We stand before the first machine
A pocket full of careful coins
The jacket holds us button-tight
The collar keeps the joy in line
The token slot is asking now
Not money — something heavier
The price is not what's in our hands
The price is what we let go here
The copper turns red
Inside the slot
Let it burn
Let it burn
Drop the coin where the careful people turn
Let it burn
Let it burn
We were buttoned to the bone
Now the buttons learn
A woman drops her borrowed smile
The one she wears in weekday rooms
A man lays down his iron tongue
The one he kept in narrowed rooms
We kept our laughter folded small
Stitched beneath the formal seams
Now the slot takes what we offer
And the machine begins to glow
Let it burn
Let it burn
Drop the coin where the careful people turn
Let it burn
Let it burn
We were buttoned to the bone
Now the fabric learns
Coin
Drop
Coat
Off
Coin
Drop
Skin
Soft
We don't become the kids we were
The kids we were are gone
We just unbutton far enough
To feel the night get on
The token's worth is not the ride
The token's worth is this
We paid with something we were told
To never, ever miss
Let it burn
Let it burn
Drop the coin where the careful people turn
Let it burn
Let it burn
We were buttoned to the bone
Now the buttons burn
Let it burn
Let it burn
Every pocket's turning light
Let it cost
Let it cost
We can pay with what we held too tight
The jacket's open
The coin is gone
The slot stays warm
After the song