Sluice Gate

[Intro: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, storm open] Surge on the grate Protocol late Lowest street first is the oath I take [Verse 1: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, heavy and clear] Rain hits the grate like a drumline in black Protocol says downtown gets the first slack Lowest street sits where the water runs mean Kids on that block know the annual scene I override soft with a key and a stare Open the sluice while the models still glare Dispatch will ask and I already know Lowest first tonight or the basements will show [Pre-Chorus: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, rising] Downtown can glitter while the basements fill I open early against the paper will [Chorus: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, belted, full chest] Open early, drain the lowest street Paper can wait when the water has teeth Downtown looks shiny and the maps look neat Open early, drain the lowest street [Verse 2: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, gate shudder, the sluice shudders once under surge, then drums lock as the low street drains] Shudder of the gate as the surge finds the throat Drums lock in hard like a waterproof note Cameras show curb lines returning to gray Neighbors step out like they borrowed the day I take the write-up and I keep it short Lived here, I say, and I close the report Warsaw night rain on a concrete spine Open means choosing the flood line as mine [Chorus: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, belted, full chest] Open early, drain the lowest street Paper can wait when the water has teeth Downtown looks shiny and the maps look neat Open early, drain the lowest street [Bridge: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, counting gates] One for the model and two for the map Three for the block that still sits in the trap Four for the surge that refused to be kind Five for the gate that still changed its plan [Verse 3: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, full chest] I am not a mayor and I am not a saint I am the hand on a gate under paint Protocol helps until people get wet Then the lowest street is the debt I accept Storm passes over and the write-up stays filed Open means more than a valve getting wild Open means basements that slept through the worst Open means I put the lowest street first [Chorus: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, belted, full chest] Open early, drain the lowest street Paper can wait when the water has teeth Downtown looks shiny and the maps look neat Open early, drain the lowest street [Outro: Full-bore Warsaw male rock lead, loud, the last gate shudder rings out and fades] Open early Drain the lowest Street [End]