I Said I'd Come Back for the Piano

Lyrics

Twenty winters, near enough
Since I locked that school hall door
I said I'd come back for the piano
When I had a place to store
It sat there under dust sheets
Keys gone yellow, lid gone grey
And I never quite forgot it
Though I lived so far away

I said I'd come back, and I came
With a van and two good friends
And a rope and a bit of patience
And a heart that knows what it's been
Some promises sleep for a long time
But they never really die
I said I'd come back, and I came
And the piano says hello

The caretaker is old now
But he knew me by my walk
He said that every autumn
He's dusted it, and talked
We lifted it like a sleeping friend
Down the steps and through the rain
The strings gave out a single note
Like a greeting, like a name

I said I'd come back, and I came
With a van and two good friends
And a rope and a bit of patience
And a heart that knows what it's been
Some promises sleep for a long time
But they never really die
I said I'd come back, and I came
And the piano says hello

It sits now in my front room
By the window, by the light
And the children press the keys
And they laugh out loud at night
A promise isn't heavy
When you carry it on home
It turns into a song at last
That you no longer play alone

I said I'd come back, and I came
With a van and two good friends
And a rope and a bit of patience
And a heart that knows what it's been
Some promises sleep for a long time
But they never really die
I said I'd come back, and I came
And the piano says hello

And the piano says hello