Out of Stock
Verse 1
The doctor used a gentle voice, he said to get my house in line
The billing office called me next, to see if I could pay the fine
An itemized receipt for time, printed out in black and white
An out-of-network penalty for trying to survive the night
I’m sitting in the waiting room, staring at the total due
Guess survival's just a luxury they don't extend to you
Chorus
Eight thousand a month. Just to keep the engine on.
Eight thousand a month. Until the money’s gone.
So I'm passing round a digital hat to people I don't know
Selling tickets to my tragedy, the saddest little show
Priced out of breathing, cut from the plan
Just a GoFundMe campaign for a dying man.
Verse 2
I'm writing out my update from a vinyl plastic chair
Trying to sound grateful while I’m gasping for the air
Ten dollars from a neighbor, fifty from a friend
Crowdsourcing my salvation as I’m nearing to the end
The algorithm buries me unless I share the pain
So I smile for the camera with a needle in my vein
It's a modern kind of dignity, to peddle your despair
To see if human sympathy can buy a little air
Chorus
Eight thousand a month. Just to keep the engine on.
Eight thousand a month. Until the money’s gone.
So I'm passing round a digital hat to people I don't know
Selling tickets to my tragedy, the saddest little show
Priced out of breathing, cut from the plan
Just a GoFundMe campaign for a dying man.
Bridge
Somewhere in a corporate park, staring at a screen
An actuary ran the math on what my life might mean
They weighed the cost of chemicals against the bottom line
And sent a form letter to say the treatment was declined
There's no malice in the paperwork, no villain in the room
Just a quiet, cold accounting as they subsidize my tomb
Chorus
Eight thousand a month. Just to keep the engine on.
Eight thousand a month. Until the money’s gone.
So I'm passing round a digital hat to people I don't know
Selling tickets to my tragedy, the saddest little show
Priced out of breathing, cut from the plan
Just a GoFundMe campaign for a dying man.
Outro
Swipe the card.
Check the balance.
Eight thousand a month.
Yeah... keep the change.