He counts the change with calloused thumb
The river hums a hymn struck dumb
His lantern paints the stairwell brick
Where saxophone and shadows flick
He counts the change with calloused thumb
Toll bridge jazz in basement deep
Where broken chords and whiskey sleep
He holds the light for wandering souls
And greases hinges on the doors
The double bass breathes through the floor
Like organ pipes he knew before
An alto voice he can't recall
Rises slow through plaster wall
The double bass breathes through the floor
Toll bridge jazz in basement deep
Where broken chords and whiskey sleep
He holds the light for wandering souls
And greases hinges on the doors
Cigarette smoke curls round the toll
A sacred spiral lost and whole
He bows his head like prayer at dusk
While trumpet cries in muted musk
Cigarette smoke curls round the toll
No collection plate no wooden pew
Just nickel silver honest and true
The music climbs the iron stairs
And answers all his unvoiced prayers
The night clerk reads a psalm in Braille
While brushes whisper snare and veil
He drops a quarter in the cup
And drinks the darkness raises up
The night clerk reads a psalm in Braille
Toll bridge jazz in basement deep
Where broken chords and whiskey sleep
He holds the light for wandering souls
And greases hinges on the doors
Dawn bleeds gray through wire mesh glass
The final car rolls slow to pass
He locks the booth descends the stair
Where music waits in wooden air
Dawn bleeds gray through wire mesh glass
Toll bridge jazz in basement deep
Where broken chords and whiskey sleep
He holds the light for wandering souls
And greases hinges on the doors
Coins drop slow in morning tin
Bridge sighs low where jazz begins
