'09 Baseline Wage

Well, my name is Stephen Sparrow, my buddies call me Bird
I got the sweetest voice in music your ears have ever heard
But playin' ain't no livin', so I headed off to work
Rolled my tires north of Nashville and the sleeves up on my shirt
Found me a job down at the quarry
Well, the only rock I ever thought I'd roll was this guitar
And my boss, Bob, he told me, "Birdie
Well, the only shift I got to give you starts just after dark"
And in the morning there'll be sunshine beaming off these walls
And I'll smell coffee from the kitchen as it dances down the hall
I know things are getting better, tell myself that every day
But for now I'm working nights for that '09 baseline wage
And that quarry closed at sundown, my job was keeping watch
To make sure nobody broke on in to steal old Bobby's rocks
But one night I found the chain link had been cut into a door
There was someone in the quarry who wasn't there before
So I grabbed my gun and I made a big fist
Started following the footsteps of the man who'd broken in
And as I walked, I started thinking
$7.25 an hour ain't enough for this
And in the morning there be sunshine beaming off these walls
And I'll smell coffee from the kitchen as it dances down the hall
I know things are getting better, tell myself that every day
But for now I'm working nights for that '09 baseline wage
And I found that sneaky burglar In Bob's office by the safe
And I held my gun up high and I yelled, FREEZE, right in his face
And he threw his hands in the air
And then I got him on the floor
Then I realized that old burglar
Busted open that safe door
So I took it all
All of Bob's money
All the cash and checks and keys and deeds
And then I started running down the hall
Out of the quarry
And I don't work for $7.25 an hour anymore
And in the morning there'll be sunshine beaming off these walls
And I'll smell coffee from the kitchen as it dances down the hall
I know things are getting better, tell myself that every day
But I won't ever work again for that '09 baseline wage
I won't ever work again for that '09 baseline wage