Ballad Of St. Anne's Reel

He was stranded in a tiny town on Fair Prince Edward's Island

Waiting for a ship to come and find him

A one horse place, a friendly face

Some coffee and a tiny trace of fiddling in the distance far behind him

A dime across the counter there, a shy hello, a brand new friend

And a walk along the street in wintry weather

A yellow light, and open door

A welcome friend there's room for more

And then they're standing there inside together

He said, "I've heard that tune before somewhere

But I can't remember when

Was it on some other friendly shore, or did I hear it on the wind?

Was it written on the sky above, think I heard it from someone I loved

I never heard a sound so sweet since then"



And now his feet begin to tap, a little boy says, "I'll take your hat"

And he's caught up in the magic of her smile

Leap, the heart inside him went, and off across the floor he sent

His clumsy body graceful as a child

He said, "There's magic in the fiddler's arm,

and there's magic in this town

There's magic in the dancers' feet and the way they put them down

People smiling everywhere, boots and ribbons, locks of hair

And laughter and old blue suits and Easter gowns



The sailor's gone, the room is bare, the old piano's sitting there

Someone's hat's left hanging on the rack

Empty chairs and the wooden floor, that feels the touch of shoes no more

A waiting for the dancers to come back

The fiddle's in the closet of some daughter of the town

The strings are broke, the bow is gone, and the cover's buttoned down

But sometimes on December nights,

when the air is cold and the wind is right

There's a melody that passes through the town