Lyrics

[Verse 1]

There’s a pathway through the bracken where the heavy bodies pass,

With their shoulders brushing branches and their shadows on the grass.

There are jaws along the river, there are claws upon the trail;

I just shift my weight a little, find my balance with my tail.

Once a Rex walked underneath me, close enough to shake my tree;

I could count the scars along his back. He never noticed me.

On a patch of sunlit bark, I let my heavy eyelids close,

With my tail along the branch and one small leaf across my nose.

[Chorus]

Above the footsteps, where the branches meet,

I can dream through the thunder of enormous feet.

Let the big ones wander, let the sharp teeth roam—

There’s a fork in the branches, and I call it home.

I’ll come down for my dinner when the moment is right,

Then return to the branches and a bed out of sight.

[Verse 2]

When a rustle wakes the branches, I look down before I leap;

Some things make a decent dinner. Some are better left asleep.

Then a deer steps through the saplings, and my waiting time is done.

One soft drop and then a scramble—even supper knows to run.

Then it’s up the nearest tree trunk with my prize between my teeth,

While a late arrival sniffs the empty patch of ground beneath.

I can hear its hungry grumbling. I can see it search below.

There’s a mouthful missing somewhere.

Where it went, I couldn’t know.

[Chorus]

Above the footsteps, where the branches meet,

I can dream through the thunder of enormous feet.

Let the big ones wander, let the sharp teeth roam—

There’s a fork in the branches, and I call it home.

I’ll come down for my dinner when the moment is right,

Then return to the branches and a bed out of sight.

[Bridge]

There’s a branch across the hollow, and it looks so very near.

I take two steps, judge the distance—

Then a very small “Oh, dear.”

Just a little short of perfect. Just a little long on pride.

Now I’m hanging by my fingers

On the branch’s underside.

One long breath, a scramble upwards, and I’m back where I belong.

Just a minor interruption.

We can all move along.

[Verse 3]

By the time the shadows lengthen, I have found a sturdier seat,

Where the bark is broad beneath me and the wood supports my feet.

There’s a friend across the branches, there’s a soft call through the green;

We can share a quiet evening in the spaces in between.

Down below, the trails grow restless. Somewhere distant, hunters cry.

Here, a breeze moves through the canopy beneath a darkening sky.

I tuck my claws against the bark and watch the last light fade,

Then settle in the little hollow where my bed is made.

[Final Chorus]

Above the footsteps, where the branches meet,

I can dream through the thunder of enormous feet.

Let the big ones wander, let the sharp teeth roam—

There’s a fork in the branches, and I call it home.

I’ll come down for my dinner when the moment is right,

Then return to the branches and a bed out of sight.

[Outro]

Heavy footsteps on the pathway.

One small leaf across my nose.

There’s a roar beneath the branches.

And I let my eyelids close.