Ribbons in the Night

The sun's going down and the cold's coming on
And the last of the light in the valley is gone

No hearth, no lantern for miles, and no sound
Just me in the frost and the black all around
I stand in the open, the whole sky in sight
And a glow I can't fathom breaks open the night

The dark's come alive, and it pours from up high
Great ribbons let loose down the length of the sky

Ribbons in the night, oh, ribbons in the night
Green ribbons unspooling, the whole dark gone bright
They twist and they scatter, they pour and they climb
Cold rivers of rose with no reason or rhyme
And I'm the last soul awake, and there's no one to see
But the Merry Dancers came, and they came out for me

My grandmother swore they were spirits of old
The dead and the gods dancing bright in the cold
The fae throwing colours, the sky's ancient kin
And I stand here alone, and it takes me right in

The dark's come alive, and it pours from up high
Great ribbons let loose down the length of the sky

Ribbons in the night, oh, ribbons in the night
Green ribbons unspooling, the whole dark gone bright
They twist and they scatter, they pour and they climb
Cold rivers of rose with no reason or rhyme
And I'm the last soul awake, and there's no one to see
But the Merry Dancers came, and they came out for me

Not a soul for a league, just the wind and the snow
And a sky so alive that I can't let it go
If this is the grace of the wandering mile
Then I'd walk the whole dark just to see it awhile

Ribbons in the night, oh, ribbons in the night
Green ribbons unspooling, the whole dark gone bright
They twist and they scatter, they pour and they climb
Cold rivers of rose with no reason or rhyme
And I'm the last soul awake, and there's no one to see
But the Merry Dancers came, and they came out for me

The ribbons go quiet, they fold into grey
But the green's in my blood, and it won't wash away