The Gilded Astrolabe

[Intro]
[Verse]
The brass gears turn in time
To a rhythmic midnight chime
I slip through the heavy door
Across the cold stone floor
The oil stains my small hands
Like the shifting desert sands
A key turns the iron lock
In the heart of the clock
[Pre-Chorus]
The glass harmonica sings aloud
Beneath a silver velvet cloud
Of the winter that always clings
To the weight of golden rings
[Chorus]
Twelve strokes for the ghost
On the salt-bitten coast
I trace every faded line
Of a design so divine
The ink is grown so thin
Where your fingers have been
I wait for the morning tide
With nowhere left to hide
[Verse]
The vellum is dry and worn
By a heart that is torn
You mapped out the lonely North
When the fleet ventured forth
But the stars didn't speak
When the timber grew weak
Now the dust gathers deep
While the royal guards sleep
[Bridge]
The theorbo strings weep low
Where the dark waters flow
The chamber timpani rolls
Like the heavy bell tolls
A natural trumpet cries out
Through the mist and the doubt
But the ocean is vast
Holding onto the past
[Breakdown]
Tick, tick, the spring
Hear the metal sing
Wait, wait, the year
Hiding every single tear
[Verse]
The year sixty-four
When you walked to the shore
The king gave the sign
To the horizon line
I count every copper spring
For the news you would bring
But the telescope is blind
To the love left behind
[Chorus]
Twelve strokes for the ghost
On the salt-bitten coast
I trace every faded line
Of a design so divine
The ink is grown so thin
Where your fingers have been
I wait for the morning tide
With nowhere left to hide
[Post-Chorus]
Count every single beat
In the heavy midnight heat
The stars never move
In the truth they prove
[Outro]