[Intro]
(Hollow sound of a wrench turning, then a soft clatter)
[Verse]
It was a ten-millimeter deep in the valley of the Ford
Dropped behind the alternator, I was cursing the Lord
The magnet stick is useless, the grabber can't get in
It's swallowed by the iron like a long-forgotten sin
[Chorus]
And now every job I finish has a wobble and a shake
A loose bolt on the water pump keeps me wide awake
The Princess Auto flyer brings no comfort any more
'Cause the empty red slot's a memorial to what came before
[Verse]
Massimo, he tries to patch the gap with cheap Powerfist junk
But the Pro.Point won't replace the socket that I sunk
I ran the borescope down the intake, searched the motor's throat
Just rust and memory and a handwritten father's note
[Chorus]
Now every job I finish has a wobble and a shake
A loose bolt on the bellhousing keeps my old heartache awake
The Price Wrecker deals can't cure a tool that's truly lost
And the empty red slot stays a monument to the cost
[Bridge]
I see him in the Expressway dust, in Chimo's closing sign
In the Beaver Lumber ghost that's fading with my time
He taught me how to turn a wrench before he walked away
And now his ten-millimeter's gone and so's the man from 'Bay
[Chorus]
Now every job I finish has a wobble and a shake
The doghouse dropped another piece my heavy heart can't take
I scour every flyer but the set will never mend
'Cause the empty red slot is where my father's memory ends
[Outro]
(Solo acoustic guitar, a last fading note, then silence)
