Slippery season, the snow keeps a-bleedin’, now the road feels wrong Cold treason’s creepin’, the townsfolk are leavin’, hummin’ sorrow’s song So pick that old fiddle, dear neighbor, and listen, to how the wrong feels right, For when treason slips reason, and plot starts to season, the poor pay through the night Slippery season, the barn beams are groanin’, hear the rafters cry, Sad pockets are empty, the broken and bent, they’re the ones who buy So pass ‘round the lantern, dear neighbor, and name who rolls the dice, For every sly bargain in courthouse dark corners, the broken pay the price Slippery season, the creek keeps on risin’, drownin’ out our pleas, The rich ride the ridges, the rest mend the bridges, workin’ on their knees So tune up the banjo, dear neighbor, and count each sacrifice, For each quiet back turned at the thaw’s cold return, the broken pay the price Slippery Stephen kept cuttin' and cleaving, said his measure was true, But the blade kept a-slidin', the notch kept a-hidin', and the line he drew So hew on dear Stephen, keep believin' your eye is level and right, You'll break even come evening, when the last of the leaving takes leave of your sight Slippery season, the thaw does the talkin’, muddy tracks don’t lie, Boot-prints of traitors, and hearts turned to waiters servin’ alibis So sing softer, neighbor, but let your words cut like river ice, For when treason meets reason in late winter’s schemin’, the broken pay the price
