The Dragon Under Harbor Nine
Verse 1 Harbor Nine smelled like diesel fuel and salt
Cranes picking at the hulls like it was their fault. Kids riding bikes along the rusty chain link fence
Counting up containers
making little sense. Then the sirens started howling
low and long, Gulls took off screaming
knowing it was wrong. Men pointed at the water
at the rainbow slick, Spreading on the surface
moving slow and thick.
Verse 2 Trucks came with cameras, pointing at the sky
Reporters talking numbers
watching numbers fly. Tankers full of chemicals with names we couldn’t say
Stored in giant skins that were hidden away. Someone missed a fracture
someone signed a line, Ignored the pressure gauge
said it would be fine. Now the harbor holds a monster underneath the skin
Invisible and heavy, letting poison in.
Pre-Chorus Suits held conferences to talk about the spread
Drawing lines on paper
counting up the dead. Fish floating belly up against the rotting rope
Air smells like copper, choking out the hope.
Chorus The dragon under Harbor Nine doesn’t make a sound
It soaks into the heavy nets
buries in the ground. It curls inside the mud where the crabs used to be
Wrapping round the anchors at the bottom of the sea. Boats come back empty
sailors coughing hard
No hero with a weapon standing in the yard. Just a beast of paper and a chemical sting
Killing off the water while the warning bells ring.
Verse 3 Cannery shut the doors before the year was done
Machines wrapped in plastic
hiding from the sun. Families packed the pickups with everything they owned
Leaving keys on counters
disconnecting phones. Others stayed behind
watching painted signs fade
Staring at the water and the mess that was made. Joking in the tavern
drinking cheap and slow
Calling it the dragon breath when the wind blows.
Chorus The dragon under Harbor Nine doesn’t make a sound
It soaks into the heavy nets
buries in the ground. It curls inside the mud where the crabs used to be
Wrapping round the anchors at the bottom of the sea. Boats come back empty
sailors coughing hard
No hero with a weapon standing in the yard. Just a beast of paper and a chemical sting
Killing off the water while the warning bells ring.
Bridge Kid finds a photo in a drawer inside the hall
Blue water, bright sun
before the heavy fall. She takes it to her grandpa
who stares a little long
Looking at the place where nothing had gone wrong. He says we fed a monster
gave it what it needs
Now we harvest poison instead of planting seeds.
Outro Sun sets on the water, orange on the gray
Hiding all the danger in the dying of the day. Fishing from the rocks with a worry in the head
Weighing up the hunger against the poison spread.