X Works

Nothing's included. That's the condition.
It's outside the door. That's the whole service.
No loading, no insurance, no ride
Cheapest line on the quote, by a lot
Everything past this door is mine
Picking it up myself. Still am.

Ex works
Out the door and that's the deal
Nobody's carrying it but me
Ex works

Ex works
Out the door and that's the deal
Cheapest thing I ever bought
Ex works

Came with a paper. No stamp on it.
Good school, good desk, and it arrives
That's what it said, so that's what I carried
Nobody opened it. Nobody had to.
There's no line on the form for odds
Line was long behind me. I signed and moved up.

Said to contain
Nobody lied. Nobody looked.
They wrote it down the way it came
Said to contain

Said to contain / Said to contain
Nobody looked.

Broke the seal somewhere around thirty-eight
Weight was right. Contents were something else.
Went looking for who to bill for the difference
Found my own name in the consignee box
I took delivery. Never counted a thing.
Filed no claim. Nobody to file it against.

It wasn't a lie, it was a line on a form
Somebody typed what they were handed
I carried it a long way without weighing it
That part's mine

Said to contain
Nobody lied. Nobody looked.
I looked. Late, but I looked.
Said to contain

Guy across from me — his seal's still on.

Made it. Wrote it down, and made it
Same skyline I used to save on my phone
Now it's out the window and it's mine to look at
Got the address, got the keys, got the view
Nobody here knows my last name yet
So close I could touch it. Not yet mine.

Landed. Not cleared.
Standing in the country, waiting on a stamp
Everything arrived except the paperwork on me
Bonded

It's not sad. Don't get me wrong
The room is right. The chair is right.
I just haven't learned to sit in it yet
Feels like a borrowed coat. It's my size.
Ask me if I'm staying, I'll say — yeah
Yeah. Yeah, I'm staying. Give me time.

Nothing's wrong with the cargo.
Nothing's missing. Nothing's late.
There's just a stamp that hasn't landed.
That's the whole delay.

Landed. Not cleared.
Give it time, it clears
I'm not lost — I'm just early
Bonded

Woke up late again, and that's alright
Same corner, same coffee, same light
I got a spot here, I could stay here too
Somebody said take your time. I liked that.
Days go easy when you never unload
Man, it's comfortable, you know?

Meter's still running while I sit still
It adds up while I don't
Damage that I can't see 'til it's due
Demurrage

Same corner, but the calendar moved
Called it patience, called it rest
Called it waiting 'til the timing's best
The clock didn't take the year off
Nothing happened, and it still cost me
Only thing that grew this year was the bill

I thought leaving was the expensive part
Packed for it, priced it out
Turns out staying was the invoice
And nobody sends you that one

Meter stops the day I move
It clears as fast as it came
Cut the seal and let it roll
Demurrage — paid in full

Thirty years and they hand you a clock
Cake in the break room, everybody claps
Somebody reads your name off a card
They had your free time written down from the start
Four days for some, fourteen for others
Nobody ever showed you the paperwork

Last free day
Nobody tells you when it lands
You can buy a little more, but it isn't free
Last free day

L. F. D. When's yours?

I've got one too, I just don't know the date
Mine's not on a calendar, it's in my knees
You can pay to push it out a week
That's called an extension. It's still a bill.
Notice came. It always comes.
I filed it somewhere I don't look

Free time was never free
Somebody priced it and you signed
Whatever's yours go find it now
Before the day picks for you

Last free day
Mine's out there somewhere ahead
I'd rather move before the meter starts
Last free day

L. F. D. Mine's out there. Yours too.

Somebody asked again if I'm okay
Guess I forgot to fix my face
Explaining takes long and changes nothing
So I say I'm fine. It's faster.
Thanks for the worry. I'm not taking it.
Couldn't tell you if it's true. Doesn't matter.

I'm fine
Out here it goes like that
Ask me tomorrow, I'll say the same
I'm fine

I'm fine. I'm fine. Nothing's on fire yet.
Been worse. Be worse again.

Never once got the easy version
What takes them one go takes me three
So everything in my hands, I made
You can lose the thing. You don't lose the making.
Hard's just the default setting here
Nothing to fall from when you start low

If it came easy it wouldn't be mine
The price is the part that makes it mine
Don't worry about me
I know this road in the dark

I'll be fine
Whatever it turns out to be
Never had easy. Don't need it now.
I'll be fine

Might take a while. Ask me in a year.

I go first. What were your terms again?
Once it leaves my hands it's out of my hands
Best part's watching what you do with it
Doesn't come back? Fine. You don't owe me a reason.
Don't send me paperwork. I read moves, not letters.
Your move. Show me.

I let it go first
Nothing lands till I let go
Can't take it back once it's sent
Telex release

Telex release / Telex release
Sent it. Show me.

Somebody went first for me once
I remember what I did with it. Not proud of that.
Circling each other is the priciest thing I do
Clock runs while we're both being careful
Circle if you want. I'll just send it.
Not generous. Just faster.

Nothing moves till somebody lets go
So I let go early. Every time.
And you're scoring me too — good.
Same table. Both of us marking.

I let it go first
Nothing lands till I let go
Can't take it back, don't want to
Telex release

Sent it. Your move.

Had a someday
Vague one. No date on it.
Couldn't move on it though
Worked hard. Just didn't know toward what.
Heading for a destination somebody else wrote down
Not wrong. Just wasn't mine.

Cleared
Nobody called. Nothing happened.
And now I can go
Cleared

Cleared. Cleared. Same me. New status.

Then something showed up I had to answer for
And someday got a date on it
Nothing about me changed. Not one thing.
I know which way I'm going now
And which ways I'm not
One word changed on the file. That was all of it.

The cargo didn't change
The status did
Somebody finally put their name on it
That somebody was me

Cleared
Took years, then one line
And now I can go
Cleared

Cleared. Cleared. Going now.

Everybody loads like they're staying
Saving the good stuff for a day that doesn't come
Seen a lot of boxes go back still full
Nothing wrong with the cargo. Just never opened.
I packed light and spent all of it
Whatever's left in here, it isn't much

Empty return
Empty means it all came off
Good run, friends. I mean that.
Empty return

Empty return. Empty return. All of it. Gone.

Curious about it? Then I went and did it
That's how I got there ahead of most
When I get interested I go a little crazy. I know that.
Not much of it worked. Nothing went untried.
Regret doesn't sit on what I did — it sits on what I didn't
Even the days that wrecked me, I picked those

Empty return
Empty means it all came off
Good run, friends. Left nothing in it.
Empty return

Empty return. Empty return. All of it. Gone.