What's He Building? - Tom Waits

What's he building in there?
What the hell is he building in there?
He has subscriptions to those magazines
He never waves when he goes by

And he's hiding something from the rest of us
He's all to himself, I think I know why
He took down the tire-swing from the pepper tree
He has no children of his own, you see

He has no dog, he has no friends
And his lawn is dying
And what about those packages he sends?
What's he building in there?

With that hook light on the stairs
What's he building in there?
I'll tell you one thing, he's not building a playhouse for the children
What's he building in there?

Now what's that sound from underneath the door?
He's pounding nails into a hardwood floor
And I swear to God I heard someone moaning low
And I keep seeing the blue light of a TV show

He has a router and a table saw
And you won't believe what Mr. Sticha saw
There's poison underneath the sink, of course
There's also enough formaldehyde to choke a horse

What's he building in there?
What the hell is he building in there?
I heard he has an ex-wife in some place called Mayor's Income, Tennessee
And he used to have a consulting business in Indonesia

But what's he building in there?
He has no friends but he gets a lot of mail
I bet he spent a little time in jail
I heard he was up on the roof last night, signaling with a flashlight

And what's that tune he's always whistling?
What's he building in there?
What's he building in there?
We have a right to know