Odes on Tender Specie(s) Vol II: Paper Faith · Track 40 · middle
I Owe You (Ledger)
30-second interlude. A 1908 grocery-store credit ledger. Names, dates, amounts owed: 'Mrs. Hess — 2 lbs flour, 14¢, paid 5/3.' The IOU as small-town intimacy.
Lyrics
Nineteen-oh-eight... The spine is cracked, the ink is faded brown. Let's see. Mrs. Hess... two pounds of flour. Fourteen cents. Paid... May third. Good. Mr. Albright... a plug of tobacco. Seven cents. Due since... March. A little line drawn under his name. A whole town... written on account. A paper faith.