Dancing Across on a Bridge of Boats

Step out easy, the river is high
The ropes are wet but they're tied on tight
Give me your hand, don't look at the foam
We've got fifty yards of shifting pine

The river is high and the lanterns sway
You always think that a plank will hold
You call it dancing, I call it luck
Every hull shivers beneath my boots

Step on the seam where the timber groans
Nobody falls if we keep the time
Swinging slow in the river mist
Dancing across on a bridge of boats

You pulled your collar against the spray
You said the far bank was out of sight
Just one more turn, hear the cables whine
The dark under us is just passing through

You listen to water and hear a waltz
I hear the strain in the iron chains
You swear there's a town on the other side
With open doors and an amber light

Step on the seam where the timber groans
Nobody falls if we keep the time
Swinging slow in the river mist
Dancing across on a bridge of boats

I swore there was shelter across the flood
A house with dry cedar against the cold
I knew from the first step you had no house
I took your hand so you wouldn't drown

Step on the seam where the timber groans
Nobody falls if we keep the time
Swinging slow in the river mist
Dancing across on a bridge of boats
The current pulls at the center boat
The wood is screaming beneath our shoes
Hold to my coat while the lantern dies
Dancing across on a bridge of boats