Laid Off on a Tuesday

Foreman called us in at seven, said, "Boys, there ain't no easy wayHollister's shuttin' down Line 3, and it's all of you today"Twenty-two years on that line, and it took a minute flatTo hand me a cardboard box and a "sorry," and that was that

Laid off on a TuesdayJust a handshake and a cardboard boxNow I pack my lunch every mornin'And I kiss her like nothin's lostThen I park down by the riverWatch the water roll awayTellin' myself I'll tell herJust not today

She asks me at the supper table, "How was work today"I say, "Same old grind, darlin'," and I look the other wayThree weeks of applications in the cab of my old truckThree weeks of "We'll call you back," three weeks of runnin' out of luck

'Cause a man's supposed to carry it, a man's supposed to provideAnd I couldn't bear to see a little less of me in her eyes

Then Thursday noon I heard some gravel crunchin' down the laneHer old Buick pulled up next to me in the pourin' rainShe climbed in with two coffees, set one down in my handSaid, "The whole town knows about Line 3, I've known since it began"

She said, "I didn't marry a paycheck, I married a manWe've been broke before, and we'll be broke againBut you don't get to carry this alone anymoreBaby, that's what the vows were for"Then she bowed her head right there in the cab and prayed for both of usAnd for the first time in three weeks, I could breathe

Laid off on a TuesdayLost a job, but I didn't lose it allGot a woman holdin' my handAnd a God who catches when we fallNow we sit down by the riverWatch the water roll awayAnd for the first time in three weeksLord, I think we'll be okay

Laid off on a TuesdayBut I'm still standin'

Laid Off on a Tuesday

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