This tone, this stain on the sunrise
Disguised in the mist this morning
It's 8am,
a seagull shouts
A sailor's warning,
this sky
This bend in the river
Slows down and delivers me The tide rolls back
And all my memories fade to black And yet,
and yet, I'm back
This town has a strange magnetic pull
Like a homing signal in your skull
And you sail by the stars of the hemisphere
Wondering how in the hell did you end up here
It's like an underground river or a hidden stream
That flows through your head and haunts your dreams
And you stuff those dreams in this canvas sack
And there's nothing around here that the wide world lacks
And yet, and yet, you're back
Some nights I'd lie on the deck and
I'd stare At the turning of the stars
Those constellations hanging up there From the cables and the rigging
I'd wonder if she saw the same Or managed to recall my name
Why would she ever think of me Some boy she loved who fled to sea
And why waste time debating Whether
she'd be waiting for the likes of me
So you drift into port with the scum of the seas
To the dance halls and the brothels where you took your ease
And the ship's left the dock but you're half past carrying
And you haven't got a clue whose bed you're sharing
And your head's like a hammer on a bulkhead door
And it feels like somebody might have broken your jaw
And there's bloodstains and glass all over the floor
And you swear to God you're drinking no more
And yet,
and yet
In truth,
it's too late to find her Too late to remind her at some garden gate
Where a servant tells me I should
wait Perhaps a door slammed in my face
My head must be in outer space And yet,
and yet
Before the sun has set Before the sea
There may be something else that's waiting for The likes of me
This town is straight on the sunrise