The Lanyard Waits Beside the Kettle

Lyrics

The kettle clicks off in the quiet kitchen
A new white shirt hangs on the door
My lanyard waits beside the sugar bowl
With a photograph I've never seen before

Tomorrow I'll learn where the stairwell turns
Which cup is mine, which chair is free
Tonight I iron the creases flat
And practise saying my name to me

Small hours, small hands, a pulse that's loud
A little afraid and a little proud

Let the morning come and find me ready
Let the lanyard rest beside the tea
Every first begins with trembling fingers
Every door was strange to someone, too, like me
Let the morning come and find me ready
Steady, steady, steady as the key

My mother called to say good luck
She said she still remembers hers
The smell of paper, the lift that stuck
How kindly someone showed her where

So I will be the one who stops
And points a stranger down the hall
Some day I'll be the one who knows
And that is sweetest of it all

Let the morning come and find me ready
Let the lanyard rest beside the tea
Every first begins with trembling fingers
Every door was strange to someone, too, like me
Let the morning come and find me ready
Steady, steady, steady as the key

The kettle cools, the light goes low
Tomorrow waits, and I will go