[Verse 1] Down on a quiet piece of farmland, nine months into the fall Max had a fence line, green rows, and a family, thought he’d outlived it all But the devil likes to ride at midnight, twenty five strong through the rain They cut down the men in their blankets and left the women in chains They tied a rope round Max’s neck, stool kick and horses flee Forced him to watch his wife and boy bleed out underneath that tree World went black and his heart stopped short, rain poundin on that field Then lightning cracked that lonely branch and fate signed a different deal [Pre-Chorus] He hit the dirt, lungs on fire, fingers clawed that rope aside Stood up in the ashes of his whole damn life and something in him died [Chorus] One, two, three, four He put the names of his dead on every grave and swore Five, six, seven, eight He said “Lord, I ain’t holy but my aim is straight” You can run, you can hide where the road turns dark But hell rides shotgun when you wake up Max Clarke [Verse 2] He loaded friends in the farm truck bed, laid them down in borrowed stone Took his ring off, kissed that house and soaked it all in gas alone Watched his memories go up smokin, match burnin in his hand Half a breath from joinin them, half a breath from takin a stand He dug up steel in the old barn floor like John Wick in worn out boots Followed hoofprints out of town, no sleep and nothin to lose Found that farmhouse soaked in blood, women broken on the floor Took a boy named Jeremy from the ceiling joists, said “You ain’t here no more” Kid whispered “Jackson, Mississippi, they said Murphy waits down there” Max dropped him safe with a trusted man and rolled on with a dead man’s stare [Pre-Chorus] He heard them laughing in a fenced in yard, flames rising through the pines Sharpened steel beneath a churchyard moon and drew himself a line [Chorus] One, two, three, four Slip in the tents while the bastards snore Five, six, seven, eight Carved the number on their heads like a mark of fate You can beg, you can pray when the night turns stark But mercy ran out when they strung up Max Clarke [Bridge] They say four men charged with blades held high And dropped in the dirt ‘fore they could ask why Sniper angels in the timber line But the look in Max’s eyes did most of the crime Nailed their leader to a board by the firelight glow Guts spillin out while the crows lined the rows Jason asked him, “Man, where you headed from here?” Max said, “Heard Mississippi’s lookin real clear.” [Verse 3] Now down in the swamps where the water runs mean They whisper ‘bout a noose scar and a man half seen Some say he saved them from a firelit cage Some say he left their brothers screamin in rage If you are runnin with raiders and you hear that sound Boots in the mud and a slow count down You better get right with whatever god you drink Cause there is one last farmer standin on the brink [Final Chorus] One, two, three, four If he sights you in, you ain’t breathin no more Five, six, seven, eight “I could save your life but it might be too late” You can run, you can hide where the road turns dark But the dead sleep easy when they ride with Max Clarke One, two, three, four Mud, blood, justice on a broken farm floor Five, six, seven, eight Raise a shot to the man that the storm could not take When the rope snaps tight and you fall through the dark Pray the ground hits soft and you wake up Max Clarke
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