Verse 1
I’m a sixty-year-old lady with a mop and keys
Been cleaning up chaos since before these kids could read
Hallways sticky, mystery smells in the air
If you drop it, puke it, poop it — yeah, Ill be there
Four coworkers deep in this custodian show
Ain’t one of us normal, but we still go
From crayons to chaos, we handle it all
Ring that bell, Lord help us — here comes the call
Chorus
We got mops, buckets, attitudes
Vomit, poop, and broken rules
From cafeteria spills to bathroom blues
We keep this school from national news
Wax the floor, dodge the drama
Bleach stronger than our patience mama
We don’t teach math, we don’t teach school
But we clean up everything — including poo

Verse 2
Got a sixty-two-year-old bald Black bishop man, got a prayer and a trash bag plan
If there’s vomit on the floor, he bows his head
“Lord give me strength,” then sprays it dead
Blesses the bleach, anoints the sink
Says a quick prayer before he stops to think
If poop’s involved, he pauses twice
Then says “Amen” and pays the price

Verse 3
Sixty-three-year-old lady never misses a fight
Arguing with toilets morning, noon, and night
Turns her hearing aid down when we say “please”
But hears every rumor floating on the breeze
Yells through walls, vents, and stall number three
While I’m scraping stuff I can’t unsee
She swears she’s right, volume on ten
Then says “WHAT?” when you talk again

Verse 4
Fifty-year-old Yankee from Connecticut loud
Argues with the mop like she’s winning a crowd
“Back home we did it better,” every single day
Even the poop has something to say
Debates the trash, the sink, the floor
Like the vomit started it first, for sure
If arguing burned calories, she’d be thin
But here we are — clocking in

Verse 5
Short little lead with the clipboard at lay
Micromanaging steps we been doing all night
“Did you clean that corner?” “Yes — twice — today”
While I’m elbow-deep in a biohazard buffet
Doesn’t see it, doesn’t know
We’ve cleaned this school since long ago
Smile and nod, keep pushing through
While disinfecting shoe number two

Chorus
We got mops, buckets, attitudes
Vomit, poop, and broken rules
From bathroom floors to classroom shoes
We clean things kids swear they didn’t do
Bleach it twice, spray it strong
Laugh or cry — both feel wrong
We don’t teach math, we don’t teach school
But we save this place while breaking rules

Bridge
Kids think fairies clean this mess
Nah — it’s us and industrial-strength stress
We’ve seen things that can’t be erased
And still come back with coffee and grace

Outro
So when that bell rings, we survive another day
Scrubs in the wash, dignity… halfway
Old bones creak, but the floors shine new
Sixty years strong — the clean-up crew ????????

You sing about mercy on a Sunday night
Hands in the air, say you’re living right
Talk about love like you wrote the book
But you won’t even give your mother a look
You say you’re walking the narrow road
Carrying truth like a heavy load
But you closed the door, threw away the key
And called it faith instead of cruelty
Pre-Chorus
You say God told you to let me go
But His voice sounds nothing like your cold hello
Chorus
You write songs about obedience
But you don’t know what honor means
You preach grace but you practice silence
Hide behind prayers and broken dreams
You sing loud about loving Him
While you cut me off completely
If faith is shown by how you live
Then tell me, son—what does God see?
Verse 2
I held you when you couldn’t stand
Prayed for you when no one else would understand
Now I’m a ghost in your perfect life
Erased with a button, blocked overnight
I don’t need a stage or halo glow
Just one chance to watch my grandson grow
But punishment dressed up as “God’s will”
Is just pride standing stubborn and still
Pre-Chorus
You say this distance makes you strong
But love was never meant to be this wrong
Chorus
You write songs about obedience
But you don’t know what honor means
You preach grace but you practice silence
Hide behind prayers and broken dreams
You sing loud about loving Him
While you cut me off completely
If faith is shown by how you live
Then tell me, son—what does God see?
Bridge
God doesn’t hide behind a block button
He doesn’t confuse control with truth
He doesn’t break hearts to prove a point
Or steal a child from someone who loves him too
If He’s listening to every word you sing
He hears the ache you won’t redeem
Because love that punishes, love that divides
Was never His design
Final Chorus
You write songs about obedience
But love is the truest test
Not the verses you quote or the notes you play
But how you treat the ones who loved you best
I’ll keep praying, I’ll keep believing
Even when you don’t call or see
Because my faith isn’t measured by your silence
And God still knows the truth of me
Outro
One day the music will fade away
And truth will stand where excuses lay
Songs don’t raise a child
Love does

She Never Meant to Go
(Tribute to Iryna Zarutska, 2002–2025)

Verse 1
She came from distant skies,
From bomb shelters, echoes of war in her eyes;
Fled the sirens, fled the fear,
Chasing hope in a new land she held dear.
Young hands working hard to learn,
English class, community, each bridge she earned;
Dreamed of helping animals, gentle dreams she sowed,
In kindness her light would always glow.

Pre-Chorus
The train car rattled, the night was still,
She texted love, expecting home, dreaming peace until—

Chorus
In Charlotte nights, no warning came,
A blade, a whisper, then only pain.
She never meant to go, never asked to fade,
Just a gentle soul, in the shadows laid.
Her laughter stolen, her future robbed,
Iryna, your name we’ll always hold in love.

