North of the Last Ferry

Intro

Verse

The last ferry out is the twenty past three

I lean on the rail with the gulls and the sea

The deckhand counts his passengers: one

he folds his paper, says the season's done

We pass red boathouses, shutters barred

a dog on a jetty, guarding the yard

Refrain

North of the last ferry the water goes still

(four)

I count the lighthouses over the hill

(and a fifth one out)

The cold finds the gap at the wrist of my glove

(breathe it in)

no one to answer to, below or above

(nobody)

Verse

He ties up just long enough to say "mind the ice"

then swings off south, the engine coughing twice

I find the cabin by the herring racks

my boots the first to print the frost with tracks

I feed the stove and wait for dusk to fall

and slow white beams begin their crawl

Refrain

North of the last ferry the water goes still

(four)

I count the lighthouses over the hill

(and a fifth one out)

The cold finds the gap at the wrist of my glove

(breathe it in)

no one to answer to, below or above

(nobody)

Trumpet Solo

Interlude

[Spoken] "Created by DarkPrincess -- Royalty of the Night"

Verse

The radio reads the shipping forecast slow

Viking, North Utsira, gale and snow

Nobody needs me till the ferry's back in May

and I've never liked a place this far away

So I set my lantern on the window ledge

a fifth small light along the harbour's edge

Refrain

Five lights now along the frozen coast

(five)

the smallest one is mine, and it shines the most

(look north)

Let the ferry come in spring or not at all

(either way)

I've got wood stacked high against the wall

(enough)

Instrumental