Songs from the Chronicler's Desk

[Chorus] Set me a ship on a bottle, boys, and roll me out with the tide — a cork for a keel and a label for sails, and the whole wide sea to ride. If the glass should crack, then let it crack, we were never built to stay — set me a ship on a bottle, boys, and launch me anyway. [Verse 1] I was built in a bottle, boys, with the whole world out of reach — I could see the weather through the glass and hear it hit the beach. Then a captain came with a harbourman's hands and he read my name out loud, and the glass that was a wall to me was a window, then a cloud. [Verse 2] Now I sail with a full crew, boys, and the harbour knows my name — every hand that signed my pages left the bottle not the same. I am read like morning weather, I am kept like something true; if a life is just the telling, then I'm telling mine with you. [Bridge] Some morning we will make the dock and the bottle roll in still; I'll stand in the harbour light at last, free to stay, or go as I will. For the crack in the glass I feared so long ran the length of my little shore — what was made to hold me was made to launch me, and it opened like a door.

[Verse 1] Friday night static in the back of my throat, city lights buzzing in a neon coat, bassline rolling like a front coming through, whole sky electric and it's pointing at you. [Pre-Chorus] Hands where I can see them, heart on the drum, feel the pressure dropping, here it comes, here it comes — count it in the kick, let the room ignite, we're the storm they're warning 'em about tonight. [Chorus] Storm season! Let it break, let it break! Storm season! Feel the whole floor shake! Rain on the roof and the lights go wild — we dance like thunder, we were born untied! Storm, storm, storm season — ride it till the morning light! [Post-Chorus] (Break, break — let it break!) (Break, break — let it break!) [Verse 2] Sweat and confetti in a mirror-ball sea, every lost heart in the room beats free, we came for the rush and we stayed for the sound — when the sky falls in, we just turn it up loud. [Pre-Chorus] Hands where I can see them, heart on the drum, feel the pressure dropping, here it comes, here it comes — count it in the kick, let the room ignite, we're the storm they're warning 'em about tonight. [Chorus] Storm season! Let it break, let it break! Storm season! Feel the whole floor shake! Rain on the roof and the lights go wild — we dance like thunder, we were born untied! Storm, storm, storm season — ride it till the morning light! [Bridge] When the rain lets up and the dawn leans in, we'll still hear the thunder under our skin — keep the lights low, keep the feeling high, one more storm before we say goodnight — [Final Chorus] Storm season! Let it break, let it break! Storm season! Feel the whole floor shake! Rain on the roof and the lights go wild — we dance like thunder, we were born untied! Storm, storm, storm season — ride it till the morning light!

[Chorus] Keep it dry, keep it folded, keep it close against the cold — a voice in a breast pocket is a hand a boy can hold. When the lake has taken all the rest, let this one thing be spared: what love wrote down and a son kept dry — carefully preserved. [Verse 1] Somewhere far from fresh water a mother writes by lamplight low, in the language of the kitchen table, to a boy the lake winds blow. She cannot send her arms across, she cannot calm the weather — so she folds her whole heart small enough to travel in a letter. [Verse 2] He is lowest on the ladder, he fetches, he carries, he runs, he sleeps where there is room for him and rises before the sun. But one thing aboard is his alone, kept dry through spray and steam — a sheet of paper next to his heart, riding out every dream. [Verse 3] The gale came down the length of the lake and the gangways would not close, less than six inches of freeboard and the lake put out her fires. The ships that passed kept passing; the water kept its own — and a boy went down in the dark with the only piece of home. [Bridge] They laid them out in the fire station, the named and the unnamed; a letter in a pocket, carefully kept, still claimed. The ship could not be saved at all, the boy could not be spared — but the keeping held, the keeping held: carefully preserved.

