Category Four

[Verse 1]
The USS Sampson held course off of Mayport
Last day of September, twenty-fifteen
I was charting the Doppler shift of a blue whale's complaint
The low hum from the bulkhead was keeping me sane

[Pre-Chorus]
And the morning report had a name in it, 'Joaquin'
Just a tropical wave on a green-tinted screen
They were reading the pressures, a tenth of an inch
And I watched the barometer start to flinch

[Chorus]
And you take your soundings but the bottom falls out
You follow the orders they're shouting about
It's a three-degree roll 'til it's thirty degrees
And nobody's listening to the sea

[Verse 2]
Heard a voice on the guard channel, static and thin
Talking TOTE Maritime, sailing from Jacksonville in
My cousin was working the engine room floor
And the mess deck smelled of burnt coffee and ozone before the door

[Pre-Chorus]
And the morning report had a name in it, 'Joaquin'
Just a tropical wave on a green-tinted screen
They were reading the pressures, a tenth of an inch
And I watched the barometer start to flinch

[Chorus]
And you take your soundings but the bottom falls out
You follow the orders they're shouting about
It's a three-degree roll 'til it's thirty degrees
And nobody's listening to the sea

[Bridge]
"Just a squall," the old man said, "it'll pass us right by"
But the transducer screamed a high, tinny lie

[Outro]
Just a ping in the deep
A promise you can't keep