Meat Grinder

[Intro] [Slow rusty crank squeak] [Acoustic guitar thumping rhythm] [Verse 1] Ain’t no law past the river where the blacktop cracks and fades Just a rusted gate swingin’ and a debt that don’t get paid Johnson don’t say much, just spits and stares you down Folks quit sayin’ his name when the sun dips outta town [Verse 2] [Heavy boot stomps] Said a man crossed his bloodline, stole a piece of Johnson’s pride Thought he’d run and hide his face on the darker riverside So Johnson caught him slippin', put a bullet through his head Now that big iron grinder is how he gets rid of the dead [Pre-Chorus] Then that handle started turnin’, slow and mean and tight Like a hymn for the damned in the middle of the night He feeds the grinder raw, makes sure the bones get crushed When you cross Old Man Johnson... your whole world gets hushed. [Chorus] [Full Band Explosion] Let it grind! Let it howl! Let the meat and metal meet! Ain’t no judge, ain’t no jury, just a pile at his feet! Out here mercy’s just a word folks use before they die, Turned to sausage in the dark under a Texas sky! [Verse 3] I should’ve saddled up and rode, left that evil where it lay But there’s a pull in dark places that don’t let you walk away He said, “You seen too much now, son, there’s only two ways out… Into the ground, or through the gears, without a single doubt” [Chorus] Let it grind! Let it howl! Let the meat and metal meet! Ain’t no judge, ain’t no jury, just a pile at his feet! Out here mercy’s just a word folks use before they die, Turned to sausage in the dark under a Texas sky! [Guitar Solo] [Blazing gritty southern rock electric guitar solo] [Aggressive bluesy bends] [Bridge] [Music strips back to slow acoustic strum] Now I ride the Devil's Backbone, with a name they curse in bars Got a past like a shadow and a trunk full of scars And sometimes in the distance when the night’s dead still— I hear that crank-arm turnin’… up at Johnson's mill [Break] [Whispered vocals] Yeah, the law don’t reach that far… And the good don’t last that long… Cross the old man once… and you’re gone… [Final Chorus] [Maximum energy full band climax] Let it grind! Let it howl! Let the devil take his due Every sinner’s got a reckonin’—might be me, might be you Ain’t no savin’ grace waitin' when the deal is done Just a grinder in a barn… and a long black run [Outro] [Abrupt band stop] [Iron crank squeak] [Heavy metal latch clicking shut] [End]