.
Lyrics
The kettle, the spoon
The quietest man in the world
You think you're silent — I've known for thirty years
The chipped white mug, the one you never replace
Two sugars stirred so the spoon don't ring
You set it down like it's made of morning
And close the door on its slowest hinge
You just kept brewing it
Thirty years and you never missed a day
Not on the bad ones, not after the fights
Not the morning after we sat up all night
Some men write poems, some buy roses by the lake —
You said it all in the coffee you still make
You glued the handle, said it pours just fine
Steam and that dark roast smell down the hallway —
That's the alarm clock I'd choose every time
Five more minutes you give me like a present
Like sleep was something you could pour me too
You didn't have to
Thirty years and you never missed a day
Not on the bad ones, not after the fights
Not the morning after we sat up all night
Some men write poems, some buy roses by the lake —
You said it all in the coffee you still make
I told them: watch the small things hold
Anyone can shout a vow in June
It takes a quiet man to keep it every morning, every winter, every spoon
Thirty years, and I never let on I was awake
I'd lie there just to hear you trying to be quiet
The softest racket, the daily riot
So here's my vow, a little late —
I'll love you past the last cup that you make
I'll be listening
Don't change a thing
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