Dark-eyed priest sitting in a wooden room
Outside the window stares the yellow moon
Reading letters by candlelight
That plays upon the page, that plays upon his sight

Blue-eyed sister's asleep downstairs
In a rocking chair by the oil lamp's glare
Sisters of mercy asked her to stay
Said the young priest'd been looking lonesome these days

Young boy confessed today
I can't keep my head straight
I'm tangled up with two ladies
And I'm afraid these sins ain't gonna go away

Move on, make amends
You got a good heart
And he sends him on his way

Priest puts down his glasses
Outside he sees the grass is
Frozen under moonbeams

The rocking chair, it ceased to creak
And in the silence, someone began to speak

The curtains were her evening dress
The black breeze was her breath
Goosebumps where her fingers left
Their marks upon his chest

Sister wakes up, goes upstairs
Calls through the door, you alright in there?
She waits but there's no answer
She hears the footsteps of a dancer

The sleeping of the wild swans
Begins not with a song but a whisper