Old Wings Wake — A Song Inspired by A restored Grumman Avenger vintage aircraft flies again after seventeen years grounded.

[Verse 1]
Hangar dust wrote years on our sleeves
Rivets held on like stubborn beliefs
Do not call it miracle, call it hands
Coffee rings, socket sets, folding stands

[Pre-Chorus]
Then the cough became a rhythm
Then the rhythm found a flame
Then the floor began to tremble
Like it heard somebody say

[Chorus]
Old wings wake, old hands know
How to pull a pulse from a cold machine's throat
Open the door, let the morning shake
Old wings wake, old wings wake

[Verse 2]
We did not pray to a glorious past
We kept our heads down and made the spark last
Some of us slept with our names under tarps
Some of us lost the first note of our hearts

[Pre-Chorus]
Then the cough became a rhythm
Then the rhythm found a flame
Then the dark room split its eyelid
And the runway called our name

[Chorus]
Old wings wake, old hands know
How to pull a pulse from a cold machine's throat
Open the door, let the morning shake
Old wings wake, old wings wake

[Bridge]
If you were parked where the rain came through
If nobody bet on the engine in you
Feel that tremor under the brake
Old wings wake

[Final Chorus]
Old wings wake, old hearts rise
Dust falls back from the borrowed sky
Open the door, let the morning shake
Old wings wake, old wings wake

[Outro]
Turn me over, count me in
I still remember where the air begins