The Encyclopedia Salesman

At the back of my brain is a man I remember him clearly though no one else can In his suitcase He showed me the world And I had a vision so grand All that there is at the palm of my hand I'll write off all the battles and wars Erasing human scars All day he's knocking doors all over cities Under heat from 9 to 5 The load is heavy, he's got a family Hoping only to survive 1 out of 20 and his light is glowing dim He promised me tomorrow But I can't do the same for him The man took a seat at our table He laid out the pages until I was able to find myself In between the words And he made a deal with my father Letter to letter my mind wanders farther They shake their hands And off he goes again All day he's knocking doors all over cities Under heat from 9 to 5 The load is heavy, he's got a family Hoping only to survive 1 out of 20 and his light is going dim He promised me tomorrow But I can't do the same for him Oh, I heard screaming next door Nobody needs this anymore Somebody's slamming the door Nobody reads this anymore Whatever happened to him All day he's knocking doors all over cities Under heat from 9 to 5 The load is heavy, he's got a family Hoping only to survive 1 out of 20 and his light is going dim He promised me tomorrow But I can't do the same for him