Track Insight / Lyrics
Cold curb taxis hum beneath gray skies
Your cracked old wristwatch rests where sunlight dies
I keep the key beside the basement door
It ticks like distant thunder on the floor
Your faded glove still holds the midnight fare
As winter frost climbs through the stair
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time runs slow
I wear it walking through the snow
It points beside your old brass key
Back down the street where I’d meet you, me
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time runs slow
I keep its tick inside my coat
Rain taps windows on the avenue
A paper fare rolls underneath the shoe
Your peppermint breath fogs inside the glass
The meter hums, then lets another hour pass
I know this city wears a thousand masks
But finding home is one of harder tasks
The diner coffee burns my waiting tongue
Your chair still creaks when evening comes
A scratched-back chorus fills the radio
The waitress says, “Slow down, let the old dog go”
I laugh too hard and fold the silver chain
Then feel your hand pull gently through the rain
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time runs slow
I wear it walking through the snow
It points beside your old brass key
Back down the street where I’d meet you, me
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time runs slow
I keep its tick inside my coat
One minute, snowmelt turning into streams
One minute, headlights bending through my dreams
I call your number from the corner bar
The answer machine still counts how old we are
But in the glass, your eyes are clear and near
And every empty street says, “Have no fear”
I park the taxi by the broken church
Your pocket compass points beneath the search
Inside the glovebox, photographs are curled
A birthday cake, a borrowed shirt, the world
Your handwriting leans across the blue
“Take care of those who wait on you”
The morning cabs arrive in yellow lines
Their heaters cough diesel into signs
A young kid passenger traces maps of Spain
Then asks if I have ever crossed the rain
I say, “Not far, not far, not far from home”
As both hands find the steering wheel alone
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time beats on
I wear it walking through the dawn
It points toward your voice across the gray
Back through the city where the lost ones stray
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time beats on
The cracked hands dance, though yours are gone
Some roads run cold, some fares run late
But love keeps ticking just outside the gate
Grandpa’s watch stopped, but time beats on
I’m coming home where the night is gone
The engine cools beneath a breaking sky
One streetlight clicks, one yellow taxi passes by
I hold your watch beneath the dashboard light
And keep the road warm through the coldest night
