Low tide pulls the salt from the bay
Rusty hull in a shade of gray
He sits where the black water flows
While the midnight current still blows
Red lights blink on a distant shore
A heavy lock on a wooden door
Cold wind bites through a cotton sleeve
Waiting for someone who will not leave
Steel eyes watching the parking lot
Where the cheap motel engines get hot
A harbor tug on a midnight beat
Guarding the gravel and the concrete street
Oil spills in a rainbow of gold
Stories of sailors that never were told
He sees a blue car with a broken light
Cutting a hole through the velvet night
Red lights blink on a distant shore
A heavy lock on a wooden door
Cold wind bites through a cotton sleeve
Waiting for someone who will not leave
Steel eyes watching the parking lot
Where the cheap motel engines get hot
A harbor tug on a midnight beat
Guarding the gravel and the concrete street
A waitress smokes by the vending machine
The brightest glow that he's ever seen
He keeps his watch by the diesel hum
Counting the hours until the morning come
Steel eyes watching the parking lot
Where the cheap motel engines get hot
A harbor tug on a midnight beat
Guarding the gravel and the concrete street
Copper coins on a dashboard tray
Watching the harbor fade into the gray
He holds the line when the storm starts to roll
A heavy iron with a steady soul
Steel eyes watching the parking lot
Where the cheap motel engines get hot
A harbor tug on a midnight beat
Guarding the gravel and the concrete street
Steady now in the harbor light
Keeping the watch through the lonely night
Just a tugboat in the gray
