[Verse 1] They say there’s a light on Black Ridge Road When the moon hangs thin and low, No house up there, no power lines, But every old-timer knows. A farmer saw it in ’49, A hunter saw it in ’62, A little yellow lantern flame Where no one should be walking through. [Chorus] There’s a lantern on Black Ridge, Moving through the pines, Some say it’s a lost man Still looking for a sign. Nobody knows his story, Nobody knows his name, But when the fog comes rolling in, You’ll see that lantern flame. [Verse 2] Some say he was a railroad man Who vanished in a storm, Some say he came home from the war And never made it home. They found his coat beside the creek, His boots beneath an oak, But every tale gets stranger Every time the old folks spoke. [Instrumental Break — clean tremolo guitar, steady drums, low organ underneath] [Verse 3] One night I drove that ridge myself, Just to prove the stories wrong, Radio quit, the engine coughed, And the night went dead and long. Then through the trees I saw that glow Coming slowly down the hill, I turned the key, I hit the gas— And I can see that lantern still. [Final Chorus] There’s a lantern on Black Ridge, Moving through the pines, Maybe just an old tale, Maybe something left behind. Nobody knows his story, Nobody knows his name, But when the fog comes rolling in, You’ll see that lantern flame. [Outro — clean guitar riff, one distant organ chord, drums stop suddenly]
