Near Miss at the Gravel Pit

[Verse 1] I was years past young On the late wet shift Up in Northern Ontario Where the black clouds sit The pit road shone Like a cut of tin And the clay held water Like it meant to win My boots had that weight From a day too long And the whole site felt Like a place gone wrong [Pre-Chorus] Rain on the glass Wiper blades slow The cab light dim And the radio low Then a call broke through Half drowned in static Said the load was close And the edge was backing [Chorus] Call it a near miss if the form needs a name I call it rain on the windshield and nobody quite the same Call it a near miss if the form needs a name I call it rain on the windshield and nobody quite the same [Verse 2] I rolled that machine With my hands too tight Down the haul-road clay In the blunt white light The bucket sat heavy The ground looked sure But the edge gave way Like it knew the score I felt the whole frame Lean toward air Not a crash, not a scene Just a bad thin stare [Pre-Chorus] No shout, no run No drama, no flash Just one man say We stop this, now, just like that He stood in the mud Calm as you'd pray And the work went still In the middle of rain [Chorus] Call it a near miss if the form needs a name I call it rain on the windshield and nobody quite the same Call it a near miss if the form needs a name I call it rain on the windshield and nobody quite the same [Bridge] Luck ain't a hand You can hold and steer It's a thin wet thread And it vanishes here What saved that night Wasn't steel or pride It was somebody willing To stop beside [Verse 3] Now I'm older still And I hear that rain See the wiper sweep And the clay again I know what I was When I pushed too hard Trying to finish a job With a tired old heart That calm voice then Was care, plain and true Not a rescue song Just one man looking through [Chorus] Call it a near miss if the form needs a name I call it rain on the windshield and nobody quite the same Call it a near miss if the form needs a name I call it rain on the windshield and nobody quite the same [Outro] The weather kept on Like weather does And we drove back quiet The way changed us