Track 10 of the album Four Lines on the Back of a Postcard · 2021
The Road Above the Treeline
“The air gets thin and clear and the horn gets higher and braver. I wrote it climbing, and finished it at the top.”
neoclassical · neoclassical · film score · 4:04
Lyrics
The last pine falls behind me The air turns thin and clear The road runs on in silver And nothing here to fear A shepherd's hut, a thread of smoke A bell on some far hill The engine hums a steady note The whole wide world is still Higher now, and slow Where only the quiet goes The road above the treeline Where the sky comes down to meet The old grey stones and the clouds And the long way at my feet I have carried all my questions Up this slow and winding stair And the road above the treeline Has left them hanging in the air I stop beside a glacier stream And cup it in my hands The cold is clean and certain And the mountain understands Higher now, and slow Where only the quiet goes The road above the treeline Where the sky comes down to meet The old grey stones and the clouds And the long way at my feet I have carried all my questions Up this slow and winding stair And the road above the treeline Has left them hanging in the air Down below, the valley lights Will come on one by one But here the dusk is gold and wide And I am not undone The road above the treeline Where the sky comes down to meet The old grey stones and the clouds And the long way at my feet I have carried all my questions Up this slow and winding stair And the road above the treeline Has taught me how to be there How to be there