Keeper of the Light

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=HNSuJZi-FtI

'Keeper of the Light' written by Warren Nelson, recorded live at Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield, WI and featured on the CD 'Riding the Wind'. • Here is a link to where you can get a copy of the CD: http://www.warrennelson.com/store.html • I only own the CD. • Here are the words to the song as best as I could understand them: • I'm the keeper of the light on Michigan Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay or running for a lee! • I'm the keeper of the light on Michigan Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay or running for a lee! • Father took the oath of office • and we packed our family. • We sailed with open water • for a season of the keeper's duty. • We lived by regulation: • By ten AM each day • We cleaned the lamps and lanterns that • would light ships on their way. • We'd rub the brass and shine the brass • and then we polished brass. • We wound the clock that turns the light • and then we scrubbed the tower. • We fished and tended flower beds • and sang and worked some more, • and always welcomed travelers • landin' on our shore. • I'm the keeper of the light on Long Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay or running for a lee. • Sand Island Light was a Brownstone tower • and the light most westerly, • Lit in 1881 • for the south shore steamer lane. • Down bound from the head of the lake • the mariners could not see • the island shoals that could run them aground, • They couldn't see the light at Raspberry! • One dark night its keeper Luick rose to trim the light, • September Second, nineteen-five, • it'd stormed and blown all night, • Through his glass he spied the Sevona • strike a reef and break • Seventeen made the shore, • seven swallowed by the lake! • I'm the keeper of the light on Sand Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay or running for a lee. • Back to Outer Island station we came • with provisions and the mail. • At four'o'clock the wind commenced, • it blew a living gale. • We lit the lamp at sunset, • afraid the clock would break, • then anew it blew a hurricane, • the tower began to shake! • It was damp in the lamp and freezing, • the oil all congealed, • we were scrubbin'; with brine on the lantern glass • to remove the angry sea. • Our dock was driven to the boulders, • to talk we had to shout, • so splendid was Superior's fury • twenty-five miles out! • I'm the keeper of the light on Outer Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay or running for a lee. • Ninety-six steps of old Michigan Tower, • the first Apostle Light, • with the station at Chequamegon (shəq-WAH-mə-gn) • we watch the South Channel. • But the strongest light is the youngest • and the turning point on the lake, • you can see the Devil's beam 18 miles in your wake! • We lived in an era that time has past, • as keepers we were friends, • Now whose gonna fill my lamp tonight, • shine my Fresnel lens? • If we could gather at Raspberry • and on tenders we would go, • I’d hear the steamers come rounding then • the long fog whistle blow! • I'm the keeper of the light on Raspberry Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay or running for a lee. • I'm the keeper of the light on Raspberry Island, • a candle in the night for the steamboat trade, • with an eye on the wick and a whistle to the ships • that are bound for the bay • bound for the bay • or running for a lee!

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