The Keloid Seam

[Verse 1]
(Spoken)
That silver line above your brow, by the Tiger Bay slipway.
Your finger traces where the old thread frayed.
"'Does it pull,' you ask, 'when the estuary mists come in?'"

[Pre-Chorus]
(Spoken, rising tension)
A phantom tension... a silent drop.
The low hum from the pylon top.

[Chorus]
(Sung)
A keloid seam, a warp in the skin.
Where the memory weaves in.

[Verse 2]
(Spoken)
I was nine years old. Late August, bank holiday heat.
The smell of cold iron and creosote on the street.
My own reflection in the water at my feet.

[Pre-Chorus]
(Spoken, rising tension)
A buoy bell calling through the flat grey light.
A stupid dare, a flicker of a fight.

[Chorus]
(Sung)
A keloid seam, a warp in the skin.
Where the memory weaves in.

[Bridge]
(Spoken, beatless)
The body keeps a perfect knot...
Of everything you thought you'd forgot.

[Chorus]
(Sung)
A keloid seam, a warp in the skin.
Where the memory weaves in.

[Outro]
(Sung, fading)
Weaves in...
Weaves in...