“Come Down From The Edge”

“Come Down from the Edge”

An Original Song by Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.

Music & Lyrics Copyright © 2026 – All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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LYRICS

COME DOWN FROM THE EDGE

Stranger, I see you walking that line,
One foot on nothing, one foot still in time,
To your left is the world with its windows of gold,
To your right is a silence impossibly cold.
You smile when I tell you the ground isn’t sound,
You swear you can walk where the stones tumble down.
I’m calling your name, though you don’t know me yet,
Please come down, stranger, come down from the edge.

Come down from the edge, there is nothing out there,
Only the fall and the end of the air.
Everything waiting is here on this side,
A fire to tend and a reason to try.
Read what is written, learn what you can,
Take hold of the hands reaching over the span.
You don’t have to gamble with every next step.
Come down, stranger, come down from the edge.

You’ve carried a flame through the wind and the rain,
But you leave it untended, then curse when it wanes.
There are books lying open, their pages turned wide,
There are voices with answers walking beside.
Yet you stare at the distance as though it were home,
While everything given lies scattered, unknown.
You say, “I am fine,” as the gravel gives way,
And another small piece of the cliff falls away.

Come down from the edge, there is nothing out there,
Only the fall and the end of the air.
Everything waiting is here on this side,
A fire to tend and a reason to try.
Read what is written, learn what you can,
Take hold of the hands reaching over the span.
You don’t have to gamble with every next step.
Come down, stranger, come down from the edge.

I don’t ask for a mountain, I don’t ask for flight,
Just guard your small flame through the cold of the night.
Learn what you haven’t, return when you stray,
Do what we all have to do every day.
There is no hidden doorway, no secret command,
Just turn from the drop and come farther inland.
But danger grows quiet when danger stays near,
And the cliff you’ve walked longest is hardest to fear.

Come down from the edge, can’t you see where you stand?
The earth is still breaking away from your hand.
Everything waiting is here on this side,
A fire to tend and a reason to try.
Read what is written, learn what you can,
There is solid ground only steps from where you stand.
You don’t have to prove you can dance with regret.
Come down, stranger, come down from the edge.

I’ve watched you ignore every lantern we raised,
Walk past every shelter and call it a cage.
You’ve heard every warning, then turned toward the height,
Mistaking the darkness for freedom or sight.
And I cannot make danger appear to your eyes,
Can’t force you to see where the broken earth lies.
I can only keep calling while there’s somewhere to tread,
While there’s still living ground underneath you ahead.

Come down from the edge, I am asking you, please,
There is nothing heroic in falling unseen.
Everything waiting is here on this side,
A fire to tend and a reason to try.
Read what is written, learn what you can,
Reach for the earth, reach for somebody’s hand.
There is still time, though the margin grows less.
Come down, stranger, come down from the edge.

Maybe one morning you’ll look at your feet,
See how the darkness comes close when you sleep,
See all the country that waited behind,
The roads you ignored and the words left unread.
Maybe you’ll turn when the next stone lets go,
Step back from the place where the cold winds blow.
And I’ll still be calling from safe ground below,
Not asking for miracles, only: come home.

Come down from the edge, leave oblivion there,
Turn toward the living, the learning, the care.
Everything isn’t some far distant prize,
It’s here in the work you’ve been walking beside.
Keep your flame burning. Read. Listen. Learn.
There is still solid earth if you’re willing to turn.
One step toward living is all I request.

Come down, stranger.

Come down from the edge.