A Hammer - Kate Tempest

A Hammer - Kate Tempest
Dale was Pete's Mum's new boyfriend's son
He had a mouth that was too small for his toungue
Teeth like a ladder that was missing a rung
Chin looked like it was trying to run
He had a laugh like a car crash
Eyes like
Pot holes in tarmac
Complexion the colour of chewed up bar snacks
Kinda guy spend his whole life getting laughed at
When all you've got is a hammer
Everything looks like nails
If you bow to the hand that damns you
Everything fails
The things you do do you
The plans you hatch hatch monsters
Unless you watch your moves
Your own fists will knock you unconscious
Pete took him to the pub and the conversation dragged
So Pete got pissed
Pretty soon he had more than his usual
Approaching legless
He found himself opening up
I got to get this off my chest he said
With his head in his hands
I got this girlfriend
But I can't stand the way things are going
Right she's got this job but I don't like it
It pisses me off
I don't even know
What we're fighting for but these days
Me and her
We are fightin' more than I'd like
And then out comes the white
And Dale looks at him in the clinical light of the toilets
Why what does she do
Pete looks at his shoes and says
She's a masseuse
When all you've got is a hammer
Everything looks like nails
If you bow to the hand that damns you
Everything fails
The things you do do you
The plans you hatch hatch monsters
Unless you watch your moves
Your own fists will knock you unconscious
You could call her up
You could book a session
You could push her
See if she responds and then
You can tell me everything
And we will both see that I was wrong
To have ever doubted
That she would be the mother of
Pure modesty cause I know she loves me
She just does this to pay the bills
And to exist in a way
That will give her the means to live for
For than a dull routine
Dale nods
Bells ring in Pete's head
But he looks at Dale
Those clumsy legs
That sunken chest
That spotty neck
This is the perfect man to do the test
When all you've got is a hammer
Everything looks like nails
If you bow to the hand that damns you
Everything fails
The things you do do you
The plans you hatch hatch monsters
Unless you watch your moves
Your own fists will knock you unconscious