[Intro - Spoken] Haul the lines Secure the deck Prepare the boats Sing it true [Verse] We were taken in the night Sold like cargo, bought like grain Captains with their empty eyes Never learned the shape of pain They walk the upper decks With eyes like cold and distant dark They count our every breath Adding it to the ledger mark [Chorus] What we owe - we haul what we owe What we owe - the debt never slows What we owe - we work for no pay What we owe - grows heavier each day [Verse] Chained to the deck The boards remember every cry Bought by the captain Our names reduced to reasons why We work for our lives But the ledger swallows every coin We work for our freedom But the price climbs past every join [Chorus] What we owe - we haul what we owe What we owe - our goal is more gold What we owe - but gold turns to dust What we owe - is never for us [Verse] They charge us for the food we cook They charge us for the beds we make They charge us for the air we breathe For every dawn, for every ache And still we pull the ropes in time Still we mend the engines they tear Still we sing, because the song Is the only thing we still hold dear [Chorus] What we owe - we haul what we owe What we owe - though the nights grow cold What we owe - we work for no pay What we owe - won’t end today [Outro - Spoken] Haul the lines Sing it true [Fading Echoed Harmonies] What We Owe What We Owe
