[Verse 1]
Salt in my teeth
Blood on the rail
Younger than the rope
Older than the gale
They said
“Write it down
If we don't return”
Ink on my fingers
Lanterns burn
[Chorus]
I keep their names in the ledger
Line by shaking line
Faces in the spray
Frozen in my mind
If I make it to the harbor
If my boots touch stone
I'll read their names in the ledger
So they don't go alone
[Verse 2]
Mark was the first
Laugh like a bell
Dragged from the bow
Vanished where he fell
Eli held fast
Teeth on his prayer
Boat came back crooked
Just his coat there
[Chorus]
I keep their names in the ledger
Line by shaking line
Voices in the wind
Answering to mine
If I make it to the harbor
If my boots touch stone
I'll read their names in the ledger
So they don't go alone
[Bridge]
The beast rolls under
Like a midnight hill
We stab at the mountain
The mountain stands still
“Boy
If you live
Write what you see
” they said
So I spell out the living
And I spell out the dead
[Chorus]
I keep their names in the ledger
Line by shaking line
Hands that hauled the ropes
Hearts that matched the brine
If I make it to the harbor
If my boots touch stone
I'll read their names in the ledger
So they don't go alone