**Intro:** *(Soft, haunting guitar arpeggios)* *"Tick... tock... the rope it sways... A last breath drawn in twilight haze..."* **Verse 1:** Twelve steps up to the splintered stage, The preacher’s hands clutch the Good Book’s page. They call it justice—I call it fate, A crooked judge and a jury of hate. **Chorus:** But in the gallows’ respite, I hear her sing, A lullaby soft on the devil’s own wing. "Close your eyes, love, don’t fear the fall, The ground’s just a kiss away—that’s all." **Verse 2:** The blacksmith’s boy, he forged my chains, Now he won’t meet my eyes in the rain. The hangman’s drunk—his hands ain’t steady, Guess even Death ain’t ever ready. **Bridge:** *(Sudden silence, then a single distorted chord)* *"A crow laughs low... the trapdoor groans... And the sky—oh God—the sky’s made of bones."* **Verse 3:** Last night I dreamed of a field so green, Where the dead men dance and the noose is clean. My love stood there in her Sunday dress, Smiling like forgiveness, nothing less. **Chorus:** But in the gallows’ respite, I hear her sing, A lullaby soft on the devil’s own wing. "Close your eyes, love, don’t fear the fall, The ground’s just a kiss away—that’s all." **Verse 4:** The rope’s a necklace, the crowd’s a choir, One last joke—*"Light me a fire."* The sheriff spits, the babies cry, But the crows know better—so do I. **Bridge:** *(Whispered, over a fading guitar)* *"The wood it creaks... the crowd goes still... Funny how the heart keeps beating until—"* **Chorus (Final):** In the gallows’ respite, I hear her sing, A lullaby lost on the devil’s own wing. "Open your eyes, love—I’ll catch your fall, The sky’s just a kiss away... that’s all." **Outro:** *(Distant, dissonant strings, fading)* *"Tick... tock... the rope it sways... A last breath lost in the twilight haze..."*
