One Puff Before Judgment

Verse 1 Down by the Nile when the moon is high, Anubis walks while the dead pass by. Jackal head and a golden chain, Guiding lost souls through the shadow plain. He says, “Don’t be scared, don’t lose your way, Everybody meets the scales someday. Bring me your heart, bring me your name, Ma’at’s feather tells who played the game.” Chorus One puff before judgment, One puff before the scales, One puff before the truth comes out, And every heart tells tales. One puff before judgment, By the temple wall, Anubis takes five in the afterlife, Death can wait, he’s seen it all. Verse 2 The mourners cry with their hands held high, Like Isis and Nephthys calling to the sky. Tambourines shake, and the clapsticks crack, While the dead ride west and never come back. Thoth writes names in his holy book, Osiris gives that kingly look. Ammit waits with a hungry smile, While ghosts line up for a country mile. Chorus One puff before judgment, One puff before the scales, One puff before the truth comes out, And every heart tells tales. One puff before judgment, By the sacred Nile, Anubis takes five in the afterlife, With a jackal grin and a midnight smile. Bridge The Muu dancers move by the coffin sled, The Two Weepers sing for the newly dead. Priests burn myrrh, the incense flies, Smoke meets smoke under desert skies. He says, “I’ll get you to the Field of Reeds, I’ll guide your soul to the peace it needs. But before we cross that final point, Like crossing the River Styx, I have to take a puff on my joint.” Final Chorus One puff before judgment, One puff before the scales, One puff before the truth comes out, And every heart tells tales. One puff before judgment, By the temple wall, Anubis takes five in the afterlife, Death can wait, he’s seen it all. Outro So when the mourners chant and the sistrums ring, And the tomb priests call for the soul to spring, You’ll hear that jackal laugh and call, “One puff before judgment, then I’ll judge you all.”