MOUNTAINEER
(Chris Richards)


The ledge fell away, came crashing down the slope
The mountaineer lunged out for his ropes
Started sliding, and shouting, and scraping for his life
And right before the edge, he drove his axe into the ice


He laid there still, till his breath came creeping back
Then a far-off crash, the landing of his pack
He thought back through every move in his mind
Looking down into the valley that he’d left behind


When you find the magic line
Give it everything you got
But drifting snow fills your tracks below
So don’t hope too long for mountaintops


Somewhere down there, there’s a dresser full of clothes
There’s a fading fire that’ll waken frozen toes
But now his legs and his lungs pulse and ache
And behind him’s a forgiving trail nobody has to break


So make your way across that knife-edge ridge
Find a way to get back across that bridge
They’re waiting down there just to hear what you found
And was it all for nothing if you never get back down? 


When you find the magic line
Give it everything you got
But drifting snow fills your tracks below
Don’t hope too long for mountaintops


When you find the magic line
Give it everything you got
But drifting snow fills your tracks below
Don’t hope too long for mountaintops


©2013 Chris Richards / White Mare Music (BMI)