Signalman
White
Down beyond Wyke Combe Bottom
Blackened bushes screen
In the darkness of the railway cutting
The signal cabin's gleam
There among the brass bells and buttons
And iron lever frames
The hand lamps and the smoking stove
And the passing diesel trains
Signalman White keeps a watchful eye
It was halfway through the night shift
The empty stock was due
And an engine down for Kingmoor bound
To stable and refuel
When the clocks and bells went crazy
The trackside wires rang
The marker lights flashed left to right
In the section diagram
I grabbed the shrieking phone's receiver
Pressed it hard against my ear
When my trembling hand regained command
I said who's calling here
Is that Signalman White? her gentle voice replied
Her tone was soft and her manner was mild enough
With childish laughter mocking me
But something else was there for which I was not prepared
Perhaps a hint of madness by her steady voice dispelled
So Signalman White don't look outside
She said she watches me daily
As she flits among the thorns
From high above the branches blown
And marching through the corn
I'm in over my head and underneath the hill
In the patterned ground
From the graveyard come by the temple sprung
And scattered by the plough
She said to me she loves me
And to lay my duties by
She said she'll wait by the kissing gate
Beneath the ghostly lantern light
So Signalman White your place or mine
Then the phone went dead and the box was quiet again
I stoked the fire to break the spell
Each passing train helps to send her on her way
With each brief encounter through the telegraph relayed
Signalman White keeps out the night
But dawn comes with a chorus
The blinding sun reveals
What midnight's mysteries magnify
And shadows black conceal
From the green of the fields unfolding
As the swallows stoop and fall
The note she left was a gentle threat
In charcoal on the wall
It said Signalman White
I'll be back again tonight
Chords:
Intro. B
Verse B F# Ebm E
Chorus B F# Ebm E
Instr. Abm E F#