Black Mouth of the Sea

[Verse 1]
Oh the bell rang thrice on the starboard side
And the moon turned its blind eye away
We were twenty men and a drunken tide
When we heard dead voices say
They were singing low from the choke-dark swell
In a tongue like rust on a blade
Every word a nail in a salt-brined shell
Every note a grave we’d made
[Chorus]
Down, down, down
To the black mouth of the sea (hey!)
Where the ghostly crews drag chains through the deep
And the sirens croon softly for me
Down, down, down
Till the last cold bubble breaks free
Let the keel bones crack and the dead decks creak
As we sink to the black mouth of the sea
[Verse 2]
First we saw their sails in the midnight foam
Torn cloth, no wind, still they came
Empty eyehole hull and a rattling prow
Lit green with a crawling flame
On the rail stood girls with the seaweed hair
And a smile too sharp, too wide
“Come and lay your oars in our open arms
Come and sleep in the crushing tide” (ohhh)
[Chorus]
Down, down, down
To the black mouth of the sea (hey!)
Where the ghostly crews drag chains through the deep
And the sirens croon softly for me
Down, down, down
Till the last cold bubble breaks free
Let the keel bones crack and the dead decks creak
As we sink to the black mouth of the sea
[Bridge]
[Claps grow louder, voices stomp in unison]
They took old Jory by his laughing tongue
Took Tom by his gambler’s hands
Took me by the heart I had tried to hide
And they pulled us out of the land
Now we haul dead ropes in a lightless calm
Under miles of crushing glass
And we sing this curse for the living ships
That we’re waiting for to pass (hey, hey)
[Chorus]
Down, down, down
To the black mouth of the sea
Where the ghostly crews drag chains through the deep
And the sirens croon softly for thee
Down, down, down
Hear the lost men hiss your plea
Feel your lungs fill slow as the dark below
When you fall to the black mouth of the sea

Traditional minor-key sea shanty, male vocals in a deep chest register. Slow, stomping pulse with bare rhythmic claps and low drum hits, drenched in cavernous reverb. Verses feel close and claustrophobic; choruses swell with stacked gang vocals, wordless wails, and distant choral drones that bloom like a haunted cathedral below deck. Subtle creaks, chain rattles, and wind howls lace the atmosphere for a chilling, immersive sway., slow, deep, rhythmic, shanty