Coffee steam rises through the screen door night
Hound caught twisted in the rusted iron light
His brindle coat shines wet from summer rain
Paws dangling loose above the alley drain
Nobody moves to cut the metal wire
We watch the breath turn heavy in the fire
Rhodes piano hums through the kitchen vent
Trumpet muted where the night went
Iron fire escape holds the hunting hound
Summer dusk wraps him tightly bound
Diner lights flicker through the metal grate
We watch and wait we watch and wait
Old Man Miller flips his eggs over easy
Says that dog been running wild and greasy
Tracked a fox through three backyards last week
Now he's dangling where the iron peaks
Nobody moves to cut the metal wire
We watch the breath turn heavy in the fire
Rhodes piano hums through the kitchen vent
Trumpet muted where the night went
Iron fire escape holds the hunting hound
Summer dusk wraps him tightly bound
Diner lights flicker through the metal grate
We watch and wait we watch and wait
Lady in the booth stirs sugar slow
Remembers when her own hound used to go
Chasing rabbits through the cotton field
Till the tractor wheel made the fur yield
She don't cry just signals for a refill
Steam rises up the window sill
Iron fire escape holds the hunting hound
Summer dusk wraps him tightly bound
Diner lights flicker through the metal grate
We watch and wait we watch and wait
Short order grill sings grease lullaby
Hound's eyes reflect the red arrow sign
Red arrow pointing down to Nick's Diner
Where the coffee's strong and the tips are finer
Fire escape groans as he shifts his weight
Iron sings its own heavy fate
Iron fire escape holds the hunting hound
Summer dusk wraps him tightly bound
Diner lights flicker through the metal grate
We watch and wait we watch and wait
Dawn cracks slow through the alley grates
Fire department cuts the twisted stakes
Hound drops soft on cardboard bed
Shakes his coat and lifts his head
Miller tosses him a bacon end
Best damn breakfast money can't spend
Iron fire escape holds the hunting hound
Summer dusk wraps him tightly bound
Diner lights flicker through the metal grate
We watch and wait we watch and wait
Iron fire escape lets the hunting hound go
Summer dawn breaks warm and slow
Coffee's hot the grill stays on
Another night another dawn