Morning fog lifts off the Charles River brick
Taxi wheels sing on my spine cold and quick
I've held the weight of a thousand goodbyes
Silent witness to Boston's slow rise
These Boston bones know every tread
Maps of the living maps of the dead
Autumn light paints me gold and deep
Promises the city tends to keep
Leaves pile up like unpaid fares at dawn
Swept aside before the day is born
A woman pauses reads a name carved in stone
Her fingers trace what time has shown
Rain slicks the mortar makes the letters glow
Names of the fallen row on row
Driver once told me kid the meter don't lie
Distance costs more than the miles you fly
These Boston bones know every tread
Maps of the living maps of the dead
Autumn light paints me gold and deep
Promises the city tends to keep
Fiddle cries like a horn in the night
Cello weeps where the headlights bite
I am the constant the street the way
Holding the dark holding the day
Now sunset stains the brick amber red
Footsteps fade where the tourists tread
But I'll be here when the snow flies hard
The oldest witness in the yard
These Boston bones know every tread
Maps of the living maps of the dead
Autumn light paints me gold and deep
Promises the city tends to keep
Gold on the brick promises keep
Boston bones never sleep
