Three am air is cold and thin
Where the iron tunnels spin
Two wheels glide on concrete gray
Waiting for the break of day
I see cracks in salted stone
Where a wild seed grows alone
Like a hardy Monarda bloom
Finding light inside the gloom
Root and rail, we drift along
Singing such a lonely song
Underneath the city heat
Where the dirt and metal meet
Syllable of steel and rust
Moving through the urban dust
Patience is a gardener's art
Keeping rhythm in my heart
Root and rail, we drift along
Singing such a lonely song
Underneath the city heat
Where the dirt and metal meet
Latin names for every weed
Sown within a concrete seed
Slower than the rushing train
Drinking in the midnight rain
Quiet as a sleeping root
Heavy as a winter boot
Rolling past the empty tiles
Measuring the lonely miles
Steady as a cedar tree
Watching all the ghosts go free
Deep within the subway floor
Waiting for an open door
Root and rail, we drift along
Singing such a lonely song
Underneath the city heat
Where the dirt and metal meet
Root and rail, root and rail.
Sown in stone.
