Track Insight / Lyrics
Flashlight cuts the harbor dark
Gull cries tear the midnight park
Thermos steam rises slow and thin
Diesel fumes creep under skin
Cold seeps in where the watch begins
Rusted chain holds the gate shut tight
Keeper walks his rounds each night
Boots hit planks that groan and sway
Ship lights blink across the bay
Harbor keeps what the tide won't say
Salt wind watches, salt wind sees
Keeper stands where the harbor breathes
No fare to take, no meter run
Just the pier when the shift is done
Salt wind watches, salt wind sees
Radio crackles, dispatch calls
Rain slicks the warehouse walls
He checks the lock on container three
Logs the time, lets the silence be
Dawn threatens at the pier's cold knee
Salt wind watches, salt wind sees
Keeper stands where the harbor breathes
No fare to take, no meter run
Just the pier when the shift is done
Salt wind watches, salt wind sees
Fog horn moans a low warning
Dawn peels back the night's dark morning
Coffee's cold but the watch holds steady
Pier belongs to the broken, ready
Light takes over, heavy and steady
Shift bell clangs at six-oh-five
Keeper trades the dark for light
Logbook closed, the pen set down
Salt crust flakes on his wool coat brown
Taxi idles at the edge of town
Taxi waits at the curb outside
Engine humming, warm and wide
Where to, mister? Home or bar?
Just drive. I've watched the harbor far
Salt wind follows the passenger car
Salt wind watches, salt wind sees
Keeper stands where the harbor breathes
No fare to take, no meter run
Just the pier when the shift is done
Salt wind watches, salt wind sees
Wind still blows through the pier's steel ribs
Salt stays long after the shift ends
