Circle K
Josh Woodward · Sandcastles
East side of L.A.
A mother with a stroller wanders in
A jug of milk and bread
$5.19, I said
She reaches for her purse but tucks her chin
This one is on me
My daughter, she is three
I know how hard the grind is every day
She smiles and nods her head
And gives her kid a slice of bread
Just another day at the Circle K
A business man walks in
His eyes are red and dim
His tie is dangling down, his jacket's gone
The coffee pot is low
I make some more, he says I'm slow
"You people, all the same, you lazy sloths"
I grit my teeth and breathe
I haven't had a break in weeks
He makes more in an hour, than I've made all day
He grabs a dollar bill and pays
With thirty cents from the penny tray
It's just another day at the Circle K
Arthur's right on time
It's 1:59
Bottom shelf tequila and Pall Malls
He said the streets were slow
The rain kept people home
He almost didn't make it for last call
I checked the sandwich case
For stuff I'll have to throw away
Here's a roller dog from 2008
He said "I'm just glad to eat"
And ventured out into the street
It's just another day at the Circle K
---
Source/Credit: "Circle K" by Josh Woodward, from Sandcastles.
Lyrics source: https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/CircleK
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Changes: plain-text formatting normalized for Lyrics Iztok.
About Circle K
"Circle K" finds Josh Woodward in a pop-minded frame, where a clear central idea and emotional directness carry the song. The song works best when its main melodic and rhythmic ideas are allowed to speak plainly, without being crowded by unnecessary decoration. There is a welcome sense of proportion in the way the music presents itself: the hook has room to land, while the surrounding moments support it instead of competing for attention. That restraint gives the performance room to breathe and makes the emotional color feel earned rather than imposed. For listeners returning to Josh Woodward, the song offers a compact example of how mood, pacing, and a recognizable point of view can meet in one place. It is a track for focused listening, especially when the details around the main idea begin to reveal their own quiet pull. The clarity of that approach is its own strength, because it lets the feeling come through without turning every moment into a dramatic demand. Even when it aims for immediacy, the track avoids feeling disposable because its atmosphere remains distinct after the final note. Its emotional center stays firmly in view throughout.