Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, be the light Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, tonight Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, be the light I need light in my lantern, light in my lantern, tonight
It's a hungry world out there Even the wind will take a bite I can feel the world circling Sniffing round me in the night And the lost sheep grow teeth Forsake the lambs and lie with the lions
And the living is desperate Precarious and mean And getting by is so hard That even the rocks are picked clean And the bones of small contention Are the only food the hungry find
I'll need light for my lantern, light for my lantern tonight Light in my lantern, light in my lantern tonight
Where the thistles eat the thorns And the roses have no chance And it ain't no wonder that the babies Come out crying in advance And the children look for shelter In the hollow of some lonesome cheek
And the sky's so cold and clear The stars might stick you where you stand And you're only glad it's dark 'cause You might see the master's hand You might cast around forever And never find the peace you seek
I need light for my lantern, light for my lantern tonight Be the light in my lantern, the light of my lantern tonight
For every cry in the night Somebody says, "Have faith!" "Be content inside your questions" "Minotaurs inside a maze" Tell me what's the point of light That you have to strike a match to find?
So throw away those lamentations We both know them all too well If there's a book of Jubilations We'll have to write it for ourselves So come and lie beside me darling And let's write it while we still got time
So if you got a light, hold it high for me I need it bad tonight, hold it high for me Cause I'm face to face, hold it high for me In that lonesome place, hold it high for me With all the hurt that I've done, hold it high for me That can't be undone, hold it high for me Light and guide me through, hold it high for me I'll do the same for you, hold it high for me
I'll hold it high for you, 'cause I know you've got I'll hold it high for you, your own valley to walk I'll hold it high for you, though it's dark as death I'll hold it high for you, and then gets darker yet I'll hold it high for you, though your path seems lost I'll hold it high for you, through the thieves and rocks I'll hold it high for you, keep you safe from harm I'll hold it high for you, until you're back in my arms
Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, tonight Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, tonight Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, tonight Be the light of my lantern, the light of my lantern, tonight