[Verse 1: Stu Mackenzie]
Well there once flew a pilot high and free
Danced with the clouds, pirouette with the breeze
But I’ll sink to the mechanical beat
That pulsed at the heart of a metal machine
Thought of their partner and thought of their kids
Thought where they’re going and thought where they’ve been
But a sudden change, the routine shattered
Prepare the mind, arrange the matters

[Chorus: Stu Mackenzie]
Deadstick (deadstick)
Deadstick (deadstick)
I’m a bird with a broken wing
Deadstick (deadstick)
Deadstick (deadstick)
This nightingale can’t sing
Yeah!

[Verse 2: Joey Walker]
I wake with a retch to the smell of ammonia and my eyes start watering
A shadow of 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 said, “I’ve got no children, I am but a boy”
“You are mistaken,” she says
Follow me down through the wind and the earth to the edge of the forgotten sea
Save us from the hurt, tell me I’m the one, the phantom has taken everything
[Verse 3: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
Deadstick, death wish, burning in a cockpit
Praying in the cabin, we’re all holding hands
Deadstick, death wish, lock up our phones
The propellers ain’t spinning, being forced to land
Deadstick, death wish, starting up the engines
Blue skies are turning a darker gray
Dead stick, death wish, heading for the burning hole in the air field I can’t locate

Mayday, mayday, mayday, save me
I’m in a tight spot catastrophe
Mayday, mayday, mayday, save me
I’m about to make a crash landing

[Chorus: Stu Mackenzie]
Deadstick
Deadstick
I’m a bird with a broken wing
Deadstick (deadstick)
Deadstick (deadstick)
This nightingale can’t sing

[Verse 4: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
Deadstick, death wish
I can’t believe we made it out alive
Deadstick, death wish
Send me help before I die