Verse 1 Been turning wrenches thirty years I reckon I know by now When a bearing’s sitting like it should And when it ain’t somehow But there’s a hold point on the sheet So lay your tools aside Ten good hands ain’t doing nothing Till one man says it’s right Chorus It’s a dollar waiting on a dime That’s about the size of it Twelve hours worth of working Takes thirty-six to finish it We could have had her running But we’re standing here instead A dollar waiting on a dime And the clock keeps running red Verse 2 Write the number on the paper Take a picture of the gauge Now write that same old number On another damn page Need a date and need a timestamp Need somebody else to sign Three old hands done checked it twice Still waiting on a dime Chorus It’s a dollar waiting on a dime That’s about the size of it Twelve hours worth of working Takes thirty-six to finish it We could have had her running But we’re standing here instead A dollar waiting on a dime And the clock keeps running red Verse 3 We finally got permission To close that manway tight Then Operations changed their shift About six o’clock that night New man looked us over Said, “Nobody told me that” So we laid our wrenches down again Right back where we started at Chorus It’s a dollar waiting on a dime That’s about the size of it Twelve hours worth of working Takes thirty-six to finish it We could have had her running But we’re standing here instead A dollar waiting on a dime And the clock keeps running red Verse 4 But let that unit trip at midnight And watch how things can change Nobody needs a picture then Nobody needs my name They’ll holler, “Boys, go fix it! We’re losing money every minute!” Funny how thirty years is good enough When production ain’t in it Final Chorus It’s a dollar waiting on a dime Been that way a long, long time They’ll hold you up all morning Then ask why you’re behind Just turn the working man loose And we’ll tell you when it’s time ‘Cause you can’t make up the hours Spent waiting on a dime
