Lyrics

Cardinal in the Snow ©2005 Marian Mastrorilli

Mid-December mornings the landscape has turned bleak
Sun won’t break the clouds to melt the ice upon the creek
Mercury sinks low, riotous winds blow
All around, there’s whiteness on the ground

Strands of colored light blink artificial cheer
Strains of Silent Night ring in my ear
But things are not so bright anywhere this year
Not like yesterday, so I pray

I need a thing of beauty, a haunting piano line
A sudden burst of color splashed against the sky
I need some kind of sign that I have not been beaten
A glimpse of the divine to take me back to Eden

Humidifier’s low, blankets piled high
Never quite alone, with two cats by my side
I wish I could’ve known what would turn the tide
I can’t get warm to this new norm

I need a thing of beauty, a haunting cello line
A sudden burst of color splashed against the sky
I need some kind of sign that I have not been beaten
A glimpse of the divine to take me back to Eden

Now right outside my window, a cardinal in the snow
Casts a flash of fire against the ashen glow
The simple scene inspires a single ray of hope
Like a Christmas card in my backyard

For it was a thing of beauty, art upon the air
Across the grey horizon, a flight out of despair
Cardinal in the snow, vision made of splendor
Take me where you go, make my pain surrender

Cardinal in the snow, vision made of splendor
Take me where you go, make my pain surrender
Cardinal in the snow, don’t know where you’ll be
Find your way back home to your destiny