[Verse 1: Sneering high-register female MC, sneering every bar] Two a.m. on the pilot boat, the swell is ten feet tall Engine screaming, spray like gravel, every wave a wrecking ball Thousand feet of steel above me, lit up like a town at sea Thirty rungs of soaking rope and one shot that belongs to me Boat goes up, I grab the ladder, boat drops out from under me Hanging off a hull with my boots above the black and the debris Over the rail and the deck hand's staring, I'm soaked from neck to shin Captain looks me up and down and says, they sent a girl? Come in [Pre-Hook: Sneering high-register female MC, flat and certain] Four stripes on your shoulder and a chair with your name Twenty years on the ocean, but the river is my game [Hook: Sneering high-register female MC, sneering] Captain, step back, I got the con Your ship, my river, from here till dawn Keep your stripes and keep your coffee warm I'ma bring her in and I'ma bring her through the storm [Verse 2: Sneering high-register female MC, faster] Ninety thousand tons of boxes stacked like city blocks Two feet under the keel and a channel lined with rocks I know every shoal and sandbar from the breakwater to the bend I know where the current grabs and where the buoys lie to men He's breathing on my shoulder saying slow her, she won't turn I say port ten, he says you're crazy, I say mister, watch and learn Bow swings round like a gate on a hinge, the tug leans on her side Forty meters off the rocks, and there goes the captain's pride [Hook: Sneering high-register female MC, sneering] Captain, step back, I got the con Your ship, my river, from here till dawn Keep your stripes and keep your coffee warm I'ma bring her in and I'ma bring her through the storm [Bridge: Sneering high-register female MC, rung-by-rung climb, voice rising on each rung] Rung one, boat drops, rope burns, hold on Rung five, salt in my teeth and the deck lights gone Rung ten, wave hits, boots slip, swing back Rung twenty, arms shaking and the hull is black Rung thirty, over the rail and I don't say a word Took the con, gave the orders, that's the last thing he heard [Verse 3: Sneering high-register female MC, cool and cutting] Six a.m. and she's alongside, kissing soft against the pier Lines are on the bollards and the cranes are rolling near Captain's quiet, pours a coffee and he sets it down by me Says, I thought they ran a con on me, now look at what I see I just sip it and I hand it back, I got another ship at nine Climb back down the rope again, I'm the first one on the line Every captain in this harbor learns my name the same old way They don't like it at the ladder, but they love it at the quay [Final Hook: Sneering high-register female MC, sneering] Captain, step back, I got the con Your ship, my river, from here till dawn Keep your stripes and keep your coffee warm I'ma bring her in and I'ma bring her through the storm [End]
