KING OF THE SEAS V- (6.0)

[Intro] Out past the break, I heard them call Low in the foam, under it all [Verse 1] There’s a new king in at sea Not made of gold Not carved in bone He came in with kelp in his coat And a grin that said the deep was home Old ruler’s hook’s all bent and worn I took the wheel past the foghorn’s call Fairymen moving under the foam They learn my name when the netlines fall [Pre-Chorus] I feel the pull when the water turns That low hum under the hull A hand on the glass, a knot in the throat Then the whole dark starts to move [Chorus] So I stay with the break and the bending tide Green glass in my palm, held up to the sky Fairymen circling, close on my stern I don’t ask for a shore, I just learn what they learn Steady in Steady out I keep my body in the swell If death comes asking where I’m bound It won’t keep me down, won’t keep me here [Hook 1] I cut through the whitecaps clean With a lantern made from cold green glass The fairymen sing under my keel And nothing dead can make me backtrack Steady in Steady out I keep my body in the swell If death comes asking where I’m bound It won’t keep me down, won’t keep me here [Verse 2] Barnacled docks and a rope-scarred pier They hum when the fairymen get near Pale hands counting the planks by the moon They whistle old warnings, then vanish soon Currents knot up when I speak my name I split that twist like a fishbone blade Old drowned kings in their rusted chains Can watch me pass but they won’t make me stay [Verse 3] At dawn the deck is slick with salt And gulls keep pace like they know the route I patch the net with a needle and twine While the black water lifts its mouth There’s a chill where the compass should sit Like a finger pressed to the back of my wrist But the fairymen drift in the foam below And I follow where their pale feet twitch [Verse 4] I’ve hauled in crab pots full of mud And one silver shoe with the heel half gone No note inside, no mark I know Just a bruise-blue shine that carries on I set it loose and it sank too slow Like it had a grudge against the deep Then the hull gave a knock, three times clean And everybody on board went quiet and listened [Verse 5] Black water under the keel goes still Then starts up chattering in the dark Tiny pale faces in the foam Blink like sparks on the edge of a spark No moon, no map, just the pull and the drift And that low song threading through the mist I’ve seen the dead try to grab my wrist But the fairymen cut through their grip [Verse 6] When the fog comes thick as wool I tie my coat with a piece of red line Keep one hand on the rail, one on the glass And let the strange sea set the time There’s a mouth in the breaker line That opens only when I’m close I hear my old life calling back But it sounds like bait on a borrowed hook [Verse 7] The men at port say I’ve changed too much Say my stare went salt-white, hard and cold But they never saw what I saw out there Or the names the tide keeps folded close I leave them coins from a different coast And a knot with no beginning end Then I go back where the dark gets deep And the fairymen lift their hands again [Verse 8] If the charts all burn, I’ll still know west By the tug in the ribs, by the pull in the oar I’ve made my peace with the brine and the wrench With the things that wait under the floor So let the harbor keep its lamps And the shore keep counting what it’s lost I found my way by the break and the bend And I don’t mind paying the cost [Hook 2] I ride that hard line where the sea breaks Lantern glow shaking in the spray Fairymen humming through the wake And the drowned stay busy looking away Steady in Steady out I keep my chest set to the swell If death comes asking where I’m bound It won’t keep me down, won’t keep me here [Bridge] Salt in my teeth Wind in my sleeves Fairymen laughing out past the reefs They call my ship by a secret name Three knocks on the hull and the tide obeys If the grave wants me, it’s late to the dock I’m already half gone with the spray and the shock [Verse 5] Black water under the keel goes still Then starts up chattering in the dark Tiny pale faces in the foam Blink like sparks on the edge of a spark No moon, no map, just the pull and the drift And that low song threading through the mist I’ve seen the dead try to grab my wrist But the fairymen cut through their grip [Hook 3] Out past the break, I answer back Green glass burning in my hand Fairymen trail me through the black Like they know the road and they know this land Steady in Steady out I keep my body with the swell If death comes asking where I’m bound It won’t keep me down, won’t keep me here [Outro] So let them listen at the harbor mouth I’m past the buoys and the breakwater now With salt on my tongue and that green glass glow The sea knows my name, and I’m not going slow