Track Insight / Lyrics
The cobblestones are grey with frost
A rowboat drifts, its mooring lost
The alley narrows to the sea
And winter keeps its grip on me
I scuff my boots along the lane
Where ice has claimed the windowpane
I spent my years beside the light
That cut the fog and broke the night
I watched the ships come crawling in
Through everything the storms could send
But now the lamp is dark and still
And snow has settled on the hill
The rowboat rocks, the rope is worn
A hull that every wave has torn
But still it floats against the cold
A stubborn thing that won't let go
The rowboat waits, the tide is low
It holds the shape of long ago
I knew a woman made of stone
Who kept her garden overgrown
She'd say the sea takes what it needs
And leaves you just enough to breathe
I never argued, never cried
I simply watched the turning tide
The rowboat rocks, the rope is worn
A hull that every wave has torn
But still it floats against the cold
A stubborn thing that won't let go
The rowboat waits, the tide is low
It holds the shape of long ago
The lamplight flickers in my chest
A faded beam that won't rest
I'll row this boat through frozen foam
Or drag it home and call it home
The alley ends, the street is bare
A single gull cuts through the air
It cries the way I used to cry
When someone left and didn't try
But ice will crack and spring will come
And I'll be here, not overcome
So let the winter have its say
I've weathered worse than yesterday
The frost will melt, the tide will turn
And still this wooden heart will burn
I'll push the oars against the stream
And wake the harbor from its dream
The rowboat rocks, the rope is worn
A hull that every wave has torn
But still it floats against the cold
A stubborn thing that won't let go
The rowboat waits, the tide is low
It holds the shape of long ago
Cold wind on the harbor stone
A wooden boat waits on its own
