Night shift ends at quarter to three
Wipe the grill down clean for me
Seasoned steel holds morning meal
Ferris wheel cuts rusted steel
Violin case sits chained to gate
Bow hair frays from autumn weight
Music leaks through rusted grate
Notes escape a cruel fate
She plays where the carousel dies
Crowds gone home to warmer fires
Autumn steals the final show
But her bow won't let it go
Fingers bleed on broken lines
She stays till the last chord shines
Rosin cakes on frozen fingertips
Chapped lips split where the cold air grips
Horse heads freeze in peeling paint
Just the wind's thin complaint
Violin case sits chained to gate
Bow hair frays from autumn weight
Music leaks through rusted grate
Notes escape a cruel fate
She plays where the carousel dies
Crowds gone home to warmer fires
Autumn steals the final show
But her bow won't let it go
Fingers bleed on broken lines
She stays till the last chord shines
Diner sign flickers through bare trees
Pie cools slow on checkered cloth
She saws on through falling leaves
I keep coffee warm she believes
Strings snap sharp like brittle bone
Silence screams where music shone
Cook brings pie on paper plate
Two lost souls share winter weight
She plays where the carousel dies
Crowds gone home to warmer fires
Autumn steals the final show
But her bow won't let it go
Fingers bleed on broken lines
She stays till the last chord shines
New strings sing on borrowed dough
Horse heads glow in morning light
Foot tambourine keeps steady flow
Gang claps rise through autumn night
She plays where the carousel dies
Crowds gone home to warmer fires
Autumn steals the final show
But her bow won't let it go
Fingers bleed on broken lines
She stays till the last chord shines
Coffee steam and violin
Dawn breaks where the ride begins
