It is the Alaskan Shake
Where the wits are the cold ones
That make the heart strings break
And twist into little pieces
And snap like a brittle shoelace

Which is a good thing too
Sometimes it's a good thing when the cold has kept you
Paralyzed from taking action causing pain
Like the slumbering stature you refrain
People recognize you in the night, they recognize you're wrong
They recognize you're right, even when you feel wrong
It's the reason they listen when you make a song
Yes it's the reason they listen to you when you make a song

And the firelight that warms your toes
Down in the lamplight
Down under the limelight
Let the firelight warm your toes
Take good care of your little digits though, until the numbness goes
Whistle the wind, whistle the wind, whistle the wind blows
Inside your head

It is the Alaskan Lake
Where the waters are colder than the risk you take
Where the night is long
And where you huddle for a long time and contemplate
And the time comes for actions but the actions
Is a hurried motion, oh no

And the firelight that warms your feet
Crackles louder all the more when you try to be discreet

Before the morning light a group of black swallows
Congregated at the burying ground where they laid your great uncle
Dismayed at the memory of the late, great surgeon
Admiring and fearful was the urchin
At one your grandmother, while she was living so much

One of the swallows seemed to cough and splutter
While the others watched, not frantically
One of the swallows flew into the tree
Another swallow leaned against the crutch

Suddenly the waters surged
And fro our of the clear and grey mist
Came the ghost of the early morning
Ghost was speaking like a bell
In the clear and silent
The voice you know it well

Stand up, little boys, and be peaceful
Stand up, little girls, and be peaceful
Take a drink when the water is warm
Remember the old ghost the night of
Release from the storm
She is the warm-hearted one

My old great, great, great, great, great, great
Grandmother mother mother mother
My old late, great, great, great, great, great
Grandmother mother mother mother