The janitor clocks out at a quarter to ten Joyce pulls the ladder, ascends to the den Of the stacks, Section 9, where the dust never settles She memorized poems from a book without petals
Chromatic walk-down (This is where the old tabs failed) A cold wind rattles the microfilm reel As she shelves a confession sealed in red steel The date stamps are sleeping, the ink pads are dry Joyce looks at the exit, but never asks why joyce the librarian lyrics and chords fixed
Dewey’s decimal system hangs over her head But Joyce keeps a ledger in a drawer of her desk Paper-clipped secrets, a ribbon of red For the books that the censors said should be dead The janitor clocks out at a quarter to
Oh, Joyce the Librarian (Shhh, don’t tell) With your horn-rimmed glasses and a carousel smell You sorted the fiction, you hid the non-fiction You built a cathedral of silent contradiction The actual concert pitch sounds a minor 3rd higher
Am – G – Am – F – C – G – Am (Hold) Chorus (Lift the dynamics, strum with a softer felt pick) Pattern: F – C – G – Am (x2) Then: F – C – G – E7 (The "silent contradiction" line resolves here) Bridge (The "Fixed" Section) This is the part everyone gets wrong. Pay attention to the rhythm: two beats per chord.
Note: The chord shapes written below are relative to the capo. The actual concert pitch sounds a minor 3rd higher. (Fingerpick cleanly, low E string alternating with high arpeggios)