[Verse 1] August in New York My wallet said, "No" Potsdam on the calendar That old family glow Granddad turns eighty Cousin gets the ring Friends sent a weird link "Try this private jet thing" Craigslist on a Tuesday Too good to believe Then a cheap seat opened And I let myself leave [Pre-Chorus] Teterboro at dawn Metal underfoot One extra seat And a thousand things I could not [Chorus] Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam I took the cheap seat And it changed my plan Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam One calm voice beside me And the world leaned in [Verse 2] Thomas had the window Colombian, composed He said, "I bought the extra To lighten the load" Carbon, land use High-speed rail in Cali I said, "I make things With a torch and a body" Born in Potsdam, '89 Raised on a break in the wall He asked about the East side How it felt when it all Turned into one city Then into a grid I said, "Some things open Some things get clipped" [Pre-Chorus] He spoke in systems I spoke in scars Same old family pressure Different maps on the heart [Chorus] Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam I took the cheap seat And it changed my plan Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam One calm voice beside me And the world leaned in [Verse 3] Turbulence hit hard The tray table shook He kept one hand steady Like he already knew Claire moved through the aisle Red hair, sharp and quick Thomas said, "She's efficient" I laughed at that slick He asked about my sculptures The welded steel seams "Wild work," he said softly "Nothing like your face seems" I looked at his collar His watch, his stillness, his grace And felt something shift In the small, shared space [Bridge] Estonia next Digital and clean He talked of governance Of what a city means I talked gentrification Compression in the mind He said, "Good systems Make room for the human kind" [Break] Rotterdam below Smooth as a line My phone got signal My friends came alive I'm almost to Potsdam On rails through the frame Then he said, "Tallinn?" And I said his name [Final Chorus] Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam I took the cheap seat And it changed my plan Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam Shoulder to shoulder Now I'm not alone Cheap seat to Rotterdam Cheap seat to Rotterdam He asked me to Tallinn And I said, "Maybe, then" [Outro] My head on his shoulder The cabin went still Potsdam waited somewhere But so did the thrill
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