The Eighth Beat

[Verse 1]
He traces the salt-stain on the bar with his thumb,
From a winter tide he thinks has gone numb.
A strobe light catches the bracing in his glance,
It's the eighth beat drop, he won't take the chance.
He's built from the stone of a city that drowns.

[Chorus]
It's the old sea wall in his bloodline,
The structural flaw, the perfect design.
A chalk line drawn before he was born,
To brace for the wave, to weather the storm.

[Verse 2]
She asks him what's wrong, why he looks to the door,
He's heard this old rhythm somewhere before.
"C'est juste le kick," he says with a smile,
But his feet are testing the club's worn-out tile,
Checking the grade for a shift in the floor.

[Chorus]
It's the old sea wall in his bloodline,
The structural flaw, the perfect design.
A chalk line drawn before he was born,
To brace for the wave, to weather the storm.

[Bridge]
Granite and spray in a photograph mind,
A grandfather's ghost he's not trying to find.
The pressure change in the air of a room,
The echo of a foghorn spelling out doom.

[Chorus]
It's the old sea wall in his bloodline,
The structural flaw, the perfect design.
A chalk line drawn before he was born,
To brace for the wave, to weather the storm.

[Outro]
He traces the salt-stain on the bar with his thumb,
From a winter tide he knows will still come.