Silt on my gold and my glass
Watching the heavy boats pass
Under a bridge made of stone
Waiting in winter alone
I hum in the freezing grey
Counting the hours of the day
Cold brass beating like a drum
Listen to the cold brass hum
Fog wraps the canal in a sheet
Cold water washes the street
Rusted and stuck in the mud
Sensing the city's dark blood
I hum in the freezing grey
Counting the hours of the day
Cold brass beating like a drum
Listen to the cold brass hum
Copper is green from the spray
Hidden since some distant May
Gear teeth are locked in a grip
Waiting for one lucky slip
Then came a hand in the cold
Fingers that felt brave and bold
Lifting me out of the black
Bringing the ticking beat back
Wiped with a cloth and a rag
Checking the spring and the snag
Warmth from a palm and a thumb
Waking the metal from numb
I hum in the freezing grey
Counting the hours of the day
Cold brass beating like a drum
Listen to the cold brass hum
Now I am wound and I run
Watching the rise of the sun
No longer lost in the deep
Waking a memory from sleep
I hum in the freezing grey
Counting the hours of the day
Cold brass beating like a drum
Listen to the cold brass hum
Tick. Tick. Tick.
I'm back now.
Cold brass hum.