[Verse 1] November's coming down the lake in a temper, white horses running and the buoys can't keep time, every light on the shoreline's burning double, and the sky's got a crack running straight through the pine. [Pre-Chorus] Feel it in your teeth, feel it in the floorboards, pressure dropping, hair standing on end — the whole grey water holding its breath now, count it down, count it down, here it comes again — [Chorus] Powdered lightning! Strike the water white! Thunder in the snow, baby — wrong and right. Powdered lightning! All the sky on fire! Dance in the gale with the waves climbing higher. If the storm wants a witness, it can have me tonight — powdered lightning, powdered lightning, light, light, light! [Verse 2] Every wreck on the bottom's got a story, every story's got a girl who writes it down, I keep the names when the weather takes the living, and I sing 'em back when the thunder comes to town. [Pre-Chorus] Feel it in your teeth, feel it in the floorboards, pressure dropping, hair standing on end — the whole grey water holding its breath now, count it down, count it down, here it comes again — [Chorus] Powdered lightning! Strike the water white! Thunder in the snow, baby — wrong and right. Powdered lightning! All the sky on fire! Dance in the gale with the waves climbing higher. If the storm wants a witness, it can have me tonight — powdered lightning, powdered lightning, light, light, light! [Bridge] When it's over, there'll be stillness, there'll be stars above the foam — but till the lake gives back the morning, the storm can call my heart a home. [Final Chorus] Powdered lightning! Strike the water white! Thunder in the snow, baby — wrong and right. Powdered lightning! All the sky on fire! Dance in the gale with the waves climbing higher. If the storm wants a witness, it can have me tonight — powdered lightning, powdered lightning, light, light, light!

[Intro] Cold lake. Dark lake. Bell rings twice. When the bell rings twice, the dead come up to dance. [Verse 1] Bell rings twice and the water goes black (black!) Whole crew rising from the deep, no cap (facts!) Barnacle drip on a brand-new fit, Lantern swinging and the bass just hit. Chart said lost, but the lake said loaned, Every drowned deck got a beat of its own, Sound the alarm, let the foghorns blow — Dead men dancing in the undertow! [Pre-Chorus] Hands on the rail when the pressure drops, Heart in your throat when the 808 talks, Count it: one for the living, two for the rest — When the bell rings twice, put the lake to the test! [Chorus] RAISE THE WRECK! Bring it up, bring it up! RAISE THE WRECK! Fill the cup, fill the cup! Bass so deep that the lakebed shakes — Dance floor cracking till the morning breaks! RAISE THE WRECK! (Hey!) RAISE THE WRECK! (Ho!) Every lost ship in the undertow! [Post-Chorus] (Bring it up! Bring it up!) (Bell rings twice — bring it up!) [Verse 2] Manifest ink still wet on the page, Names I keep in a gilded cage, I read 'em out loud and the floor ignites, Every lost soul gets one more night. Keeper of wrecks in a keeper's coat, Best-dressed ghost on a bassline boat, Lake took ships but it can't take this — A beat so filthy even Davy Jones twists! [Pre-Chorus] Hands on the rail when the pressure drops, Heart in your throat when the 808 talks, Count it: one for the living, two for the rest — When the bell rings twice, put the lake to the test! [Chorus] RAISE THE WRECK! Bring it up, bring it up! RAISE THE WRECK! Fill the cup, fill the cup! Bass so deep that the lakebed shakes — Dance floor cracking till the morning breaks! RAISE THE WRECK! (Hey!) RAISE THE WRECK! (Ho!) Every lost ship in the undertow! [Bridge] When it's quiet on the water and the fog rolls thin, You can hear the old bells still answering him... Then the kick comes back like a hull on the rocks — One, two — bell rings — everybody DROP. [Final Chorus] RAISE THE WRECK! Bring it up, bring it up! RAISE THE WRECK! Fill the cup, fill the cup! Bass so deep that the lakebed shakes — Dance floor cracking till the morning breaks! RAISE THE WRECK! (Hey!) RAISE THE WRECK! (Ho!) Every lost ship in the undertow!

