Track 4 of the EP Lanyard Weather · 2022
The Stranger Who Walked Me to the Gate
by Wren Hallett
“I was new, my map had folded in two, and a stranger walked me to the gate. I never learnt his name.”
xinyao · xinyao-tinged folk · nostalgic ballad · 3:28
Lyrics
The campus path was dark and I was new Lost with a map that had folded in two A voice behind me said, are you all right And a torch swung gently into the night He wore a scarf and carried a bag of books He didn't ask a thing, just gave kind looks He said, I'm heading that way anyway And we walked the long road to the end of the day Oh, the stranger who walked me to the gate Never asked my name, never made me wait Just matched my steps and kept me warm Through the cold and the dark and the autumn storm I never knew who you were, but I know what you gave A light in the dark and a way to be brave Years have passed and I've forgotten his face But I remember the kindness and the pace Now when a student looks lost in the rain I offer my torch, and I walk them again Pass it on, pass it on, the small light The steady steps in the middle of the night Nobody counts them, nobody sees But they hold up the world like quiet trees Oh, the stranger who walked me to the gate Never asked my name, never made me wait Just matched my steps and kept me warm Through the cold and the dark and the autumn storm I never knew who you were, but I know what you gave A light in the dark and a way to be brave A light in the dark and a way to be brave