Deadstick

There once flew a pilot, high and free
Danced with the clouds, pirouetted with the breeze
But out of synch to the mechanical beat
That pulsed at the heart of the metal machine

Thought of their partner and thought of their kids
Thought where they're going and thought where they'd been
But a subtle change, the routine shattered
Prepare the mind, arrange the matters

Deadstick (deadstick)
Deadstick (deadstick)
I'm a bird with a broken wing
Deadstick (deadstick)
Deadstick (deadstick)
This nightingale can't sing

I wake with a retch to the smell of ammonia and my eyes start watering
A shadow? A body?
"Who are you?" I say when a voice cracks like a frozen lake
"I am your child, you are my mother, and I'm sitting here dying"
I say, "I got no children, I am but a boy, you are mistaken"
She sings, "Follow me down through the wind and the earth
To the edge of the forgotten seas
Save me from the hurt, tell me of my worth
A phantom is taking everything"

Deadstick, death wish
Panic in the cockpit
Praying in the cabin, we're all holding hands
Deadstick, death wish
Lost all propulsive
Propellers ain't spinning, being forced to land

Deadstick, death wish
We're shutting off the engines
Blues skies are turning a darker grey
Deadstick, death wish
Heading for the smoking hole
In the airfield I can't locate

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Save me!
I'm in a tight spot, catastrophe
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Save me!
I'm 'bout to make a crash-landing

Deadstick
Deadstick
I'm a bird with a broken wing
Deadstick
Deadstick
This nightingale can't sing
(Yeah!)

Deadstick, death wish
I can't believe we made it out alive
Deadstick, death wish
Send me help before I die