One Small Light

[Verse 1] You came in from the channel With salt still on your sleeve Said the fog had swallowed every buoy And the compass wouldn’t read I was trimming the old lantern When you asked me how i knew Which way to turn that turning beam When the whole coast disappeared from view [Chorus] One small light, held steady One more mile through the gray Every wave can spend its fury Still the shore won’t move away You keep your hand upon the wheel I’ll keep the beacon burning bright And we’ll bring you through the weather One small light at a time [Verse 2] I told you of the winter gale That split the harbor chain How the keeper before me climbed Through sleet that stung like grain He found a freighter’s signal lamp And counted each slow pass Till dawn laid out the headland Like a map across the glass [Chorus] One small light, held steady One more mile through the gray Every wave can spend its fury Still the shore won’t move away You keep your hand upon the wheel I’ll keep the beacon burning bright And we’ll bring you through the weather One small light at a time [Bridge] You said, “i thought brave meant fearless.” I said, “mostly it means stay.” Then the foghorn rolled below us And the dark began to break [Final chorus] One small light, held steady One more mile through the gray Every wave can spend its fury Still the shore won’t move away You keep your hand upon the wheel I’ll keep the beacon burning bright And we’ll bring you through the weather One small light at a time One small light at a time [Outro] The channel opened slowly And your masthead slipped from sight I turned the lens toward open water And kept faith with the next night