I sit on the stove a copper crown
Steam writes my name on the window down
The apprentice tips flour onto pine
His fingers hunt for a gear of brass
The clock on the wall counts each slow line
I whistle soft as the moments pass
He pauses wipes sweat from his brow
The second hand jumps I don't know how
Steam and gears we turn the night
Boiling water ticking light
He searches drawers for a lost spring
I sing my song a metal ring
A wooden spoon rests in the sink
He lifts the lid peers inside my throat
The steam curls up a ghostly ink
I hold the heat he writes his note
He pauses wipes sweat from his brow
The second hand jumps I don't know how
Steam and gears we turn the night
Boiling water ticking light
He searches drawers for a lost spring
I sing my song a metal ring
The kitchen clock chimes three sharp strikes
He finds a cog beneath a sack of rye
My whistle climbs a needle spikes
The dawn leaks blue across the sky
No camera snaps this quiet scene
Just copper steam and gears unseen
The apprentice smiles his task complete
I boil over bitter sweet
Steam and gears we turn the night
Boiling water ticking light
He searches drawers for a lost spring
I sing my song a metal ring
Now tea is poured in chipped white cups
The clock ticks on the gear in place
My steam subsides the pressure drops
A quiet rhythm a steady grace
Steam and gears we turn the night
Boiling water ticking light
He found the spring the clock now sings
I sing my song a metal ring
Steam and gears we turn the night
Copper cools on the iron grate
Dawn writes gold on my copper plate
