One Beat on the Rail

[Verse 1]
Ship’s hull groans in the gray of morn
One hand cold on a salted rope
Hard tack crumbs and a cracked tin cup
Eyes on the line
Heart on hope
[Chorus]
So heave
My heart
One beat on the rail
One beat
One voice
Through storm and hail
If I go down
Let the old waves wail
But I’ll die proud
With a song as my sail
[Verse 2]
Old Jack’s coat on a rusted nail
Empty boots where he used to stand
Taught me knots and a crooked prayer
Now I sing both for that old man
[Chorus]
So heave
My heart
One beat on the rail
One beat
One voice
Through storm and hail
If I go down
Let the old waves wail
But I’ll die proud
With a song as my sail
[Bridge]
Tell my love on the windy pier
I kept her name where the cold runs clear
In the dark watch
In the black rain
Every hard breath spoke her name
[Chorus]
So heave
My heart
One beat on the rail
One beat
One voice
Through storm and hail
If I go down
Let the old waves wail
But I’ll die proud
With a song as my sail

Raw, unaccompanied male vocals in a true call-and-response sea shanty style, but carried by a single singer. Each phrase lands on a steady foot-stomp or table-knock pulse. Verses stay close and low, story-focused; chorus opens into a rough, loud belt for pub-style sing-along energy. Roomy, live tavern reverb, breaths and grit left in the mix., shanty