return without him

Lyrics

We sailed her north on a quieter sea

With the same old hands… just less of three

And the rigging sang like it always had

But the sound of it felt… a little bad

There were charts to mark and a course to keep

And the watch still turned and the men still sleep

But the space he left don’t close with time

It just rides along in the back of your mind

So we sailed on home like the sea commands

With the wind still pulling and rope in our hands

You can lose a man but the tide won’t wait

And the world rolls on… like it’s always fated

We told the story the best we could

Like any crew on a broken wood

But the truth don’t sit where the ink gets laid

It just drifts somewhere… in the wake we made

Some said fallen by island shore

Some said gone and nothing more

Some swore truth in the blood and sand

Some just shrugged said they don’t understand

But I’ve seen a man step out of time

And I’ve watched a line refuse the line

And I’ve heard the sea when it speaks real low

Say “not all things are meant to show”

So we sailed on home like the sea commands

With the wind still pulling and rope in our hands

You can lose a man but the tide won’t wait

And the world rolls on… like it’s always fated

We told the story the best we could

Like any crew on a broken wood

But the truth don’t sit where the ink gets laid

It just drifts somewhere… in the wake we made

There’s a fire burns when the night runs long

And the same old tale in the same old song

But if you listen close when the wind goes thin

You might hear what never made it in

So we sailed on home like the sea commands

With the years laid down in our weathered hands

You can mark the maps and you can pretend

But not every voyage comes to an end

We told the story the best we knew

Like men who saw what they can’t prove true

And the line he crossed don’t fade with time

It just waits out there… past the final line

There’s a fire burns… and a tale goes round

Of a man once lost… and never found