[Intro] Eight bells… Then nine that nobody rang Something answered from under the keel [Verse 1] We felt it before we saw the arm A softness climbing the chain It tested the ratlines like a man Then tightened and tried again The lookout called “whale” out of hope Hope doesn’t have a beak [Call and Response] The beak and the bell! (The beak and the bell!) It counts the watches with us The beak and the bell! (The beak and the bell!) It knows which names to discuss [Verse 2] Second arm took the longboat whole Third arm learned the hatch Fourth wrote a wet line down the deck Like a signature, like a scratch The captain ordered “cut it free” The cut just made it attach [Call and Response] The beak and the bell! (The beak and the bell!) Don’t strike the glass tonight The beak and the bell! (The beak and the bell!) The deep is keeping time [Bridge] Hold the line The line is holding you Heave together It’s heaving too If you hear the bell from below the boards That watch already came through [Verse 3] We saw the eye against the moon Too calm for the size of the sin It didn’t rage and it didn’t roar It just opened and pulled us in The last sound wasn’t a scream It was the clapper hitting tin [Final Call] The beak and the bell The beak and the bell Ring it once If you still have a hand The beak and the bell
