Keepers of Eilean Mòr

[Verse 1]
Three coats on the peg by the doorway
Three plates
Cold bread on the board
Lamp still warm in the window
As the waves gnawed the bones of the shore

Logbook open on the table
Half a word
Then a wandering line
Kettle black on a quiet iron
And the clock keeping someone else’s time

[Chorus]
Where did you go
Keepers of Eilean Mòr
Dragged by the tide or called from the door
Names in the spray and salt on the oar
Only the gulls know the truth of this storm
Vanishing keepers of Eilean Mòr

[Verse 2]
Boot prints end at the edge of the heather
Beyond that
Only sea and sky
Oil and rope in the storeroom
Every reason to stay
Still you said goodbye

On the mainland
They whisper of omens
Of a dark shape out on the foam
But the lantern’s still turning in circles
Like a hand that can’t find its way home

[Chorus]
Where did you go
Keepers of Eilean Mòr
Dragged by the tide or called from the door
Names in the spray and salt on the oar
Only the gulls know the truth of this storm
Vanishing keepers of Eilean Mòr

[Bridge]
Maybe you walked into cloud
(soft as a psalm, oh)
Maybe the island just asked
And you answered its call

Maybe the sea took your sorrow
Left your boots on the floor
Left the lamp burning hollow
On Eilean Mòr

[Chorus]
Where did you go
Keepers of Eilean Mòr
Dragged by the tide or called from the door
Names in the spray and salt on the oar
Only the gulls know the truth of this storm
Vanishing keepers of Eilean Mòr
Vanishing keepers of Eilean Mòr