Chorus
The planks are a rattlin’
With dancin’ and tappin’
The walls they are ringin’ with song
And the stories and laughter
Still ring in the rafters
The ringin’ will bring in the dawn
The old ones they gather in their favorite corner
The young ones they scatter like thistle in fall
Wizened gray heads, keeping time with the old songs
While youth it steps lightly without care at all
Chorus
How the shadows did swing, when the fiddles would sing
Those weary from work could take to their flight
Dancing in air with delights from the kitchen
A blending of senses far into the night
Chorus
Oh the years keep slippin’, the rafters are missin’
The gatherings that made the seasons stand still
The heart from the fire with my heart rises higher
Till I and the rafters are warm from the chill