Lyrics

[Intro — spoken, measured]
What do you need?
A ride?
Money?
A favor?
A body to stand between you and the problem?
Good.
I know how to do that.
[Verse 1]
Call me when the engine dies,
when the rent is late, when somebody lies,
when the door won’t close, when the pipes give way,
when the night gets heavy and you need me to stay.
I can carry boxes, carry blame,
carry your silence, carry your name,
carry the things you were too tired to hold—
Funny how useful starts feeling like owned.
[Pre-Chorus]
I fix.
I lift.
I pay.
I stay.
Tell me what breaks.
I’ll make it behave.
[Chorus]
I’m the useful man,
good with weight in both hands,
good with trouble, good with plans,
good at being what you need.
I’m the useful man,
built to bend and built to stand.
But if I stopped doing everything—
Would you still want me?
Or just what I bring?
[Verse 2]
I know your passwords, your deadlines,
your mother’s birthday, your warning signs,
I know which bill gets paid on Friday,
which lie means “please don’t leave me today.”
I remember everyone’s emergencies,
carry everybody’s missing pieces,
but ask me what I need tonight—
I wouldn’t know how to answer right.
[Pre-Chorus]
I solve.
I drive.
I patch.
I provide.
Everybody rests.
I stay useful outside.
[Chorus]
I’m the useful man,
good with weight in both hands,
good with trouble, good with plans,
good at being what you need.
I’m the useful man,
built to bend and built to stand.
But if I stopped doing everything—
Would you still want me?
Or just what I bring?
[Bridge — stripped, intimate]
There’s a strange kind of loneliness
in being everybody’s answer.
You become important
without becoming known.
They know what you can do.
They know what you can carry.
They know who to call.
But do they know you?
...
Do I?
[Break — spoken, colder]
Need something fixed?
Call me.
Need somebody strong?
Call me.
Need somebody awake at three in the morning?
Call me.
Need somebody to ask how I’m doing?
...
Wrong number.
[Final Chorus]
I’m the useful man,
hold the roof up if I can,
take the hit, complete the plan,
keep the panic underneath.
I’m the useful man.
Reliable.
Available.
Prepared.
And terrified that if I ever become useless...
I disappear.
[Outro — nearly whispered]
So—
what do you need?