A City I Want to Visit (But Likely Never Will)

Lyrics

(Verse 1)
There's a particular October I've been studying in frames
Where red leaves gather on the stoops like proprietary claims
The ferry's wake divides the harbor, what I know and what remains
I've committed every crossing through the cartography of pain

(Pre-Chorus 1)
I am fluent in the architecture of borrowed views
Where every street leads somewhere I was never meant to choose

(Chorus)
A skyline built from photographs, a ferry I can't board
There's a promenade I've walked a thousand times in my mind
And the distance is what kills me, it's a trip I can't afford
A borough full of brownstones perched atop some far-off hill
A city I want to visit but likely never will

(Verse 2)
Sometimes I mistake the angle of the light upon the stone
For a signal that was personal, and meant for me alone
Each warehouse window flashing seems a mirror of my own
Yet I'm cognizant of edicts in this strictly private zone

(Pre-Chorus 2)
I've traced this geography through satellites and screens
The storied bridge connects to a life beyond my means

(Chorus)
A skyline built from photographs, a ferry I can't board
There's a promenade I've walked a thousand times in my mind
And the distance is what kills me, it's a trip I can't afford
A borough full of brownstones perched atop some far-off hill
A city I want to visit but likely never will

(Bridge)
Whitman sang of crossings, of the democratic leaves
But didn't reconcile desire with what a rational man believes—
That longing is just dopamine, that yearning is disease
That a sensible adult should know not to want what he can't reach

(Final Chorus)
A skyline built from photographs, a ferry I can't board
There's a promenade I've walked a thousand times in my mind
And the distance is what kills me, it's a trip I can't afford
A borough full of brownstones perched atop some far-off hill
The city where I want to live but never will