Lyrics Tom Rosenthal

Tom Rosenthal

The Boy

The boy sits in a field tall grass above his head

And he’s thinking of the path that his ancestors did tread

And as he’s dreaming of the future a mist does descend

And he wonders if this is the beginning or this is the end

And out of the mist a tall creature does appear

His eyes wide and friendly, his face full of years

He says “we’re going on a journey in my hot air balloon

And the time is now so we must get going soon”

They flew over the houses and the streets they use to know

Over trains going fast and people going slow

There were snow on the mountains and boats on the sea

And there were lovers in the forest carving their names into a tree

The boys says “where are we going, where are we going to

I’m scared of the future and I’m mildly scared of you

The creature looked down and said “don’t be scared of the unknown”

We’re going to a place in which I have grown

With a sudden gush of wind the balloon fell from the sky

And the boy shut his eyes and hoped he wouldn’t die

The creature was calm, he had done this before

So he landed the hot air balloon and he opened the door

The boy walked out and he couldn’t believe his eyes

There was a flock of sheep floating through the skies

Followed by a magic carpet on which their shepherd did fly

And the boy wondered what was going on

So he walked through this land with the creature by his side

To his left was a painter, painting the tides

And to his right a pack of wolves did cry

To the rise and fall of the moon

They entered the forest and the trees they hung low

Everything was dark and nothing there did grow

Apart from a single yellow rose that the boy put in his hair

Out of the forest, the snow it did fall

The creature held an umbrella high above

The boy then out the of snow appeared an empty platform

And they waited patiently for a train

From far in the distance a train did arrive

With a thousand polar bears passengers inside

The creature said to the boy “are you ready for the ride”

And the boy said ”yes I think I am”

So they sped through the hills and over mountains they did go

Over old wooden bridges withered from the cold

And the boy stared out of the window and smiled at all he could see

They traveled through the desert to the setting sun

Over streams and rivers to where it all begun

And through the wind and the rain until the days were done

They rode through the land

All of a sudden, the train it did stop

The creature said to the boy “this is where we both get off”

And all the polar bears climbed to the top of the train

To wave their goodbyes

The pair, now alone, walked through a featureless land

No blade of grass, no grain of sand

And on the horizon a great sea did stand

And creature said “ this is where I must go”

At the water's edge, nothing more was said

The boy looked at the creature, not a single tear was shed

And the creature laid his hand upon the boy's head

And gave him a wink of his eye

The creature turned around and walked slowly to the sea

To go to a place where forever he would be

And with one great leap he leapt into sea

And in the blink of an eye he was gone

The boy stood still, alone now on the shore

He stared into the distance and hoped there would be more

And the yellow rose it fell to the floor

And drifted away on the wind