[Verse 1]
Cold dawn
Mud on my tracks
Names carved under chipped paint
They laughed
Called me their lucky beast
Lit cigarettes on my flank
I knew every rattle
Every breath
Their stories stored in my steel
Then the sky tore open sideways
And time forgot how to feel
[Chorus]
I am not just rust and iron
Hear me howl
Hear me break
You tore them out of my hollow chest
Left me burning in your wake
I am welded grief and fire
Every rivet
Every scar
Screaming out in rage and anguish
To a god of smoke and tar
[Verse 2]
The shell slid in like a whisper
Kissed through plate and bone
Heat-flash
Red fog
Silence
They were there—and then they were gone
His glove still caught on my handle
Dog tags fused to my floor
Their echoing jokes in my chambers
Answer nothing anymore
[Chorus]
I am not just rust and iron
Hear me howl
Hear me break
You tore them out of my hollow chest
Left me burning in your wake
I am welded grief and fire
Every rivet
Every scar
Screaming out in rage and anguish
To a god of smoke and tar
[Bridge]
You
Across the torn-up field
Your barrel still warm
Still proud (do you see?)
You don’t know the names you shattered
You just count another shroud
I drag my broken body
Through the cratered
Choking ground
Every grinding
Grinding heartbeat
Is a curse in metal sound (hear me)
[Chorus]
I am not just rust and iron
Hear me howl
Hear me break
You tore them out of my hollow chest
Left me burning in your wake
I am welded grief and fire
Every rivet
Every scar
Screaming out in rage and anguish
Till my engine’s final star