Thank You Don’t Pay the Bills

Clock in at sunrise, clock out in the dark.

Back’s feeling heavy, still I am doing my part.

You call me a “rockstar,” say I am “one of a kind.”

But praise don’t cover rent on time.

My body’s giving out but I am still pulling my weight

Smiling through another twelve hour day.

You say you are grateful,

But gratitude don’t quiet my fears.

Thank you don’t pay the bills

Don’t fill the fridge, don’t fix the wheels

Don’t keep the lights from going dark

Or take the red off my credit card.

You can keep your applause,

I need something real.

Gratitude’s nice, but here’s the deal;

Thank you don’t pay the bills.

Thank you don’t pay the bills.

You are posting profits breaking records high,

While I am counting coins just to get by.

You say “We’re family”; that’s what you claim.

But family shouldn’t struggle every single day.

I got student loans and overdue fees;

A “thank you” note won’t clear my debt for me.

Respect means more than a pat on the back,

It’s a paycheck that matches my sweat.

You say we are all in this together somehow,

But your brand new car don’t break down like mine.

You have got a mortgage paid and a summer home.

I am juggling due dates on a busted phone.

If this is “together,” I must have missed

The part where your comfort feels like this...

Thank you don’t pay the bills

Don’t buy groceries, don’t cure the chills

Don’t keep the water running

Or put gas in a broke down machine.

You can frame it any way you will,

But thank you don’t pay the bills;

Thank you don’t pay the bills.

I don’t need trophies plated in gold

Or speeches about how loyalty’s bold.

Don’t need slogans on break room walls

Or a pizza party once a year.

Thank you don’t pay the bills.

Thank you don’t pay the bills.

Thank you don’t pay the bills.