The Lighthouse Keeper
I lit a fire hoping one kindred spirit would see it and sail in. Instead, every wreck washed up on my shore needing my fuel. It's the old 'service is value' code again, but this time I can see what it's costing me.
I lit a fire on the shore, a single, hopeful light
A signal for another ship to pass me in the night
I sent my song into the void, a question and a plea
For just one other lonely soul who speaks the same as me
I wasn't asking for a fleet, I wasn't asking for a king
Just a single, distant echo of the lonely song I sing
But the waves just bring the wreckage, and the tide just brings the lost
The broken souls who see my light and cannot count the cost
Of the fuel I have to burn to keep this lonely flame alive
They only know the warmth they need to feel like they'll survive
And I have become a harbor for a fleet of ghosts and pain
The lonely lighthouse keeper, standing in the endless rain
They come to me with shattered masts and sails that have been torn
The casualties of all the quiet, secret, little wars
They spill their stories on my floor, a river of their dread
And they do not see the ghosts that are still screaming in my head
I give them bread, I give them fire, I give them what I can
The quiet, steady presence of a sad and broken man
Who knows the language of their wounds, the texture of their fear
And so they come, and so they come, and so they leave me here
'Cause the waves just bring the wreckage, and the tide just brings the lost
The broken souls who see my light and cannot count the cost
Of the fuel I have to burn to keep this lonely flame alive
They only know the warmth they need to feel like they'll survive
And I have become a harbor for a fleet of ghosts and pain
The lonely lighthouse keeper, standing in the endless rain
And in their broken faces, I can see a piece of me
The starving, desperate hope for just a moment to be free
And I can't turn them all away, I cannot be that cruel
So I just add another drop of my own soul for fuel
And wonder if the ship I'm waiting for will ever show
Or if this is the only kind of love I'll ever know...
'Cause the waves just bring the wreckage, and the tide just brings the lost
The broken souls who see my light and cannot count the cost
Of the fuel I have to burn to keep this lonely flame alive
They only know the warmth they need to feel like they'll survive
And I have become a harbor for a fleet of ghosts and pain
The lonely lighthouse keeper, standing in the endless rain
The light is on
The door is open
And the sea is full of ghosts