[Verse 1] They caught him in the runway sun Suit still pressed But the game long done Boots on gravel Shades and rifles Quiet like a Sunday gun They read the words he used to bend Paper crowns and paper friends Flash of cuffs Camera shutters History turns Another end [Chorus] Leaving on a carrier Steel deck Rolling sea Chains where gold once rattled Waves singing “You’re not free” Leaving on a carrier Big gray mercy Heading west Power drifts like drifting oil Truth still pounding in our chests [Verse 2] Helos circle Engines roar Sea salt crawling up the door He stares down that painted number Floating courtroom Moving floor Deckhands shout above the wind Stars and stripes stitched to the skin He once filled the streets with speeches Now just one more boxed-up sin [Chorus] [Bridge] New York breeze smells like asphalt rain Cameras bloom But he hides the shame Same cold hallway Same steel clatter All that swagger Stripped to matter Down the tier where the rumors live Famous faces Nothing left to give Two names on the nightly chatter Just men in orange Size that flatters none [Chorus]
