Track 7 of the album The Lantern Man Keeps the Last Stall Lit · 2026

The Old Number Nine Walks Out Alone

“A man walks out of the old number nine ground alone, a paper cup rolling down the stair. The band plays him out softly.”

cinematic pop · cinematic pop · elegiac · 3:53

Lyrics

The gates are open, the seats are bare
A paper cup rolls down the stair
I wore this number half my life
Now I wear a coat and a quiet tie

The grass still holds my younger stride
The tunnel smells the way it did
There's no one here to call my name
But I can hear the roar all the same

The old number nine walks out alone
Across the white-lined emerald floor
Ten thousand ghosts stand up and sing
For one more minute, one more score
Nobody's counting, nobody's keeping time
But every empty seat is mine
The old number nine walks out alone
And the stadium takes me home

I take the corner where I fell
I touch the post that knew me well
The scoreboard dark, the floodlights low
The ball rolls back from long ago

The old number nine walks out alone
Across the white-lined emerald floor
Ten thousand ghosts stand up and sing
For one more minute, one more score
Nobody's counting, nobody's keeping time
But every empty seat is mine
The old number nine walks out alone
And the stadium takes me home

I don't need the cup, the cheer, the crown
Just the sound of boots on the turf
The wind comes down from the highest stand
And lifts me off the earth

The old number nine walks out alone
Across the white-lined emerald floor
Ten thousand ghosts stand up and sing
For one more minute, one more score
Nobody's counting, nobody's keeping time
But every empty seat is mine
The old number nine walks out alone
And the stadium takes me home

Walk out alone
Walk out, walk home