The Handsome Family
Glow Worm
[Verse 1]
Up the snowy spires
Where the air is thin as glass
Once a year the cold mist clears
You can see inside the earth
High in that crystal palace
I built a sailing ship
Mast and wheel of polished brass
Sails of gold and silk
I piped the engine steam
I set for long citations
I consulted dusty maps
Set careful calibrations
Ever in, we're ever in
Peering through my scope
I sail deep into the hollows
Deep inside the earth
I traveled a boiling river
Through streams of mercury
Under these volcanoes
And the roots of ancient trees
Underneath stalactites
I lit phosphorous lamps
Sparks snapped into the air
And coiled up the mast
[Verse 2]
I watched enormous birds
Diving through the slate
As I stood upon the ground
In my oil skin cap and cape
At last, my anchor caught
And echoed through the stone
As I climbed and old broke ladder
Pile through the globe
And up above I saw it
A glow worm's little light
And I reached out and caught it
In the center of the night
Tightly in my fist
I held that glowing worm
Deep down in the hollows
I held the center of the world