The Calcium Cabinet

[Intro]
[Verse]
Open up the cedar lid
See where all the years are hid
Dusty glass and bits of twine
Calcium and salt and brine
It’s a heavy box to hold
Full of stories never told
[Chorus]
Listen to the hollow hum
Where the ocean meets the thumb
Tidal ghosts in every curve
Giving back the love we serve
Hold them close and let them sing
Every small and broken thing
[Post-Chorus]
Salt and bone
Never alone
Salt and bone
The sea is home
[Verse]
This rough scallop has a dent
Where a silver hoop was sent
Auntie lost it in the bay
Swore the crabs took it away
Found it lodged inside the hinge
After one last summer binge
[Pre-Chorus]
It’s a bit of a mess
I must honestly confess
We keep the chipped ones too
Just like I keep you
[Chorus]
Listen to the hollow hum
Where the ocean meets the thumb
Tidal ghosts in every curve
Giving back the love we serve
Hold them close and let them sing
Every small and broken thing
[Bridge]
Tucked inside this whelk’s deep throat
Is a tiny yellow note
“Meet me where the tide is low”
Fifty-seven years ago
Ink is faded, heart is dry
Underneath a Dorset sky
[Verse]
Nanny had a grand design
Glued the cockles in a line
On an old upright piano
Singing like a salt soprano
Sticky keys and calcium scales
Playing songs of ghost-white whales
[Break]
[Verse]
Nothing here is worth a cent
Just a life of where we went
Muddy knees and bucket hauls
Echoes in these calcium walls
Silly secrets, sandy shoes
Nothing left for us to lose
[Chorus]
Listen to the hollow hum
Where the ocean meets the thumb
Tidal ghosts in every curve
Giving back the love we serve
Hold them close and let them sing
Every small and broken thing
[Post-Chorus]
Salt and bone
Never alone
Salt and bone
The sea is home
[Outro]