1. Time carries me in its teeth by the scruff of the neck,
Tell me if it makes me tougher to respect.
I have been a minor figure in my own disasters,
But expect praise for avoiding choking hazards.
I am a barnacle on the bottom of my own boat,
Trying to pretend that I’m helping keep it afloat.
Somehow still feel too young to get impatient,
Still waiting to begin embracin’ desperation.
They told me if I wore the armor, I could never come to harm,
But they never warned me of the chafing in the underarm.
If I’m being honest, I am feeling fine in coach,
But I’d like a window seat for the final approach.
My five-year plan didn’t get me very far
‘Cause I hitched my wagon to a stationary star.
Hanging straight down in the sky without moving
Trying to determine if my prospects are improving.

Chorus: When you hear the knock,
Your presence cannot
Be denied once you’ve replied
“Occupied!”
When they pound on the door,
You cannot be ignored,
Once you’ve cried,
“Occupied!”

2. It’s like deciding to be content with my portion’s
The same as officially declining to find fortune.
Too afraid of snakes to be tempted by the serpent,
But too struggle-averse to not surrender to the current.
I’m flying like a drone without weaponry,
Waiting for whoever’s at the controls to begin respecting me.
Instead of flying me in figure-eights over landscapes for heaving sighs in,
Steer me toward the gleaming skyline on the horizon.
I appeal to people without clout.
Just one of many ways I keep word from getting out.
Always in favor of redefining failure.
There’s no such thing as a reliable narrator.
These other suckers keep chasing provocateurs,
They don’t see that the hook isn’t just a part of the lure,
It’s the whole reason for the lure’s very existence:
To punish go-getters for their dogged persistence.

Chorus: When you hear the knock,
Your presence cannot
Be denied when you’ve replied
“Occupied!”
When they pound on the door,
You cannot be ignored,
Once you’ve cried,
“Occupied!”