Gertrude On The Rooftop
- Genre: Celtic Ballad
- Released:
- Length: 4:28
Lyrics
Verse 1
Blue lights on a quiet lane December frost on the windowpanes We joked about the overtime Two tired medics, killing time Till the call came through Faint and thin Fall at Rosewood Home Please come in We sipped our tea Then grabbed the kit Never guessed the heart of it
Chorus
Gertrude on the rooftop Gertrude in the cold Seventy years of stories No one ever told They handed her a ladder Said, we’ve got charts to file Gertrude fell from the rooftop Trying to hang a little light for a while
Verse 2
The lobby smelled of bleach and age A TV blared at a silent page Nurse said, Out back They’re with her now" Eyes on a clipboard, furrowed brow We crossed the yard where the shadows lay Past tossed-out tinsel in a plastic tray There by the hedge, in a crumpled coat Gertrude lay still Breath a cloud at her throat
Chorus 2
Gertrude on the rooftop Gertrude in the cold Seventy years of stories No one ever told They handed her a ladder Said, we’ve got forms to sign Gertrude fell from the rooftop Trying to make the place just a little more kind
Bridge
"Why was she up there?" I finally asked The charge nurse shrugged Hid behind her mask We’re short tonight And the boss was clear Those lights must shine when the families are here But we’ve residents to wash And phones that ring And so many far more important things So they passed her the hooks and the tangled wire Sent a widow to the wind and the eaves and the fire
Verse 3
Her hands were cut from the brittle pine A scrap of ribbon in her palm like twine She whispered, Kids will like it bright We always did it like this at night We wrapped her warm, we wrapped her slow Tried to shield her from the drifting snow I felt her pulse fade under my glove As the first star rose above
Chorus 3
Gertrude on the rooftop Gertrude in the cold Seventy years of stories No one ever told They handed her a ladder Said, we’ve got better things to do Gertrude fell from the rooftop Doing their Christmas for them too
Outro
Now every time December comes And the first green branch goes on my front I raise a glass Let the silence move To the one who fell for somebody else’s "important" truth Gertrude on the rooftop Still hanging up the light For all the souls forgotten On a long, long winter night