[Verse 1]
I brought in fill to level out the lane,
Just a couple loads of clean and sandy grain.
Next morning Patience stood there in his socks,
Said his yard was a swamp and his tulips were in shock.

[Chorus]
Patience doesn't like it, no, Patience doesn't like it,
He's a man of steady temper till you come around and spike it.
He'll tell you he's a patient soul, then he'll call the city twice,
Patience doesn't like it, and he's never been nice.

[Verse 2]
I fired up the generator to mix a little mud,
The kind of job a working man would do if he understood.
But Patience said the shudder rattled hinges on his door,
And he stood there on his porch like he'd never been this sore.

[Chorus]
Patience doesn't like it, no, Patience doesn't like it,
He's a man of steady temper till you come around and spike it.
He'll tell you he's a patient soul, then he'll call the city twice,
Patience doesn't like it, and he's never been nice.

[Verse 3]
I left the concrete truck idling, just to keep her warm,
She's old and she gets cranky in a Thunder Bay snowstorm.
Patience said the rumble shook the windows and the floor,
And he filed a little grievance that he'd never filed before.

[Chorus]
Patience doesn't like it, no, Patience doesn't like it,
He's a man of steady temper till you come around and spike it.
He'll tell you he's a patient soul, then he'll call the city twice,
Patience doesn't like it, and he's never been nice.

[Verse 4]
I cut a little concrete with the diamond blade,

[Chorus]
He's a man of steady temper till you come around and spike it.
He'll tell you he's a patient soul, then he'll call the city twice,
Patience doesn't like it, and he's never been nice.

[Verse 4]
I cut a little concrete with the diamond blade,
The dust it drifted over where his garden was laid.
Patience said his petunias were choking in the cloud,
And he read me the by-law number, said it loud.

[Chorus]
Patience doesn't like it, no, Patience doesn't like it,
He's a man of steady temper till you come around and spike it.
He'll tell you he's a patient soul, then he'll call the city twice,
Patience doesn't like it, and he's never been nice.

[Bridge]
I told him I was sorry if the wind had done him wrong,
But the fill was free and the truck was mine and the job's been going too long.
He said, "I'm just a patient man," with a vein about to pop,
I said, "I know, Patience," and I went back to my shop.

[Outro]
So if you see a fella on Cumberland Street,
With a clipboard and a scowl and a grudge in his feet,
So if you see a fella on Cumberland Street,
With a clipboard and a scowl and a grudge in his feet,
Don't take it personal, don't take it wrong,
Patience doesn't like it, and he's been like that all along.