Lyrics

[Verse 1]

They’d kept him safe when he was small,

And come for every frightened call.

Now his Herrera friends lay weak,

Too faint to climb, too starved to speak.

Across the Isle, beneath the rain,

He heard them call his name again.

He turned towards the setting sun

And whispered, “Just one final run.”

[Chorus]

Run, little galli, through wind and through rain,

Over the ridges and down to the plain.

One little heartbeat with so far to go,

Taking the trail where the tall branches grow.

[Verse 2]

He skirted jaws beside the shore

And crouched beneath a distant roar.

Through tangled roots and sucking clay,

He chased the last light of the day.

The safer paths fell far behind;

He kept their voices in his mind.

And when the moon rose cold and white,

His footprints vanished in the night.

[Verse 3]

At dawn he found their silent tree

And chirped, “It’s all right. It’s just me.”

They stumbled down to meet their friend;

He knew his road was at its end.

“Don’t ask us this,” his oldest said.

He nuzzled close and bowed his head.

“You kept me safe. You got me through.

Now let me do the same for you.”

[Bridge]

“I’m frightened. Stay beside me, please.

Let’s sit here underneath our trees.

Then take enough of me to eat—

I came to put you on your feet.”

[Verse 4]

By dusk, his friends could climb once more;

One watched the trail beside the shore.

And though no footsteps crossed the plain,

He stayed until it rained again.

[Final chorus]

Sleep, little galli, out of the rain,

Over the ridges and far from the plain.

High in the branches, your friends greet the sky

And carry your name in each answering cry.