He walks the beam like a night shift route
Through drifts where the apple trees root
Snow dusts the limbs in white sheets
He taps frozen bark where the cold wind beats
Orchard light cuts the dusk so deep
Promises made that the frozen keep
He counts every tree like a fare on the seat
Searching for something bitter and sweet
His coat smells of brine and diesel smoke
A heavy fare from the waves he broke
Footprints vanish where the branches creak
He knows the path that the lost ones seek
Orchard light cuts the dusk so deep
Promises made that the frozen keep
He counts every tree like a fare on the seat
Searching for something bitter and sweet
The rhodes piano hums in the tower room
But out here the silence sings a different tune
He once drove a hack where the lost ones hide
Now he walks the rows where the cold winds slide
Orchard light cuts the dusk so deep
Promises made that the frozen keep
He counts every tree like a fare on the seat
Searching for something bitter and sweet
Dusk turns to ink on the frozen ground
No passenger found, just the quiet sound
He lights a cigarette, tips his hat to the sky
Another shift done as the night rolls by
Orchard light cuts the dusk so deep
Promises made that the frozen keep
He counts every tree like a fare on the seat
Searching for something bitter and sweet
Light sweeps the rows slow
Orchard light, let it go