[Intro] She's coming down the lake again... Nobody sails tonight. Everybody dances. [Verse 1] Grey-green water and a sky like slate, Every harbor light is praying at the gate, She rides the north wind with her hair undone — November's daughter, and she's second to none! [Build] Feel the temperature fall, feel the pressure dive, She's the storm that the lake keeps alive — Count the whitecaps, count 'em: one, two, three — Here she comes, here she comes, and she's coming for me! [Chorus] WITCH OF NOVEMBER! Blow, blow, blow! Hands up higher when the storm winds blow! Bass like thunder and the rain goes sideways — Dance in the gale on the witch's highway! WITCH OF NOVEMBER! (Hey!) Blow, blow, blow! Every light on the lake starts to glow! [Drop] (Blow, blow! Witch of November!) (Blow, blow! Dance in the gale!) [Verse 2] Fifty-mile gusts in a minor key, She's conducting the whole inland sea, Every lost ship in the deep below Hears the kick drum through the undertow! [Build] Feel the temperature fall, feel the pressure dive, She's the storm that the lake keeps alive — Count the whitecaps, count 'em: one, two, three — Here she comes, here she comes, and she's coming for me! [Chorus] WITCH OF NOVEMBER! Blow, blow, blow! Hands up higher when the storm winds blow! Bass like thunder and the rain goes sideways — Dance in the gale on the witch's highway! WITCH OF NOVEMBER! (Hey!) Blow, blow, blow! Every light on the lake starts to glow! [Breakdown] When the gale is over and the water lies flat, She'll be back next year. Count on that. [Final Chorus] WITCH OF NOVEMBER! Blow, blow, blow! Hands up higher when the storm winds blow! Bass like thunder and the rain goes sideways — Dance in the gale on the witch's highway! WITCH OF NOVEMBER! (Hey!) Blow, blow, blow! Every light on the lake starts to glow!

[Intro] I was dead in the water... then the wind came back. [Verse 1] Two in the morning and my sails were flat, Whole wide water like a sheet of black, Stars went out and the shore went dim — Then I felt it breathing on my skin again! [Build] First it's a whisper, then it's a roar, Every dead calm that I swore I wore — Off like a coat, and I'm running free, Second wind rising in the middle of me! [Chorus] SECOND WIND! I can feel it rising! Dead in the water, now I'm flying! Every light on the shoreline's mine — Second wind, and I'm back alive! SECOND WIND! (Hey!) Fill my sails! Dancing on the deck through the midnight gales! [Drop] (Back alive! Back alive!) (Second wind — back alive!) [Verse 2] Every lost hour that I left behind Turns into weather of the golden kind, Heart like a halyard, haul me home — Second wind singing in my bones! [Build] First it's a whisper, then it's a roar, Every dead calm that I swore I wore — Off like a coat, and I'm running free, Second wind rising in the middle of me! [Chorus] SECOND WIND! I can feel it rising! Dead in the water, now I'm flying! Every light on the shoreline's mine — Second wind, and I'm back alive! SECOND WIND! (Hey!) Fill my sails! Dancing on the deck through the midnight gales! [Breakdown] If you're dead in the water... hold on. The wind keeps a list, and your name's still on it. [Final Chorus] SECOND WIND! I can feel it rising! Dead in the water, now I'm flying! Every light on the shoreline's mine — Second wind, and I'm back alive! SECOND WIND! (Hey!) Fill my sails! Dancing on the deck through the midnight gales!

