[Verse 1]
There’s a rusted bell on the harbor wall
Green with years and salt
We were just fools with an empty hold
And a list of debts to halt
Captain swore on a chipped tin cup
“We sail ’til we break that spell”
Wind said “go” and the gulls said “go”
So we rang that rusted bell
[Chorus]
(Heave, ho) for the rusted bell
Ring it hard
Shake off the spell
Storm or calm
We rise
We yell
We’re bound by the sound of the rusted bell
(Heave, ho) let the old tales swell
Raise your voice
You know them well
If the sea wants souls
She’ll have to yell
To drown out the roar of the rusted bell
[Verse 2]
First trip out
Took a king’s lost chain
From a reef of broken glass
Sand in our teeth
Blood on the rope
Still we laughed it off and passed
Second run
Found a painted chest
Filled with letters never sent
Read them out loud in the lantern light
Till the whole damned crew went bent
[Chorus]
(Heave, ho) for the rusted bell
Ring it hard
Shake off the spell
Storm or calm
We rise
We yell
We’re bound by the sound of the rusted bell
(Heave, ho) let the old tales swell
Raise your voice
You know them well
If the sea wants souls
She’ll have to yell
To drown out the roar of the rusted bell
[Bridge]
One day soon we’ll be bones and names
Scratched in a tavern door
But that crooked bell on the harbor wall
Will sing us home once more
So drink to the crew and the cursed old swell
And the lives we lived half-right
For every lost fool who ever rang hell
Let that rusted bell ring bright (hey!)
[Chorus]
(Heave, ho) for the rusted bell
Ring it hard
Shake off the spell
Storm or calm
We rise
We yell
We’re bound by the sound of the rusted bell
(Heave, ho) let the old tales swell
Raise your voice
You know them well
If you hear that clang from the harbor’s shell
You’re sailing again with the rusted bell