Keep a Lamp for Me

[Intro — choir] Keep a lamp for me, just one quiet square of gold. [Verse 1] The last bus sighs at the end of the lane The shops pull shutters against evening rain My coat holds the cold, my pocket holds keys A square of amber is all that I need Not a flood of brightness over the town Just one steady window when dusk settles down If I arrive later than I said I would be Keep a lamp for me [Pre-chorus] I do not ask the road to lose every bend I ask for a sign that the welcome won’t end [Chorus] Keep a lamp for me by the window near the door Let its quiet circle rest across the floor When my courage scatters like receipts along the street Keep a lamp for me, keep a lamp for me Gold against the glass, steady through the rain Saying there is room to tell the truth and start again When another set of footsteps turns uncertainly I’ll keep a lamp for them as You kept one for me [Verse 2] Once I left a cup untouched until ten Rehearsed one apology again and again I thought locked silence was all I had earned Then amber on the curtain said I could return You met me without a ledger in hand Listened until the tangled words could land Now every evening when daylight grows thin I set the lamp where a welcome begins [Bridge — call and response] [Lead] For the one delayed [Choir] Leave a little gold [Lead] For the one gone quiet [Choir] Let the welcome hold [Lead] For the one rehearsing what they fear we’ll say [Choir] Let the window answer before they turn away [Final chorus] Keep a lamp for me by the window near the door Let its quiet circle rest across the floor When my courage scatters like receipts along the street Keep a lamp for me, keep a lamp for me Gold against the glass, steady through the rain Saying there is room to tell the truth and start again When either one of us comes home uncertainly I’ll keep a lamp for you; keep a lamp for me [Outro — a cappella then piano] One window. One welcome. I see it. I am here.