Cut the Anchor

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Harbor lights tremble on diesel rain
Salt in my coat, rope-prints in my palms again
Cleats grip my shadows tighter than skin
Kind hands kept me smaller than the storms within
Bells count the hours I never owned
Knots in the mooring, knots in my throat of stone
I love them enough to leave at low tide
If I stay on this dock, something in me dies

[Pre-Chorus]
Wind cuts a channel through the fog in my chest
I lay down the guilt like rusted chain at rest
Let the line slip quiet, no flare, no show
If leaving is mercy, then mercy is what I owe

[Chorus]
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go
The sea knows my name better than they ever did
I face the black water, feel the undertow
But the stars draw a line where the fear once hid
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go
The sea knows my name better than they ever did
Not betrayal — becoming who the wide winds bid
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go

[Drop]

[Verse 2]
Dockside voices taught me how to fold my sail to small
Quiet every thunder, be neat against the wall
Tar on my hands, I shrank to fit a borrowed berth
Even my laughter learned to dim its worth
Tonight I cross the chalk line where I used to stand
Loose line in my left, compass warm in my right hand
Their faces on the pier are weathered and kind
But the tide keeps tugging at the part I could not find

[Pre-Chorus 2]
I hear the keel speak in a language of bone
Every wave writes yes on this breakwater stone
I won't sink politely in a shallow bay
Love that holds open is the love that lets me stray

[Chorus 2]
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go
The sea knows my name better than they ever did
I aim past the lamps where the cold stars glow
And my shadow grows wide where their fences hid
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go
The sea knows my name better than they ever did
Not betrayal — it’s breath I was starving for
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go

[Drop 2]

[Bridge]
If I turn around, the lights will still be kind
If I keep on, I might finally meet my mind
I am not your debtor carved in oak and tar
I am tides returning to their oldest star
Forgive me or don't; I will learn to forgive
Leaving is the only way I choose to live

[Chant Break]
Cut the anchor (hey!)
Loose the lines (hey!)
Eyes to the north (hey!)
Drum in the spine (hey!)
Name on the tide (hey!)
Rise with the brine (hey!)
Not your captive (hey!)
I am alive (hey!)

[Final Chorus]
We cut the anchor, let the harbor go
The sea knows my name better than they ever did
We take the open water, cold and slow
While the bow carves light through night’s iron lid
We cut the anchor, let the harbor go
The sea knows my name better than they ever did
Not betrayal — the hidden self now lives
I cut the anchor, let the harbor go

[Outro]
Harbor lights go small behind my wake
The sea knows my name better than they ever did