[Verse 1: Chris Thile]
Momma cuts like a man-of-war
Through the fog of an early morning
With nothing more than a coffee filling up her sails

A couple sips and she says, I know
I can keep what I started going
She hears the clock tick, the wolf who loiters at the door
Daddy asleep in the bed he made the night before
And so she cuts through the morning like a man-of-war

[Verse 2: Thile/Thile & Chris Eldridge/Thile, Eldridge & Gabe Witcher]
Daddy burns like a meteor
Through a night of his own diversions
Hoping to blaze half a second of a glowing trail

Pours rum on his weary heart
Says, hey, I'm closer than when I started
He hears the clock tick, the wolf who loiters at the door
Momma tossing and turning through the coming storm
And so he burns through diversions like a meteor
Oh, there's a lot to learn

[Chorus: Thile, Eldridge & Witcher/Thile]
One puts into port
Lowers a rowboat and grabs an oar
Singing, all ashore that's going ashore
One falls back to earth
Leaves a crater on the bedroom floor
Singing, love, I know I promised more than this
[Pre-Verse: Thile/Thile & Eldridge/Thile, Eldridge & Witcher]
Momma cuts through the morning like a man-of-war
Daddy burns through diversions like a meteor
And so they use one another like a guiding star
And how I watch as they wonder where and what they are

[Verse 3: Thile/Thile & Eldridge/Thile, Eldridge & Witcher]
I reflect like a troubadour
The ebb and flow of their hope and worry
In every verse of a living, breathing fairy tale

As Momma rises and Daddy sets
Just like they have since the night I met them
I hear the clock tick, the wolf who loiters at the door
Whatever else they decide to fight about and for
As I reflect, hope, and worry like a troubadour
Oh, there's a lot to learn, oh

[Chorus: Thile, Eldridge & Witcher/Thile]
One puts into port
Lowers a rowboat and grabs an oar
Singing, all ashore that's going ashore
One falls back to earth
Leaves a crater on the bedroom floor
Singing, love, I don't need any more than this