Mermaid Cannon Wake
by David Howard
Lyrics
Verse 1
Out past the black buoy line
Our lanterns drowned in foam
The captain read the bones
Then took the wheel alone
A gull flew wrong that night
Its eyes were hollow glass
We heard a chain below
Drag under, slow, and vast
Pre-Chorus
Hush now, hold your breath
Hear the tide count low
Something calls our names
From the wreck below
Chorus
Heave, boys, heave
The dead sea keeps its claim
Heave, boys, heave
And sing the broken name
Boom, phantom cannon
Roll through the brine
Heave, boys, heave
The mermaids are mine
Verse 2
Their hair was kelp and smoke
Their smiles were cold as tin
They circled our torn mast
And let the dark rush in
They sang us from our rope
They sang us from our fear
Each note was a knife
Each note drew near
Pre-Chorus
Hush now, hold your breath
Hear the tide count low
Something calls our names
From the wreck below
Chorus
Heave, boys, heave
The dead sea keeps its claim
Heave, boys, heave
And sing the broken name
Boom, phantom cannon
Roll through the brine
Heave, boys, heave
The mermaids are mine
Bridge
I saw the moon go white
Inside a wave-shaped face
I heard my own last hymn
Sink into the chase
One by one they rose
From the cold green seam
And every breath we took
Turned into their dream
Final Chorus
Heave, boys, heave
The dead sea keeps its claim
Heave, boys, heave
And sing the broken name
Boom, phantom cannon
Roll through the brine
Heave, boys, heave
The mermaids are mine
Heave, boys, heave
Till the keel falls blind
Heave, boys, heave
And leave the sun behind