The Bulb Burns White

[Verse 1 — dark guitar, rolling toms]
I polish glass against the salt
Repair the wires, absorb the fault
A thousand vessels make the shore
You ask why one came late once more

[Pre-Chorus — intimate baritone]
Beyond the rocks, an inland road
A little house I'll never know

[Chorus — explosive, layered harmonies]
Round and round the burning beam
Lighting everybody else's dream
I hold the night back from your door
And still you tell me to give more
I'd kill the light and cross the sand
Go somewhere no one needs my hands
But there are children out at sea
Who never asked this work of me
(Shine, shine, shine again)

[Verse 2 — syncopated bass]
Your every storm becomes my shift
My quiet summers cease to exist

[Bridge — half-time]
How long can I be everyone's shore
Before I'm someone worth saving for?

[Outro — fading vocal echoes]
The bulb burns white, the stairs are steep
The sea goes home; I never sleep