Hogshead

Lyrics

Four men on the braided hemp,
Taking the weight on the cellar stair.

Your shoulder knows the pitch of the ramp
Before the lantern cuts the air.
Easing down the oak and the iron,
Keeping the belly from bruising the stone.
You don't bring a vessel this heavy into the dark
If you're planning on drinking alone.

This is a house with a heavy thirst.
We measure the year by the wood we burst.
Roll out the hogshead, knock out the pine,
Flood every cup till the rim starts to shine.
It takes a whole forest to hold what we crave,
And a standardized iron to make it behave.

Look at the cooper's white chalk on the stave,
The drift-pin biting the lowest hoop.
You can tell who a man thinks he is
By the size of the barrel he leaves on the stoop.
We are the roaring, we are the host,
We standardize glory and tally the boast.

But put your ear to the oak when the spigot spits air.
Listen to the hollow, the cavern inside.
We fill up the cellar because we are scared
Of the quiet that comes when the tables are bare.
The bigger the vessel, the deeper the echo.

This is a house with a heavy thirst.
We measure the year by the wood we burst.
Roll out the hogshead, knock out the pine,
Flood every cup till the rim starts to shine.
It takes a whole forest to hold what we crave,
And a standardized iron to make it behave.

Tap it again.
Nothing left but the dregs and the stain.
Roll it back up to the light.
The house is so quiet.
Just the drift-pin, rusting.