Major Arthur's Watch

[Intro] (Staccato piano chords and a bright harpsichord trill) [Verse 1] Major Arthur buttoned his velvet robe The toast popped up in the kitchen He checked the crumbs on the lace cloth Outside the clouds were drifting past Just like the dust on his old medals He felt the floorboards hum beneath him [Verse 2] From the balcony of Crescent Heights The people look like tiny beetles The park is a square of faded green He remembers the silence of the craters But here the traffic makes a low roar A kettle whistles in the unit next door [Chorus] But on his wrist the metal pulses Tick, tick, tick, against the bone It is the only beat that matters A small mechanical heart of brass Keeping the sky from drifting away (Keeping the sky from drifting away) [Verse 3] Mrs. Higgins brought a bowl of soup She thinks he was a common pilot He smiled and thanked her for the parsley He didn't mention the view of the Earth Or how small the oceans looked from there He just adjusted his silver watch strap [Chorus] But on his wrist the metal pulses Tick, tick, tick, against the bone It is the only beat that matters A small mechanical heart of brass Keeping the sky from drifting away (Keeping the sky from drifting away) [Bridge] (A brass fanfare rises and falls) Up there the clockwork usually fails The darkness has no steady rhythm The stars don't move in circles But this spring keeps him grounded To the floor and the tea and the chair [Chorus] But on his wrist the metal pulses Tick, tick, tick, against the bone It is the only beat that matters A small mechanical heart of brass Keeping the sky from drifting away (Keeping the sky from drifting away) [Outro] (Gentle piano fades out with the sound of a ticking watch) Tick. Tick. Tick. Arthur is home now. Arthur is safe. (Safe in the heights)