Forty-two!

Second-hand store, grey wool coat

Try it on, it fits too well

Left pocket, something cold

Brass key, Hotel Excelsior, forty-two

I should have left it in the coat

I should have let the number go

But someone carried this for years

And someone never made it home

Forty-two! Who left the light on?

Forty-two! Who closed the door?

A stranger's key, a stranger's coat

And I don't know what for

Forty-two, it's in my pocket

Heavier than before

Forty-two! Forty-two!

Forty-two! Forty-two!

Tram eleven, end of the line

Excelsior, boarded glass

Notice on the door, demolition, Monday

Side door, open, of course

I tell myself it's just a room

I tell myself it's just a key

But every stair I climb is yours

And every step is pulling me

Forty-two! Who left the light on?

Forty-two! Who closed the door?

A stranger's key, a stranger's coat

And I don't know what for

Forty-two, it's in my pocket

Closer than before

Forty-two! Forty-two!

Forty-two! Forty-two!

Door forty-two, already open

One chair, one window, dust

A hook, beneath it, paler paint

The shape of something gone

So I hang the coat where it belongs

And I turn the key, once

Forty-two! Who left the light on?

Forty-two! Who closed the door?

A stranger's key, a stranger's coat

Not mine to carry anymore

Forty-two, out of my pocket

I left it in the door

Forty-two! Forty-two!

Forty-two! Forty-two!

Forty-two

I left it in the door