Cleaning Crew

Cleaning Crew
Album	Jenny from Thebes
Released	October 27, 2023
Length	3:37
Previous Track	"Fresh Tattoo"
Next Track	"Murder at the 18th St. Garage"

Cleaning Crew is the fifth song on Jenny from Thebes. On the back cover of the vinyl edition, this song is subtitled "The next best thing to an actual goodbye."

Lyrics

You were passed out on the sofa
Cigarette burns and coffee stains
Loose change in your pocket
Naltrexone in your veins

They got a scanner at the airport now
And a dropout in a Kevlar vest
I can hear the timer
Ticking in my chest

What are you gonna do?
What are you gonna do? 
What are you gonna do when the cleaning crew
 comes through?

When you get out on your own again
If you ever do shake free
If you find yourself in Portland
Ask about me

Dig up the first revision
The one who's got less to lose
Look on every lamppost
From here to Baton Rouge

Ask yourself one question
Then ask yourself again

What are you gonna do?
What are you gonna do? 
What are you gonna do when the cleaning crew
 comes through?

It's better if you have a plan
It's better if you have a plan

I saw the future in an oil slick
It told me what I needed to know
Leave a little stain behind you everywhere you go

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "The narrator of “Cleaning Crew”—“I”—is Jenny from All Hail West Texas. She’s speaking to the narrator of “Source Decay” from the same album. Enterprising travelers will work out the rest." -- Bandcamp
• "Oh sinner! You strut so proud! You stand there, you gotta do it your way! You gotta do it only your way! You don't want to do it the high way, you don't want to do it my way, but sinner-brave sinner, bold sinner, cold sinner-what are you gonna do when the cleaning crew comes through for you?" -- 2023-12-12 - Georgia Theater - Athens, GA

Things Referenced in this Song

• Naltrexone is a drug prescribed to treat alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder, among other indications.
• the reference to seeing the future in an oil slick seems like a reference to the final verse of Black Pear Tree (and so potentially about thinking you are going to die /illness)

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2023-10-02 - Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA
• 2023-10-03 - The Belasco - Los Angeles, CA
• 2023-10-05 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2023-10-06 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2023-10-09 - Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox - Spokane, WA
• 2023-10-10 - The Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
• 2023-10-11 - The ELM - Bozeman, MT
• 2023-10-13 - Fox Theater - Boulder, CO
• 2023-10-27 - Cactus Theater - Lubbock, TX
• 2023-10-28 - Longhorn Ballroom - Dallas, TX
• 2023-10-29 - The Heights Theater - Houston, TX
• 2023-12-01 - Hangar 1819 - Greensboro, NC
• 2023-12-02 - The Queen - Wilmington, DE
• 2023-12-03 - Aura - Portland, ME
• 2023-12-05 - Higher Ground Ballroom - South Burlington, VT
• 2023-12-06 - Infinity Hall - Hartford, CT
• 2023-12-07 - Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY
• 2023-12-08 - Homer Center for the Arts - Homer, NY
• 2023-12-10 - Thunderbird Music Hall - Pittsburgh, PA
• 2023-12-12 - Georgia Theatre - Athens, GA
• 2023-12-13 - Vinyl Music Hall - Penascola, FL
• 2023-12-15 - The Bier Hall at Intuition Ale Works - Jacksonville, FL
• 2024-08-03 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA