Shear Point

[Verse 1]
You trace the ghost-rails on the Parkland Walk again,
November, four o'clock, the light wears thin.
Remember the friction of it? A hand held in the cold.
A system whose tolerance has started to corrode.

[Chorus]
You hit the shear point, didn't you, boy? The moment it all broke.
A hairline fracture under all the words you spoke.

[Verse 2]
Past the Crouch End arches, where the signal starts to fade,
The cold of the iron railing chills the promise that you made.
She said, "You calculate too much," a final, whispered torque,
Now you just measure out the load this hollow static can support.

[Chorus]
You hit the shear point, didn't you, boy? The moment it all broke.
A hairline fracture under all the words you spoke.

[Bridge]
And the blueprints change. The girders rust.
All that high-tensile hope is just bearing dust.

[Outro]
Past the shear point now.
Just the low-grade hum.