Sirens

i met her on the docks
all that bread on the water
she looked like a mermaid's daughter
and the sirens went off
and a storm came up
but we stayed on the rail
and now that ship has sailed. sailed.
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we lived at the beach
all that metal in the sand
got so hot, we couldn't stand it
prices went up
i got laid off
we'd share a pint of ale
and now that ship has sailed. sailed.
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we moved down the coast
all those lights behind us
where the shadows find us
and the fog came down
and it killed the sound
of lovers on the rails
and now that ship has sailed
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i watched her drift away
all that blue horizon
her setting sun, for me is rising
and the water's sound
ebbing down:
"you failed, you failed"
now that ship has sailed. sailed.
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and that, folks, is all he wrote. nine songs in 27 days. the challenge was 14 in 29. but that ship sailed days ago.
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i jinxed myself when i only had one left to write for the album, thinking and writing that it would be over soon. what i hadn't considered was why this particular song was being written last - ie. i hadn't come up with an idea for it.
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the missing number was a response to Fred's song "Ship": "Lord, if you could find me a place to land, / My ship needs to come in". how brilliant is that?
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the harder i tried to come up with something, the more i realized that i was exhausted from the first eight. so i quit trying and gave myself a rest.
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and it worked, by gum - my ship came in. i wrote this tonight in about seventy minutes, with Eaglesmith's voice in my head. my Fredhead.
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thank you Fred Eaglesmith. thank you Susan F., who kicked me off.
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and thanks to you few beauties for joining me on the ride. i can't wait to play them for you.