Let Babylon Burn - He Called It Tired

He'd practise telling someone, then hear how it would sound
And ask about their children when they finally came round
He knew who'd lost a father.
He knew who couldn't pay
There was always someone hurting, so he'd put his own away
“Fine” was getting hard to say.
“Tired” was close enough
A word that let him tell the truth without telling very much
He called it tired...
Such a little word
A whole life underneath it, and only that got heard
No sleep could reach the place in him that ached
He called it tired...
And stayed awake
At first, he liked the quiet.
No excuses.
No demands
Then he stopped making arrangements.
Then the others stopped asking his plans
He still sent birthday wishes.
Still remembered someone's news
But when they spoke about next summer, he let everybody choose
Pre-Chorus | Am – Em/G – B7 | percussion falls away, same voice, restrained rising melody
He could picture all their futures, all the things they'd laugh about
But whenever he imagined them, he kept leaving himself out
He called it tired...
Such a little word
A whole life underneath it, and only that got heard
No sleep could reach the place in him that ached
He called it tired...
And stayed awake
Then came the call.
He'd taken his own life
Someone asked the caller to say his name twice
The birds kept on that morning.
Not a note was out of place
Someone stood beside the grave with both hands over their face
He called it tired...
Now they hear it differently
They turn his words over at night instead of turning in to sleep
They miss his late arrivals, his stories told too long
Someone starts to contradict him— then remembers he is gone
There should have been another visit
Another ordinary day.
His coat thrown down
His voice from the kitchen.
Something he'd forgotten to say
Someone saves a story all the way back home
Then remembers who it's for