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Straight as a Promise

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Straight as a Promise

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Giuseppe "The Slab" Pagano · CAD

Spring thaw means Chimo. 540 Syndicate Ave S. Mud season. I park the F-550, let the diesel cough itself quiet. Some things you let idle.

I got a list of lumber in my head. Two-by-fours for a partition wall. The kid at the yard doesn't know me, but that's fine. I don't need help. I need straight grain.

You run your hand along the board. Check the ends for cracking. Check the middle for strain. A crown on a stud is a curse on a house. One twisted two-by-four can throw a marriage a quarter-inch out of plumb. I've seen it.

I sort the rejects to the bone pile. That's for the DIY dummies who grab a warped one and blame their hubbies later. Not my problem. My problem is finding the one board that's straight as a promise.

Brenda says I'm crazy. Spending Saturdays like this. But she knows a crooked wall will never pass her kiss. So I take my time.

When I find it, I pop the chalk line. Click. Snap. That's the metronome for a year of framing. Sounds so good. I load it up slow.

The old work truck idles low. I pray to the saint of straight lumber that this season will be kind. 'Cause a house built out of plumb is a house that's hard to find.

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Catalog: NM-00117

You've Been Through To Parts

Please Hold

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Please Hold · CAD

Liner Notes 
[Intro]
(dial tone... three tones, dead air)
Out of hours. You're through.
(click, click, click — that's the catalogue, that's the keys)
You've been through to parts... parts... parts...

[Verse]
Counter shut at half five, love, we've just stepped out the back
Kettle's on in the office, someone's having a sit-down
If it's a bolt, a bracket, a gasket or a clip
It's in the warehouse — it has always been in the warehouse

[Chorus]
You've been through to parts (parts, parts, parts)
Please leave the make, the model, and the year
You've been through to parts (parts, parts, parts)
The make, the model, and the year
Genuine parts only (genuine parts only)
Genuine parts only
The part exists — the part has always existed
Leave the make, the model, and the year

[Verse]
Our trade counter is currently busy (busy, busy)
Our trade counter is currently busy
We'll ring you back just as soon as somebody's free
And somebody is always free for a part

[Chorus]
You've been through to parts (parts, parts, parts)
Please leave the make, the model, and the year
You've been through to parts (parts, parts, parts)
The make, the model, and the year
Genuine parts only (genuine parts only)
Genuine parts only
The part exists — the part has always existed
Leave the make, the model, and the year

[Bridge]
Hi, you're through to Reg— (he hasn't, he hasn't)
(modem handshake rising... Reg picks up internally)
If it's metal and it once went on a van
There's one in a bag with the year wrote on it
The sun comes up, the part is in
The sun comes up, the part is in
Please leave the make — the make, the model — the model, and the year

[Chorus]
You've been through to parts (parts, parts, parts)
Please leave the make, the model, and the year
You've been through to parts (parts, parts, parts)
The make, the model, and the year
Genuine parts only (genuine parts only)
Genuine parts only
The part exists — the part has always existed
Leave the make, the model, and the year

[Outro]
Thank you for holding for nobody
Somebody's holding it for you
(beep)
No liner notes filed for this tape.

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