Verse 2
She rode that Blue Line train one evening,
After work, after hope, after believing
That somewhere safety would stay,
That each sunrise would not betray.
But four minutes in the dark, unseen,
A pocket knife, the horror between;
Her blood spilled silent on the floor,
While people watched and turned their eyes, nothing more.

Pre-Chorus
A seat she took, unaware,
Of danger lurking, of midnight’s glare—

Chorus
In Charlotte nights, no warning came,
A blade, a whisper, then only pain.
She never meant to go, never asked to fade,
Just a gentle soul, in the shadows laid.
Her laughter stolen, her future robbed,
Iryna, your name we’ll always hold in love.

Bridge
Her father far away, in a land torn apart,
Her mother and siblings left with broken hearts.
We mourn what was lost — dreams, art, a voice,
A heart that’d help, a soul that’d choose love’s choice.
She wanted more than escape — she wanted to build,
To learn, to love, to see her dreams fulfilled.

Final Chorus
In Charlotte nights, the train still rolls,
But a girl’s gone silent, a warm heart cold.
She never meant to go, never asked to fade,
Just a gentle soul, in the shadows laid.
Her laughter stolen, her future robbed,
Iryna, your name we’ll always hold in love.

Outro
So we light a candle, we hold her close,
We speak her name — so nobody forgets.
That kindness dies when fear holds sway,
That hope will lift, though darkness threatens yet.
Iryna — rest, your journey’s known,
In every whispered wind, you’re never alone.

Verse 1
I have a trash can, but I don’t want trash in it
I have a bathtub, but I don’t want to be clean
I have a cup, but I don’t want water
I have food, but I don’t want to eat

Pre-Chorus
It’s a quiet kind of hunger
It’s a restless kind of ache
Surrounded by the pieces
But nothing feels in place

Chorus
I’ve got a bed, but I don’t want to sleep
I’ve got a heart, but it cuts too deep
I’ve got a life that I can’t keep
I don’t want, I don’t want, I don’t want…

Verse 2
I open the window, but I don’t want the air
I light a candle, but I don’t want the flame
Every comfort feels like a stranger
Every blessing whispers my name in vain

Pre-Chorus
It’s a hollow kind of silence
It’s a shadow I can’t shake
I’m drowning in abundance
But starving all the same

Chorus
I’ve got a bed, but I don’t want to sleep
I’ve got a soul, but it hides too deep
I’ve got a truth that I can’t speak
I don’t want, I don’t want, I don’t want…

Is it madness, is it mercy, is it me?
A hunger that refuses to be freed
The world keeps turning, but I can’t belong
A body full of music with no song

Final Chorus (haunting echo/repeat)
I’ve got a bed, but I don’t want to sleep
I’ve got a heart, but it cuts too deep
I’ve got a life, but I can’t keep
I don’t want, I don’t want, I don’t want…

What’s wrong with me?
Am I unlovable, am I ugly?
The mirror stares back,
And I don’t like who I see.
Every morning feels borrowed,
Every breath feels the same.
I get up, I keep moving,
But I don’t know why I stay.

Chorus
Something twisted in my mind keeps whispering,
“Hold on—something good might come.”
But nothing ever changes,
The days just bleed into one.
I smile while I’m breaking,
I laugh while I cry.
I keep waiting for a reason,
But I never find the why.

Verse 2
I make them laugh at work,
Like a painted mask on stage.
But inside I’m collapsing,
Locked inside this cage.
I come home to silence,
Empty rooms, empty walls.
I close my eyes for mercy,
Only sleep can break the fall.

Chorus
Something twisted in my mind keeps whispering,
“Hold on—something good might come.”
But nothing ever changes,
The days just bleed into one.
I smile while I’m breaking,
I laugh while I cry.
I keep waiting for a reason,
But I never find the why.

Bridge
Is this hope, or just a curse?
To believe in better, when it only gets worse.
I cling to dreams ‘cause they’re the only place,
Where I feel alive, where I’m not erased.

Outro
I can’t wait to go to sleep,
It’s the only peace I know.
But morning drags me back again,
And I put on the mask once more.

Verse 1
I still see your jacket on the back of that chair
Coffee gone cold, but your shadow’s still there
I rehearsed a thousand lines inside my head
But silence was louder than the things I left unsaid

And now I’m driving past the places we knew
Every streetlight’s whispering your truth

Chorus
It’s the words I couldn’t say
That haunt me at the end of the day
Love’s a chance you take or lose
And I froze when it was time to choose
Now I’m writing songs to make it right
But you’re not here to hear tonight
It’s the words I couldn’t say

Verse 2
Your laugh still lingers like smoke in a room
Soft and familiar, gone far too soon
I scroll through your photos just to feel close
But memories are echoes, and they hurt the most

I keep searching for a second chance
But life doesn’t work on backward plans

Chorus
It’s the words I couldn’t say
That haunt me at the end of the day
Love’s a chance you take or lose
And I froze when it was time to choose
Now I’m writing songs to make it right
But you’re not here to hear tonight
It’s the words I couldn’t say

If I could go back, I’d break through the fear
Scream out I love you so you’d still be here
But the clock keeps moving, and I can’t rewind
So I’m stuck with the silence I left behind

Final Chorus
It’s the words I couldn’t say
Still chasing me like ghosts every day
Love’s a chance you take or lose
And I froze when it was time to choose
Now this song is my last goodbye
To the love I let slip by
It’s the words I couldn’t say