Night stirs her inky finger in the water of the day
The tired sun drops slowly in the sky
And everywhere the gentle air hangs heavy with the day's song
Evening calls the lamplighter
to come
Children's wooden hoops go clattering down
the street Soon they're called inside,
it's getting late
The brown canal now splashed with red Reflects on Swallow's wings
The lamplighter knows this song
The evening sings
But the gas lamps stand like soldiers,
hiss warnings to the wind
Their evening vespers prophesy of war
The world divides and men take sides The spark bursts into flame
Nothing can be quite the same again
A dog barks in the distance A child cries in her sleep
The night waits for the dawn with bated breath
The old school,
the old rule Rung out on the muffin man's bell
The lamplighter has made his nightly call
Dreams of hope and peace
And clattering down the streets Empty like the promises they've made
The wars rage on and if I'm wrong Will someone please explain
That peace is not the lamplighter
Cause he's not coming back again