[Intro] [Clean fingerpicked electric guitar] [Soft bass enters] [Brush drums, distant Hammond] [Verse 1] There wasn’t much to laugh about, The night had raised the curtain slow. Above the masts of sleeping trees Drifted a symphony of snow. The forest creaked like some old schooner Caught and frozen in the ice. And there beside me stood a boy Too young for sorrow in his eyes. [Verse 2] He said, “You are my swan song, My final love, my last goodbye.” At that age every love is final, Every ending fills the sky. You need a past when you are young, Something lost, something gone, A little tragedy to prove You’ve been alive for far too long. [Chorus] White symphony of snow, Falling through the trees, Sails of winter hanging low, Frozen in the breeze. We thought our hearts were breaking then, We thought we knew what sorrow meant. But snow will melt And years will go — Only the memory Keeps the snow. [Verse 3] The sails were buried under white, They hung like branches bent with frost. I answered him with solemn words — I can’t remember what they were. It was a love of fatal grandeur, Something from an old stage play. But all I really still remember Is the snow that melted away. [Instrumental Break] [Clean electric guitar × restrained organ] [Verse 4] Now you and I can laugh about it, There’s no great sorrow left to prove. The world is bright enough around you, And life is easier when you move. You never like to speak of dying — Maybe you have got it right. The past gets frozen into silence, Locked beneath another night. [Bridge] [Drums drop out] [Male vocal almost spoken] And this is no stage scenery, No painted winter for a show. I hear the blizzard through the forest, Breaking wings against the snow. All night long The wind keeps calling. All night long The old trees know. [Final Chorus] White symphony of snow, Drifting through the years. All the things we called forever Disappear. We thought our hearts were breaking then, We thought that love could only end. But here you are. And here am I. And something still survives. [Outro — Male Baritone] You were my first love. Funny thing... My last love Had already come and gone. [Long Clean Guitar Outro] White snow... Old trees... A ship caught in the ice... And the first love Still sailing on. [Fade]
