You park the cab on Magere Brug
Engine dies with a heavy shrug
Fog swallows every harbor tug
Night wraps the canal like a drug
You watch the canal breathe slow
Fog wraps the arches row on row
Meter ticks but time won't go
Bridge watch until the morning glow
You count the barges passing slow
Red lights blink in the grey below
Deck hands stamp against the cold
Stories that the water told
You watch the canal breathe slow
Fog wraps the arches row on row
Meter ticks but time won't go
Bridge watch until the morning glow
You know the rhythm of the tide
Like lantern sweeps the cliff side
Each fare a beam that cuts the night
Each stop a flash of fading light
Fog lifts like a sail unfurled
City wakes a water world
No more watch, no more wait
Just the canal and its steady gate
Thirty years behind the wheel
Iron rails and cobblestone heel
Now the bridge becomes your tower
Keeper of the foggy hour
You watch the canal breathe slow
Fog wraps the arches row on row
Meter ticks but time won't go
Bridge watch until the morning glow
Morning breaks the spindle's arc
Bells ring out from Oude Kerk
Meter silent, engine dead
You walk the gangway home to bed
You watch the canal breathe slow
Fog wraps the arches row on row
Meter ticks but time won't go
Bridge watch until the morning glow
Bridge watch done, the fog is gone
Bridge watch done, the fog is gone
You hang the keys on the nail at dawn
