The First Pay Packet Sits on the Table

Lyrics

I set it down beside the bread
An envelope, my name in ink
My father turns it in his hands
And says nothing, as he thinks

He worked thirty years at the dock
Never once he spoke of pride
But now he adjusts his glasses slowly
And there is something in his eyes

The first pay packet sits on the table
Small as a letter, heavy as a dream
He folds it back, he does not say it
But I can hear it, I can hear it in between
The first pay packet sits on the table
And we are both a little more than we've been

My mother sets another plate
She hums an old familiar air
We eat in the glow of the kitchen lamp
Every one of us is there

He walks me to the door that night
Pats my shoulder, once, twice
And says, you carry it well, son
That is all, and it suffices

The first pay packet sits on the table
Small as a letter, heavy as a dream
He folds it back, he does not say it
But I can hear it, I can hear it in between
The first pay packet sits on the table
And we are both a little more than we've been

Small as a letter, heavy as a dream
And we are both a little more than we've been