The Bones Keep Time

[Intro – deep gregorian male choir, ruined chapel reverb, first upright slap bass pulse] Stone took the moon in a cracked white line Cold on the names and the broken shrine One low chant through the chapel seam Then the bass came up like a graveyard dream [Verse 1 – deep rough male lead, twang guitar, restrained slap bass, sacred choir in the back] I came by the gate where the thorn vines curled Midnight leaning on a worn-out world Dust on my shoes, old smoke in my coat And a bell gone dead in the chapel throat There was wax on the steps and frost on the rail A wind through the yew like a whispered tale Then the choir rolled out of the stone and lime And every cross in the yard kept time [Chorus 1 – fuller psychobilly drive, deep choir rising, twang guitar and slap bass locked in] The bones keep time When the moon hangs thin Choir in the chapel Swing in the skin The bones keep time Hear that holy grind Stone says amen And the dead fall in line [Verse 2 – stronger slap bass, more movement, wider choral pressure] The old nave shook with a backbeat sway Dust off the saints and the paint gone gray That twang cut bright through the incense stain Like a laugh held low in a funeral train I saw shoe marks fresh where the dirt lay flat No living boot would have walked like that Still the yard breathed hot through the midnight cold And the chant went deeper, darker, old [Chorus 2 – bigger sacred frenzy, stronger groove, wider choir] The bones keep time When the moon hangs thin Choir in the chapel Swing in the skin The bones keep time Hear that graveyard shine Stone says amen And the dead fall in line [Verse 3 – clearest realization, intimate but possessed] By then I knew I was not just there Not just a man in the chapel air That rhythm had climbed through my heel and spine Till my own pulse bent to the buried time I tried one prayer and it came out wrong Too much dust, too much night, too much song Then the whole black yard gave a leaning start And the slap bass found my shaking heart [Chorus 3 – strongest regular chorus, full choir, full psychobilly pressure] The bones keep time Now the whole yard spins Choir in the chapel Fire in the hymn The bones keep time And the ground turns kind Stone says amen And the dead fall in line [Bridge – drums reduced, choir huge, cold sacred air, close confrontation] No sun, no dawn, no mercy bell Just old cut stone and the smell of hell One long chord where the dark knelt down One bare truth under root and gown If I was lost, I was wanted too By the blackened wood and the midnight blue By the names worn faint in the chapel wall By the hush before the dead footfall [Solo – featured twang guitar solo, upright slap bass drive, deep male chant beneath] [Final Chorus – fullest dark celebration, biggest choir, strongest slap bass and twang] The bones keep time Till the stars go blind Choir in the chapel Rising behind The bones keep time With a holy bite Stone says amen And the dead dance right The bones keep time Now the grave bells shine Stone says amen And the dead fall in line [Outro – slap bass fading, last deep chant, chapel air still ringing] Then the yard went still but the stone stayed warm Wax still bent from a vanished storm And all the way home through the cedar line I heard that chapel keep my time