Keystone Arch

[Verse 1]
He saw you by the lock-keeper's cottage on Limehouse Cut,
Your new coat pulling at the shoulders, an unfamiliar cut.
The air smelled sharp with diesel from a passing barge,
But you still had that flicker in your eye from that October, writ large.

[Chorus]
You were the keystone arch
That held the whole thing up.
And even from this far,
It's more than been enough.

[Verse 2]
Heard you fixed the water damage, repainted all the walls,
I only see the progress in pictures your sister posts.
The gate we used to climb behind the Royal Vic is just a map of rust,
And the words we built our city with are gathering dust.

[Spoken Word Interlude]
(A quiet, lo-fi phone recording of another voice, slightly distorted)
"Estou com saudades, pá. Liga-me um dia destes."

[Bridge]
Some scaffolding comes down, it has to sometime.
But the structure holds its ground against the District line.

[Chorus]
You were the keystone arch
That held the whole thing up.
And even from this far,
It's more than been enough.

[Outro]
Held the whole thing up.
Yeah, you held the whole thing up.