[Intro] (Tin whistle over bodhrán heartbeat, distant uilleann pipes) [Verse 1] Forty years of iron and salt Scaling the stone heart of the tower Each step is a prayer of paraffin Feeding the glass against the gale (feeding the beam) [Verse 2] The Atlantic is a hungry beast Gnawing at the roots of the cliff I hold the light steady and true A tether for the men on the foam [Verse 3] They bring the wire and the cold steel To do what blood and breath have done But I will not descend the stair Until the last night is won (until the morning breaks the dark) [Verse 4] The gulls are my only kin now Screaming at the turn of the tide I've watched the seasons rot and bloom In the gray swell of the horizon [Verse 5] They say the machine does not tire It has no need for the taste of the spray But it cannot feel the ship's fear When the fog swallows the bay (the bay is a heavy shroud) [Verse 6] The pipes cry out in the wind Carrying the ghosts of the wrecks I remember the names of the lost Hewn into the timber and stone [Final Verse] I am the sentinel of the jagged tooth Older than the rust on the rail The lamp is full for the final time I strike the match with a steady hand [Outro] Let the wires wait in the rain Tonight the light belongs to me (tonight the light is mine) Forty years of iron and salt I'll stay until the oil runs dry (until the oil runs dry) Tonight the light is mine