Mental Load

Lyrics

Recent research shows that women in heterosexual marriages do over two times the amount of unpaid labor as men.

The number of divorces initiated by women has been steadily climbing.

And this conversation, it's as old as marriage itself.

The mental checklist in my head is a damn to-do list, I swear

I'm scheduling your doctor's visit, and the birthday party for your friend.

And you never even see it, you just come and go

And I don't need a thank you, but a quiet moment would be a start.

And when I bring it up, you say, "Just tell me what to do,"

But the telling is the work, too, and it's tearing me apart.

I just need to rest, a moment to unwind, a moment to just breathe.

But this isn't a job, and I am not your boss.

It's the mental load, the silent list, the things we don't discuss

It's the quiet resentment building up between us.

It's the hours I spend giving, while you rest upon the couch

It's the unseen work we never talk about.

I get home from the office, with my own burdens and my stress

And I see the house is perfect, so I assume you've had success.

I sit down on the sofa, just for a moment to unwind

And you get up and you start working, and I can't read your mind.

I'm just so tired when I get home, and I feel unappreciated, too

But when I say that, you just say, "You don't have a clue."

I'm here to do the heavy lifting, the work you can see, you know.

But this isn't a job, and I am not your boss.

It's the mental load, the silent list, the things we don't discuss

It's the quiet resentment building up between us.

It's the hours I spend giving, while you rest upon the couch

It's the unseen work we never talk about.

Maybe we're just both too tired, to hold on to the past.

Maybe our different languages have been spoken too fast.

And we forgot how to hold hands

And now we're just two strangers, walking around and alone.

The mental load...

Just the mental load...