Heat Breaks at Seven, Porch Steps Full

Lyrics

Heat breaks at seven, porch steps fill up
Aunties with the paper fans, uncles with a cup
Sprinkler on the corner doing slow cartwheels
Ice pop on my knuckles, that's how summer feels
Domino click-clack on a folding card table
Grandma tells a story and I'm hanging on the label
Late August evening, the block is wide awake
Nobody in a hurry, nothing here to fake

Porch steps full, heat breaks at seven
Whole block outside like a little bit of heaven
Cool breeze rolling, radio low
Late summer evening, nowhere else to go
Porch steps full, pass the plate around
Sweetest kind of music is the neighborhood sound

Kids on scooters ringing bells for a race
Streetlight flickers on, kisses everybody's face
Smoke from the grill and somebody's laughing loud
Cousin does a joke and he's pulling in a crowd
I got a notebook, but I'm leaving it shut
Some verses write themselves when the stoop is a hut
Mama's on the top step, shoes kicked off
Whole day's weight is gone, just a little cough

Porch steps full, heat breaks at seven
Whole block outside like a little bit of heaven
Cool breeze rolling, radio low
Late summer evening, nowhere else to go
Porch steps full, pass the plate around
Sweetest kind of music is the neighborhood sound

Sky goes peach, then it fades to plum
Fireflies on the fence like a little drum
Old man next door hums a tune from way back
I catch the melody and I put it in my track
Summer's almost done, but we're holding it tight
Every porch light glowing like a little night light
East side evening, that's my kind of chill
Heart is full and the whole block is still

Pass the plate, pass the cup
Pass the laughter, fill it up
Pass the night, pass the day
Heat breaks and we all stay

Porch steps full, heat breaks at seven
Whole block outside like a little bit of heaven
Cool breeze rolling, radio low
Late summer evening, nowhere else to go
Porch steps full, pass the plate around
Sweetest kind of music is the neighborhood sound

Heat breaks at seven
Porch steps full