Lyrics

Mountain Climber (Bergsteiger)
© Drexel Rayford, Vagrants Chapel Music, 2006 (1977)

Climb the highest you can
Scale the steepest you see
Take your tools in your hands
Peaks define your jubilee
Way up above the ground
Higher than birds ever flew
You stand with your banner unfurled
No rock is bigger than you

And you know that you can do anything
As long as your ropes hold out strong
As long as your cleats hold their cling
No mountain can prove that you’re wrong
That’s your song

Sky birds spin and soar
Blurring the mountains afar
From the mountain you’ll never be free
Oh, the sky bird has stolen your heart

No matter how far from the earth
No matter how high you can climb
You’ll never be free from your birth
Those mountains are just in your mind

And you know that you can do anything
As long as your ropes hold out strong
As long as your cleats hold their cling
No mountain can prove that you’re wrong
That’s your song

But climb them again
When we all turn in
They’ll stand there above our small graves
And what we decide
About their long sides
No matter what scientists say
When all’s said and done
There’s still one decision to make
What will stay?