Track Insight / Lyrics
Yellow cab idles at Mrs Macquarie's Chair
Harbor Bridge arcs like a steel bone prayer
Meter dark since the last fare paid
Night shift begins in the harbor shade
He waits for the wind to turn south
Salt on the glass, salt in his mouth
Waltz time on the harbor tonight
Three beats to the harbor light
Vinyl seat holds the shape of his spine
Thirty years on the same thin line
Radio coughs up a weather report
Southerly buster, the last resort
He waits for the wind to turn south
Salt on the glass, salt in his mouth
Waltz time on the harbor tonight
Three beats to the harbor light
Ferry cuts white through the blackening water
Daughter's photo tucked by the odometer
Engine ticks like a cooling stove
Dreams of a break he never drove
He waits for the wind to turn south
Salt on the glass, salt in his mouth
Waltz time on the harbor tonight
Three beats to the harbor light
Coffee goes cold in the blue enamel cup
Gulls scream loud as the sun gives up
Headlights paint the Opera House sails
Ghosts of fares and their trapped details
Wind shakes the aerial, thin wire sings
Memory rides on invisible wings
He checks the mirror, checks the time
No fare tonight, just rhythm and rhyme
City lights bleed on the dark water skin
Meter clicks as the night closes in
He shifts to park, lets the engine rest
Best office views in the harbor west
He waits for the wind to turn south
Salt on the glass, salt in his mouth
Waltz time on the harbor tonight
Three beats to the harbor light
Three beats to the harbor light
Engine sighs, the wipers rest
Harbor takes the night shift best
