The Hold Steady
"40 Bucks"

40 bucks and her favorite band,
She stayed out too late again.
The band’s back in Birmingham.
She didn’t go to work again.

She’s always been a pretty big fan.
Certain songs get scratched right in.
When morning comes round again,
The sadness crashes down and she said,

When he first came on to me it sounded kinda like a symphony.
It was hearts and horns and winds and warm and wet.
This morning when the band left town it bummed me out like a birthday clown,
A whole lotta drinks and a little bit of slight of hand.
40 bucks and her favorite band.

Her mother loves the seventies,
The leather vests and the Dungarees.
Her bio-dad played bass guitar
In a five-piece out of Wichita.

They had a little local hit.
You can find it on the internet.
They made her on the night they met
In a motel made of cigarettes.

She’s never even met the dude but she heard the song and it was pretty cool.
A sad, slow waltz about a pure and simple love.
There are days when she gets fatigued, she’s pretty old for this music scene.
And our dreams sing-a-long to the music of our youth.
40 bucks and her favorite groups.

She doesn’t really do it much
But she could probably get some party stuff.
She doesn’t really do it much
But she could probably get some party stuff.

She says she doesn’t know the guy but she’s pretty sure he’d stop by.
She barely even knows the dude but he’s come around for some other group.
And when he finally calls her back she says, “Guys let me cover this.
I know you don’t make much money yet, I know it mostly goes to cigarettes."
Last night’s conquest wasn’t all that famous yet, Two twenties from her dresser while she slept.
And then he left.