Factory Tyan

I'm twenty-something, but my soul feels like snow You said, “I love you,” but it didn’t mean a glow A forty-year-old husband, drowning deep in debt He vanished in the haze and left me pain and debt Now in the workshop, my second dawn is bright The factory is roaring, and I’ve lost the right To turn back home, but I still laugh through smoke and grease I didn’t break apart — I only learned to seize The strength inside my hands, the steel inside my chest The nights were hard, but I survived the test You took the easy road, I took the aisle of flame And every broken promise only fed my name So I go to work, through cold and through the fire I wash my hands in sweat and spit out all the mire You promised me the world, then burned the s down But I stayed alive while life tried to drag me underground So I go to work, in pale and dusty light I’m done with chasing love that never treated me right Let the factory thunder, let February roar I’m paying back my heart, I’m building steel once more In the morning — the gate, my helmet, and my card A paper cup of tea, a faith that still is scarred My coworkers smile and say, “Girl, don’t you give in,” And I grin right back: “I’ve learned how to begin.” There’s oil on my fingers, and iron on my shirt But who could guess how long my silence really hurt? I used to swallow anger, used to lower my eyes Now I speak when I am struck with lies I carry through the clang, I breathe through every spark I found my own direction somewhere in the dark The girl you left behind is gone, she’s outgrown grief I’m not your tiny shadow — I’m my own belief So I go to work, through cold and through the fire I wash my hands in sweat and spit out all the mire You promised me the world, then burned the s down But I stayed alive while life tried to drag me underground So I go to work, in pale and dusty light I’m done with chasing love that never treated me right Let the factory thunder, let February roar I’m paying back my heart, I’m building steel once more And when the night comes back and pulls me to the void I hear the machines like they’re trying to keep me buoyed Not for revenge — no, I just chose at last To stop drowning in your debts and rise above the past If tears still find me, I let them fall and pass Then wipe my face and stand inside the glass I learned that being gentle doesn’t mean I bend And every wound I carried helped me mend So I go to work, through cold and through the fire I wash my hands in sweat and spit out all the mire You promised me the world, then burned the s down But I stayed alive while life tried to drag me underground So I go to work, in pale and dusty light I’m done with chasing love that never treated me right Let the factory thunder, let February roar I’m paying back my heart, I’m building steel once more