[Verse 1] They came in spring to Ellis quay A coat, two bags, and a baby knee The father worked by the river docks The mother saved soap in a tin box Two little shoes by a narrow bed A roof of rent and a promise said A country wide as a hammer’s ring And no one knew what June would bring [Pre-Chorus] Then fever came in a borrowed wave It took what the new land would not save One day his hand, one day her name Two white sheets in a week of shame [Chorus] Who will hold us now? Who will name the town? Mama, don’t go down Papa, don’t go down Who will hold us now? In this borrowed ground Little hands around Nothing left but sound [Verse 2] The neighbors brought broth and a warning sign Kept a candle lit on the windows line The children watched from the stair each night For a front door shadow, for one more light But the letters came with a folded edge And the body took what the body pledged No mother’s laugh, no father’s cough Just coats too big and a year to cross [Pre-Chorus] Then fever came in a borrowed wave It took what the new land would not save One day his hand, one day her name Two white sheets in a week of shame [Chorus] Who will hold us now? Who will name the town? Mama, don’t go down Papa, don’t go down Who will hold us now? In this borrowed ground Little hands around Nothing left but sound [Bridge] At dawn they stood by the pantry door Four small eyes on a stranger’s floor One child cried for the dockside rain One kept asking if they’d come again The city moved, the trains rolled through The milkman passed, the morning blew And in that house with the borrowed spoon Two orphans learned the shape of noon [Chorus] Who will hold us now? Who will name the town? Mama, don’t go down Papa, don’t go down Who will hold us now? In this borrowed ground Little hands around Nothing left but sound [Outro] Set one more place Keep one more chair Two little ghosts Still living there
