If the wasteland has a cathedral, it’s a drafty room with glassless windows and a sandbag door. “Mason’s Still Got a Store” is the definitive anthem of the KNF7 trade routes. It’s a song about the resilience of the local economy—where a “fair compromise” is the highest form of diplomacy and a “Zap-ola Cola” is the holy grail of liquid assets.

The Folklore of the Floor

To Thad and the Boys, Mason’s isn’t just a place to buy “bolt cutters and beans”—it’s a sanctuary. The “cold tile floor” represents a world that “ain’t come undone,” a physical link to a time when floors were clean and shelves were full. The imagery of trading a “squirrel with two extra eyes” for “half a map” and “sap” perfectly captures the gritty, surreal humor of life in the hollows. Mason himself is a legend, a man who survived the “final storm” and kept the bell ringing.

The Fizz of Hope

The center of the song is the “Zap-ola Cola.” In a world of “bitter grounds and bunker brews,” the sound of a lid cracking is enough to make “folks cheer.” It’s a sensory time-capsule. Paying a “full week’s huntin'” for a single soda might seem crazy to someone from the old world, but as Thad sings, it’s about feeling “rich once more.” It’s a reminder that value isn’t found in what you have, but in the memories a single fizzing bubble can trigger.

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MASON’S STILL GOT A STORE

by: Thad Granger & His Lantern Boys

There’s a sign still hangin’ where the wall ain’t cracked
Mason’s General we never looked back
It’s older than fallout older than flame
But the bell still rings when you call his name

He’s got bolt cutters beans a cracked canteen
One boot with laces and a jug of kerosene
No flour no sugar but maybe a can
With a label so faded it says Yes I am

Mason’s still got a store
It don’t stock much but it means a bit more
You fish you trap you trade your score
Just to sip a cola on that cold tile floor
Yeah Mason’s still got a store

We brought him a squirrel with two extra eyes
He nodded once said Fair compromise
Threw in a nail set half a map
And a dented can of somethin’ labeled sap

Zap ola Cola sittin’ in the glow box bin
Costs a full week’s huntin’ just to win
But crack that lid and you’ll hear folks cheer
It still fizzes like the end ain’t near

Mason’s still got a store
Some say it’s cursed we say it’s folklore
If the shelves don’t kill ya the glow might warm
But it’s the only place still open since the final storm

You want a compass that spins he’s got two
Barter your belt for a can of glue
Tell him Thad sent ya he’ll knock off a crumb
Mason’s ain’t heaven but it ain’t come undone

Mason’s still got a store
With glassless windows and a sandbag door
We’d hunt the wastes crawl dig and pour
Just to get a Zap ola and feel rich once more
Yeah Mason’s still got a store