[Verse 1] No stars above us Just black water and breath The chart is torn to ribbons And the lantern leans left I keep the wheel by memory Salt in my beard and hand The sea don't owe me mercy So I learn it by demand [Pre-Chorus] Hear the hull begin to answer Hear the night say my name Every wave a crooked finger Pulling hard at the flame [Chorus] Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning I sail by the scar in me Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning No sky to set me free If the sea won't give me bearings I'll trust the nerve that remains Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning I come through the dark again [Verse 2] The crew keep low and silent With the tar and rope and fear I tell them every sound out here Is a road we cannot see I have crossed by the thunder By the gulls and the salt spray By the ache inside the bones of men Who've lost and found their way [Pre-Chorus] Now the rigging starts to tremble Like a prayer under strain And the far-off foam is calling But I hold the line the same [Chorus] Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning I sail by the scar in me Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning No sky to set me free If the sea won't give me bearings I'll trust the nerve that remains Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning I come through the dark again [Bridge] If fate is a blind hand Then let it come close I've seen men break to nothing I've seen storms take the boast But the map in my chest Still burns through the sleet And the deep takes my witness As I push through its teeth [Final Chorus] Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning I sail by the scar in me Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning No sky to set me free If the sea won't give me bearings I'll trust the nerve that remains Dead Reckoning, dead reckoning I come through the dark again
