MERCY 005 – Appalachian Warning Bells | The Mercy

(Verse 1) They climbed the mountain roads where broken tunnels slept, Past rusted warning signs and houses rain had kept. The valleys held their silence like a debt no tongue could tell, Until the first ridge answered with an old iron bell. (Verse 2) One ring meant strangers moving where the pine roads curled, Two warned the guarded hollows of the lower world. Three rang for fire or raiders in the fog and rain, And four meant bar the chapel doors until the bells again. (Chorus) Appalachian warning bells were calling through the night, Over mist and mining roads and windows without light. Every peal was law where the mountain shadows fell, A welcome or a warning in the language of the bell. (Verse 3) They kept their names in ledgers by the stove and door, And trusted no old nation from the world before. A stranger’s word meant nothing till a witness knew it well, And every oath was measured by the echo of the bell. (Verse 4) The Paled stood in the schoolyards where the ivy grew, While children learned the bell calls that the elders knew. They sang the ridge line stories in a hard and hungry tone, For distance made them kin and made each valley stand alone. (Chorus) Appalachian warning bells were calling through the night, Over mist and mining roads and windows without light. Every peal was law where the mountain shadows fell, A welcome or a warning in the language of the bell. (Bridge) They were not safe in hiding, they were bound by what they heard, By the tolling of a danger and the mercy of a word. Mistrust became a border where the broken ridges swell, And survival crossed the mountains on the iron voice of bell. (Outro) So still the valleys listen when the evening fog descends, For every distant ringing may be enemy or friend. The old roads fade to darkness where the silent pine trees dwell, And the mountains keep their covenant by Appalachian bell.