We Swept the Stands Till the Stars Came Out

Lyrics

After the match the lights burn low,
The crowd has poured away,
And we come out with brooms and bags
To tidy up the day.
Paper cups and scarves and ticket stubs,
A glove from someone's hand,
Every little thing that's left behind
Is a story in the stands.

Row by row, and side by side,
We sweep the night along.

We swept the stands till the stars came out,
Singing low to the empty air,
Every broom a baton, every step a shout,
For the joy that was gathered there.
Lift your voice, let the rafters ring,
There's still a song for the ones who stay,
We swept the stands till the stars came out,
And we sang the whole night into day.

The floodlights hum and the grass is torn,
The banners hang half-furled,
Someone starts a verse of the anthem,
And it travels round the world.
Twelve of us, then twenty more,
The cleaners join the choir,
And the whole wide bowl of the stadium
Rings like a cathedral spire.

Row by row, and side by side,
We sweep the night along.

We swept the stands till the stars came out,
Singing low to the empty air,
Every broom a baton, every step a shout,
For the joy that was gathered there.
Lift your voice, let the rafters ring,
There's still a song for the ones who stay,
We swept the stands till the stars came out,
And we sang the whole night into day.

Tomorrow it starts again,
The roar and the glory and the rain,
But tonight it's ours, the quiet and the tune,
Under the lamp of the rising moon.

We swept the stands till the stars came out,
Singing low to the empty air,
Every broom a baton, every step a shout,
For the joy that was gathered there.
Lift your voice, let the rafters ring,
There's still a song for the ones who stay,
We swept the stands till the stars came out,
And we sang the whole night into day.

Sing for the ones who stay,
We sang the whole night into day.