[intro] Red moon rising No birds in the wire Every dog in the county Facing west in the fire [verse 1] The dogs went quiet before sundown Cattle packed against the fence My father nailed the windows shut Then prayed without a breath At seventeen past ten the radios All began to whisper names Every name of every child Who vanished in the rain There’s ash across the pickup hood But no smoke for miles And something huge is breathing slow Above the sugarcane [pre-chorus] Keep your headlights low Don’t stop for anyone If you see somebody waving They have already come undone [chorus] Under a killing sky Blood moon over everything No prayer getting out tonight No bell left to ring Drive till the road runs dry Drive till the blacktop dies Whatever’s wearing heaven’s face Is looking through our eyes Under a killing sky [verse 2] Passed a church with the doors wide open Candles burning in the rain White shirts hung from telephone lines Each one stitched with a name At the crossing by the river Something stood inside the light Too tall to be a man Too thin to cast a shadow right It lifted up one hand to wave Its fingers bent the wrong way round Then every face inside the cab Turned slowly to the sound [pre-chorus] Don’t say what you saw Don’t give the thing a name It hears itself inside your mouth And learns the shape of your veins [chorus] Under a killing sky Blood moon over everything No prayer getting out tonight No bell left to ring Drive till the road runs dry Drive till the blacktop dies Whatever’s wearing heaven’s face Is looking through our eyes Under a killing sky [bridge] The moon went black For one whole breath Then every field Lit red The engine stalled The dashboard died And something knocked From underneath [interlude] One knock Two knocks Three Then my mother’s voice said: “Baby, let me in.” [breakdown] She died in 1998 Don’t look down Don’t look down There are teeth beneath the floor There are teeth beneath the floor [final chorus] Under a killing sky Blood moon swallowing everything No road leading out tonight No dawn underneath Run when the red light falls Run when you hear it cry There are worse things waiting than death And they know the way inside Under a killing sky [post-chorus] Don’t look up Don’t look up If it sees your face It knows your blood Don’t look up Don’t look up The moon is not the moon [outro] Morning never came Only red Only red And every house Had someone knocking From beneath the bed [end]
