Track 9 of the album The Lighthouse Years · 2017
Streamers on the Gym Floor
“A school dance remembered through floor wax and punch. I kept the arrangement soft so the memory could do the dancing.”
neoclassical · neoclassical · nostalgic ballad · 4:48
Lyrics
The lights come up and the music stops The gym smells of floor wax and punch Paper streamers droop from the basketball hoops And the last of the dancers move out in bunches A corsage is forgotten on the bleacher seat A single shoe sits by the door I'm folding the chairs with the caretaker, slow Sweeping up the best night of the year once more Every ceiling that low once held the whole sky Every song was the only song Oh, the streamers on the gym floor Tell me how the night was long enough Sweep them gently, leave a few behind For the ones who danced and never wanted to go Oh, the streamers on the gym floor Soft as every promise that we made We were young and the music was kind And the floor was a whole wide ocean I stood by the wall for half of the night Then you crossed the floor to me No words, only hands and a shy little sway And a slow song that carried us free Every ceiling that low once held the whole sky Every song was the only song Oh, the streamers on the gym floor Tell me how the night was long enough Sweep them gently, leave a few behind For the ones who danced and never wanted to go Oh, the streamers on the gym floor Soft as every promise that we made We were young and the music was kind And the floor was a whole wide ocean The caretaker hums the tune we loved Switches off the lights row by row And I walk out into the cool night air With the whole warm night still aglow Oh, the streamers on the gym floor Tell me how the night was long enough Sweep them gently, leave a few behind For the ones who danced and never wanted to go Oh, the streamers on the gym floor Soft as every promise that we made We were young and the music was kind And the floor was a whole wide ocean Leave a few behind Leave a few behind