Mud sucks deep at my flukes down below
Thirty year holding against the flow
Rust sings soft where the salt water bites
Dawn cracks open the harbor nights
Ferry left hours past midnight bell
No passengers left to wish me well
Tide turns slack and the current dies
My grip slips loose beneath gray skies
Chain come loose chain come free
Iron don't hold where the tides run deep
Chain come loose chain come free
Morning takes what the night lets sleep
Shackle groans like a tired cabbie's knee
Each link remembers the weight of me
Paint peeled off in long brown strips
Time collects what the ocean rips
Gulls walk quiet on the empty deck
No engine cough no sudden check
Bollard stands with its rusted crown
I settle slow into the mud down
Chain come loose chain come free
Iron don't hold where the tides run deep
Chain come loose chain come free
Morning takes what the night lets sleep
Meter's off and the fare is paid
Long haul done where the lines were laid
Weather don't wait for a heavy soul
Road don't care if you lose control
Silt covers slow what the light reveals
Iron rests where the harbor heals
No horn blows no voice calls out
Just water lapping a silent route
Chain come loose chain come free
Iron don't hold where the tides run deep
Chain come loose chain come free
Morning takes what the night lets sleep
Chain come loose chain come free
Anchor sleeps where the ferry knew
Dawn breaks clean and the iron's through