The Long Count

[Verse 1]
You tape your knuckles up at the kitchen sink
That Tuesday night class down on Stokes Croft
You learn the footwork, how to keep your guard
How to read the telegraph before it's soft

[Chorus]
And when you both get up from the canvas floor
Who are the strangers walking out that door?
This is the long count
The ache for a bell you can already hear

[Verse 2]
The smell of the leather in the Everlast bag
The sting of the salt line on your lower lip
He says you seem distant across the video lag
And you just learn to bob and weave and slip

[Chorus]
And when you both get up from the canvas floor
Who are the strangers walking out that door?
This is the long count
The ache for a bell you can already hear

[Bridge]
Remember August on the Mahé shore? He said,
"'We'll never be those kids from Penzance again.'"
And you just breathed the brine and took it on the chin.

[Outro]
You tape your knuckles up at the kitchen sink.
The distance closes in before you blink.