[Intro] [Pedal steel and fingerpicked acoustic guitar introduce the groove] [Verse 1] At the foot of the ridge where the shadows breed Standing motionless by the river weed A ragged cloak dragging through the thorn Before the valley houses wake to mourn Submerging linen in the freezing flow Rinsing out a shroud for the grave below The foam turns scarlet as the fabric spins Where the reckoning of the blood begins No footsteps echo on the rotting reeds Just a grim transmission of human deeds The mire mutters what the mortal bears A final warning in the cold night airs [Pre-Chorus] A raven circles on the barren plain Black frost creeping on the windowpane Water ripples as the weave is pressed A name engraved on the iron chest [Chorus] Hear the death-cry across the marsh! Beating linen against the boulders harsh! Mourning the soul in the freezing gust Turning the living into bone and dust! Listen to the wailing on the bog and moor The reaper is knocking on the cabin door! [Verse 2] Her silver comb in the fern roots laid A fatal snare that the dead have made Touch the relic and the pact is bound A lifetime mirrored in the frozen ground Her eyes like embers in a gray ash bed Tracking the breath till the pulse has bled No chapel bell in the sulfur air Just a howling signal of pure despair Bloodlines severed like the autumn leaves No god forgives and no angel grieves [Bridge] Mother of bedrock Weeping for the fallen Freezing by the bank The wind turns Calling your name! [Chorus] Hear the death-cry across the marsh! Beating linen against the boulders harsh! Mourning the soul in the freezing gust Turning the living into bone and dust! Listen to the wailing on the bog and moor The reaper is knocking on the cabin door! [Outro] Svepningen är ren. [Pedal steel fades with lingering Telecaster twang]
