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2:15
Words
Verse 1
Ruben, you were here before they fixed the sign
Before the fryer learned to hum in tune
You taught me how to hold a knife and hold my tongue
And how to read a ticket through the noise
Twelve years of making somebody else's dinner
And not one birthday off, not one
Chorus
So happy birthday from the hot side, brother
The whole line's clapping with their gloves still on
There's cake behind the milk crates, don't tell Gina
We saved you the good stool and the last good song
Verse 2
You keep a picture of your daughter by the clock
Curled up from the steam, but she's still smiling
You say the years go quick when you're not looking
Then you look, and there's a woman where she was
I've never seen you take a break you hadn't earned
I've never heard you name a single thing you want
Chorus
So happy birthday from the hot side, brother
The whole line's clapping with their gloves still on
There's cake behind the milk crates, don't tell Gina
We saved you the good stool and the last good song
Bridge
If a room could tell you what it thinks of you
It'd sound like plates and laughing and the door
It'd sound like this, just louder, all night long
Outro
Happy birthday, Ruben
Take the stool, we've got the rest
Twelve years, and we're not done
Made with Neva · lyrics and music generated by AI