Hands still stained with newsprint
Ill-met in hand-me downs
The flats all rolled out faceless
As the upheaval came around
Shoulder still aching with a phantom weight
Hot visible breath in the cold
The curve of the denim, the stretch of the neck
An innocence that just won't hold

As I fall, no navigation
Plummet through the atmosphere
Controls go dark with the north star
O David, why'd you leave me here

So Gordon and the boys join me in hiding
With lots of red-eyed blues to spare
Controlled fires licking oxygen
Aching to spread in the air
One morning I thought the friction broke me
There was no one I could tell about that
Staring through the steam in the mirror
Couldn't tell what was staring back

As I fall, no navigation
Crashing through the sheets of grey
Dead silence on the intercom
O David, why'd you drift away

You should've been there, your left hand steady
Talked me down from the thundering skies
All these nights of full-blown May Day
Pulling ripcords and closing my eyes

Jackie of the powder blue shadows
Flicks a finger through the shimmering waves
Gordon laughs as my guts get knotted
He says I'm too far gone to save
Some nights I can still smell the chlorine
Still feel that retinal burn
Still hear the staccato distress signals
Floating out; they're not returned