The Old Schoolhouse

Lyrics

Verse 1
Lady at my heel,
nose to the dirt
Moon in the branches,
black on the ferns

We left the yard
with the fence behind
Two quiet shadows
cutting through the pines

No flashlight glow,
no beam to give us away
Just your soft paws
and my careful steps in the clay

Pre-Chorus
Past the creek bed
and the leaning stone
You kept looking back
like you knew that zone

I heard a door
where the trees were thin
And I said your name
just to pull you in

Chorus
Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
We’re finding the old schoolhouse (keep close)

Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
Don’t let the dark know (keep close)

Verse 2
Boards in the weeds,
roof split wide
Paint peeled off
like old dry hide

Window eyes
staring through the vines
Dead bell hanging
with the rusted sign

You froze at the step,
I held my breath
A broken chalkboard
and a floor of dust and death

Something moved
past the farthest tree
So I took your collar
and you kept close to me

Pre-Chorus
Past the creek bed
and the leaning stone
You kept looking back
like you knew that zone

I heard a door
where the trees were thin
And I said your name
just to pull you in

Chorus
Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
We’re finding the old schoolhouse (keep close)

Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
Don’t let the dark know (keep close)

Bridge
We stood inside
where the teachers used to pray
On splintered desks
in the ash and gray

Then from the yard
came a branch-snap sound
And your low growl rolled
through the ground

I didn’t see it
but I knew it was there
So I knelt right down
and I held you near

Final Chorus
Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
We found the old schoolhouse (keep close)

Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
We made it home somehow (keep close)

Lady, keep close
Lady, keep close
Don’t let the dark know (keep close)