Scantling Rules

[Verse 1]
The ghost of the rivet gun's still in my head
A decade of Octobers since that girder bled
I see the flash, the buckle, the slow-motion fall
3:47 AM, I'm trying to recall the taste of my tea before the warning call

[Chorus]
The scantling rules don't mean a thing
When the metal starts to sing
And you finally see what the pressure brings

[Verse 2]
Tamar Bridge lights were a greasy smear on the glass
My coat smelled of ozone, hot slag, and cut grass
Heard the foreman shout, "It's the price of the trade!"
Just a hairline fracture from a promise we made
Another load-bearing lie starting to degrade

[Chorus]
The scantling rules don't mean a thing
When the metal starts to sing
And you finally see what the pressure brings

[Bridge]
(Whispered, layered, rhythmic)
Shear stress… yield point… catastrophic failure… hairline…
The waterline is just a promise made to the sea
A mark between what they see and what's breaking me

[Chorus]
The scantling rules don't mean a thing!
When the metal starts to sing!
And you finally see what the pressure brings!

[Outro]
I pulled the key from the ignition.
Never went back.