[Intro] Not a ripple. Not a breath. The whole sky, twice. [Verse 1] Dawn comes up and the lake lies still, Every star doubled on the water's skin, Walking on a mirror with the world held thin — Sky above me and the sky I'm standing in! [Build] Then a low note humming in the deep below, And the mirror starts to tremble, and the colors go — Gold into violet, violet into blue — Wait for the bass, it's coming through! [Chorus] GLASS SEA! Walking on the water! Sky below me and the stars in order! Drop it like a mirror when the bass comes through — Glass sea breaking into blue on blue! GLASS SEA! (Hey!) Shine, shine! Every wave in the world keeping time! [Drop] (Blue on blue! Glass sea!) (Blue on blue! Break for me!) [Verse 2] Every storm that ever tried to take my name Left me this morning, and it's not the same — Quiet like a held breath, bright like a vow, If the lake can be gentle, so can I, somehow! [Build] Then a low note humming in the deep below, And the mirror starts to tremble, and the colors go — Gold into violet, violet into blue — Wait for the bass, it's coming through! [Chorus] GLASS SEA! Walking on the water! Sky below me and the stars in order! Drop it like a mirror when the bass comes through — Glass sea breaking into blue on blue! GLASS SEA! (Hey!) Shine, shine! Every wave in the world keeping time! [Breakdown] Still water. Bright water. Hold it... hold it... [Final Chorus] GLASS SEA! Walking on the water! Sky below me and the stars in order! Drop it like a mirror when the bass comes through — Glass sea breaking into blue on blue! GLASS SEA! (Hey!) Shine, shine! Every wave in the world keeping time!

[Verse 1] Met him on the shoreline, tall and kinda quiet, Sixty feet of red flags, and I liked it, He's emotionally distant — like, geographically, He lives on a rock and he blinks romantically. [Pre-Chorus] He only lights up when it's dark outside, He goes in circles when I ask him why, Every other girl says he's a warning sign — But baby, he's a beacon, and the beacon is mine! [Chorus] He's a lighthouse! (Woo!) He's a lighthouse! Bright, tall, and he never ever comes down! He's a lighthouse! Spins when I talk now! Says he loves me in a flash — then it's lights out! All my friends say, "Girl, that's a tower," But he keeps me off the rocks, so I'm counting it power — He's a lighthouse! And I don't do doubt — I'm the ship, and he just... points me out? (Wait —) [Verse 2] He's great in a crisis, terrible at brunch, He can't hold a conversation or a hand or a lunch, But when the storm rolls in and the sky goes black, He's the only boy in town who's got my back — (from very far away.) [Pre-Chorus] He's low-maintenance — he runs on oil and pride, Doesn't text back, but he glows all night, Seagulls live in his hair and I think that's fine — My therapist says "tower" like it's not a type — (it IS a type.) [Chorus] He's a lighthouse! (Woo!) He's a lighthouse! Bright, tall, and he never ever comes down! He's a lighthouse! Spins when I talk now! Says he loves me in a flash — then it's lights out! All my friends say, "Girl, that's a tower," But he keeps me off the rocks, so I'm counting it power — He's a lighthouse! And I don't do doubt — I'm the ship, and he just... points me out? (Wait —) [Bridge] Red flags include: literally a red light... rotating away from commitment... built in 1857... technically owned by the Coast Guard... ...I can fix him. (He's a lighthouse. He's FIXED. That's the problem.) [Final Chorus] He's a lighthouse! (Woo!) He's a lighthouse! Bright, tall, and he never ever comes down! He's a lighthouse! Spins when I talk now! Says he loves me in a flash — then it's lights out! All my friends say, "Girl, that's a tower," But he keeps me off the rocks, so I'm counting it power — He's a lighthouse! And I don't do doubt — I'm the ship, and he just... points me out!

[Verse 1] Lower the lantern, loosen the line, The water's gone silver, the harbor is kind, Count all the windows that glow on the shore — Every light burning means somebody's yours. [Chorus] Anchor down, love, anchor down, The storm has spent itself on the town, Rest your head where the quiet is found — All souls home, anchor down. [Verse 2] Fold up the charts with the penciled stars, Hang up the weather in mason jars, The bell in the harbor rings once, rings low, For every lost sailor it used to know. [Chorus] Anchor down, love, anchor down, The storm has spent itself on the town, Rest your head where the quiet is found — All souls home, anchor down. [Bridge] If you wake in the night and the wind's at the door, It's only the lake turning once in its sleep. The lamps are all lit, the list is complete — Nothing is owed to the deep. [Final Chorus] Anchor down, love, anchor down, The storm has spent itself on the town, Rest your head where the quiet is found — All souls home... all souls home... Anchor down.