Southern Death: Part III: Vengeance

Southern Death: Vengeance I heard the gunshot Sunday When the church bells died Found my daddy by the courthouse With the river in his eyes He buried me still breathing Thought the dirt would keep me down I came back for what he stole Now his daughter wants my crown Daddy wore a silver badge Kept his pistol by the door Said he'd keep this town protected Now he's lying on the floor They say he buried you alive Where the blackwater bends But I only knew the father Who would hold my shaking hands I took his gun from the table Put his badge against my chest Swore beneath the courthouse clock I'd never let him rest Red clay on my boot heels Gravel in my throat I came walking through the storm In my burial coat Your daddy drove the coffin nails Left me begging underground Took my land and stole my name Thought I'd never make a sound I heard the shovel falling Felt the river rising high When I stood before your father He knew the reason why You took my father He took my life You left me grieving He buried me alive I'll put you back under I'll put you in the ground Two hearts bound by sorrow Two debts beneath the rain One grave beside the river And another filled with blame Southern death I'm coming for your shadow Southern death I've already walked below You don't get to walk away You don't get to walk free Blood upon the badge Red clay on our hands Southern death Nobody understands I want my father back I want the life he stole Southern death Vengeance takes its toll I followed muddy footprints To the house beyond the pines Saw you standing on that porch Where the dead reclaim their time I raised my daddy's pistol With my finger on the steel You looked at me with hollow eyes And asked what I could feel I said I wanted justice For the man beneath the stone You said I'd find no comfort In a grave that wasn't my own I watched your hands start shaking Saw the tears upon your face You carried all his anger Like a burden you embraced I never wanted you to suffer Never called you by his name But you came beneath my doorway With his gun and all his shame I told you what he'd taken Showed the scars beneath my coat But you couldn't hear the truth Through the vengeance in your throat Southern death I hear my father calling Southern death I feel the darkness falling Pull the trigger if you mean it I already took the shot One gun beneath the moon Two lives about to break Southern death How much more can vengeance take? I pulled the trigger crying I felt the bullet pass I saw the river rising I heard the breaking glass I stepped into the blackwater I reached to pull you free The current took me under And carried you from me You should have stayed dead You should have stayed home One shot across the river One final desperate cry We came to settle old debts And watched our futures die Southern death My anger pulled me under Southern death I couldn't stop the thunder I still want you buried I still want you gone Two names beside the river Two souls that cannot rest Southern death Vengeance claimed what's left I lost the man who raised me I lost the life I knew We tried to bury sorrow But the sorrow buried two Southern death Vengeance Daddy, I followed your footsteps Down where the cold water runs Now I'm sleeping by the river With your badge and empty gun I buried one more memory Where the blackwater bends I came back for my freedom But the dying never ends One father, one daughter One man returned from clay Three names beside the river And nothing washed away I wanted you to suffer I wanted you to live Southern death There's nothing left to give