When the Roses Climb the Stair

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Woman] You left your silver button By the chapel’s broken stair I keep it in my pocket Like a promise folded there The orchard wears its winter Though the bells have marked the spring And every door remembers The shape of you returning [Verse 2: Man] I crossed the blackened water Where the ferry lights went out I carried your old letter With its corners worn about The house is full of roses That no gardener has grown Their roots have found the cellar And they climb the walls alone [Pre-Chorus: Duet] If I could turn the hourglass And call the years undone Would you still know my face, my love Beneath the setting sun? [Chorus: Duet] Come close before the winter takes the garden from our hands Stay here while the candle keeps its small and faithful flame We were made of tender things the world could never understand And even as we lose the dawn, I’ll love you all the same [Verse 3: Woman] Your coat hangs by the doorway Though the hallway has gone cold I speak to it at evening As the old house settles old The portrait in the landing Turns its eyes toward mine I trace the painted roses And pretend they are a sign [Verse 4: Man] I hear you in the stairwell In the hush before the rain A footstep, then a silence Then the hush begins again I would have fought the morning If it asked me to let go But morning came so softly And I had nowhere left to go [English Horn Solo] [Wordless Choir] [Bridge: Duet] Woman: If this is only borrowed time, then let it be enough Man: Your hand against my trembling heart, your name against the dusk Woman: No spell can make the leaving kind, no prayer can make it fair Man: But every road that takes me on still carries you somewhere [Final Chorus: Duet] Come close before the winter takes the garden from our hands Stay here while the candle keeps its small and faithful flame We were made of tender things the world could never understand And even as we lose the dawn, I’ll love you all the same [Outro: Woman and Man] When the roses climb the stair When the bells ring through the air I will find you there I will find you there