Everythng began when you fell out of that tree
Losing all your clutches, spinning down away from me
I thought for sure that you were dead, the stakes I knew were high
Closer…to the sky…than the ground
Closer…to the sky

You showed up like a friend, full familiar from the past
You made me laugh and you liked to paint and you rode your bike fast
Now here we were, high up in this giant tree
A branch snapped you were holding onto-a bad place to be

Close enough to rescue you, your fingers clutched in mine
But the superhuman strength that’s supposed to come I didn’t find
I yelled for you to keep your grip, I ordered you be strong
And you slippin, slippin-tryin’ to hold on

The moment that your fingers finally slipped from off the branch
Seemed like you were falling in a circle for a month
Then I saw you lying there no moving on the ground
I told myself don’t panic, get down, get down

Closer…to the sky…than the ground
Closer…to the sky

First thing that I heard was “I’m all right, hey I’m all right”
Then you asked how I was—hey, fine if you’re all right
When I finally got to you, you didn’t know my name
But then you did-made you lay back down

You say hey that’s a new twist on falling in love
You kept saying, I feel my toes, I feel my toes
You were in some heightened place, fresh, new, reborn
And I kept thinkin’ ‘bout 7th-grade first aid class…
raised up your feet….tried to keep you warm

Closer…to the sky…than the ground
Closer…to the sky

And now I’m in a hotel room 30 stories high
Looking at the mountains & the planes that drift by
Tonight maybe the northern lights will crackle in the sky
Stars don’t show up when you look right at ‘em-
still I wonder why-

And now I feel like I wanna keep on holding onto you
Everything feels different from however it used to
What are you doing right now, I wanna see
Something’s changed…since you fell out of that tree…

Closer…to the sky…than the ground
Closer…to the sky

(lyrics: Dan Bern)