[Intro]
[Somber, slow, sad, strings swell]
⸻
[Verse 1]
[Talk-singing]
They climbed together, hearts full of fire,
Dreaming of peaks that rose ever higher.
But snow came sudden, the sky turned blind,
And in the white haze he lost what’s mine.
He shouted her name through the cutting wind,
Each echo swallowed, no answer returned.
The strangers gathered close around,
And promised to help ‘til her tracks were found.
[Chorus]
[Singing]
Irene, where are you, my darlin’, out in the cold?
I’ll follow your footsteps, though the trail grows old.
The night is hungry, the wolves draw near,
But I can’t stop searchin’, ‘cause my heart’s still here.
⸻
[Verse 3]
[Talk-singing]
“Her trail bends west!” one called through the snow.
“We’ll find her still!” another swore low.
“But we are lost too!” a soft voice would show.
He pressed on regardless, refusing “no.
Night devoured the fragile flame,
The cold bit deeper than bone could bear.
The wolves came howling in the dark,
One soul was taken, teeth left their mark.
[Chorus]
[Singing]
Irene, where are you, my darlin’, out in the cold?
I’ll follow your footsteps, though the trail grows old.
The night is hungry, the wolves draw near,
But I can’t stop searchin’, ‘cause my heart’s still here.
⸻
[Verse 5]
[Talk-singing]
He feared the beasts had torn her apart,
Visions clawed at his breaking heart,
The doubt consumed, a poison dart.
His steps grew heavy, the air grew thin,
Breath like glass in his weary chest,
The mountain claimed him slow,
⸻
[Outro-whispered]
Irene, where are you, my darlin’, out in the cold?
And there she lay, beneath the frost,
The love he chased, the life he lost.
Beside her body he closed his eyes,
Not knowing he’d found her before he died.