You hold the spring with a steady hand
The finest gears in a foreign land
You track the seconds on a golden face
Trying to keep up with a frantic pace
Cracked glass panes in the greenhouse air
Cold winter wind in your thinning hair
Winding the keys till the metal screams
Broken clocks and some jagged dreams
The oil is thick on the workbench wood
You did the things that a student should
But the mainspring snapped in a sudden glare
Leaving you stranded in a lonely stare
Cracked glass panes in the greenhouse air
Cold winter wind in your thinning hair
Winding the keys till the metal screams
Broken clocks and some jagged dreams
You see the ivy climb the iron frame
Every dead leaf knows your secret name
The humidity makes the brass turn green
The saddest sight that a driver's seen
Cracked glass panes in the greenhouse air
Cold winter wind in your thinning hair
Winding the keys till the metal screams
Broken clocks and some jagged dreams
A rusted gear in a velvet box
You lost the key to the heavy locks
The rain is drumming on the rooftop slate
You learned the lesson of a heavy fate
Step out of the rain and into the heat
Walk down the middle of a dead-end street
The clock on the wall is a lying thing
Waiting for a bell that will never ring
You sweep the shards from the potting soil
Hours of labor and a lifetime of toil
The glass is shattered and the light is low
Nowhere for a tired apprentice to go
Cracked glass panes in the greenhouse air
Cold winter wind in your thinning hair
Winding the keys till the metal screams
Broken clocks and some jagged dreams
Just a fare for the ride.
Put the watch aside. Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
