Track 6 of the album Hank's Garage, Again · 2026
Tip Jar Serenade for a Rainy Tuesday
“Under an awning by the subway stairs with cold hands and a tip jar. I wrote it for every busker who kept playing in the rain.”
rock ballad · street-corner ballad · rock ballad · 4:06
Lyrics
Under the awning by the subway stairs I tune up cold hands in the wet night air Guitar case open like a hungry mouth Rain on the pennies, wind blowing south A kid in a raincoat stops to stare A woman with groceries slows her pace there Nobody's clapping, nobody's keeping time But a song's still a song when it's all that is mine So I'll play it for the puddles, play it for the street Play it for the strangers with the tired, hurrying feet If one heart slows down for a verse or two Then the whole wet Tuesday was worth it, too An old man leaves a dollar and a nod Says he used to play, but he put it down I say the strings remember what the hands forget Pick it up again, friend, it ain't over yet So I'll play it for the puddles, play it for the street Play it for the strangers with the tired, hurrying feet If one heart slows down for a verse or two Then the whole wet Tuesday was worth it, too Streetlights hum along in a minor key The last train rumbles underneath me I don't need a stage or a name in lights Just a corner and a song on a rainy night So I'll play it for the puddles, play it for the street Play it for the strangers with the tired, hurrying feet If one heart slows down for a verse or two Then the whole wet Tuesday was worth it, too Rain on the pennies, a song in the air Somebody's listening, and that's enough there