[Intro: music box, organ hum] Closed casket Nobody look [Hook] Closed casket, keep the lid down tight Six men carry Ray like they did him right Every one of 'em cried, every one of 'em lied Closed casket, so nobody gotta look inside [Verse 1] Front left, that's Benny, the brother-in-law Borrowed eighty thousand, never paid it back at all Wearin' a black suit tailored with the money that he took Now he's sobbin' on the widow's shoulder, go ahead and look Front right, Alonzo, used to run the books with Ray Skimmed a little every Friday, called it roundin' off the pay Middle left, that's Father Cole, he ain't here to preach He's here to make sure what Ray confessed stays out of reach Organ hummin' low, rain tappin' on the roof I'm in a gray hat in the back row, I just came here for the truth Every pew is full of people who were scared of him alive Funny how a dead man gets the biggest crowd in town to drive [Hook] Closed casket, keep the lid down tight Six men carry Ray like they did him right Every one of 'em cried, every one of 'em lied Closed casket, so nobody gotta look inside [Verse 2] Middle right, Dominic, the nephew, twenty-three Sold the feds a Tuesday where his uncle's car would be Back left, Tommy, Ray's best friend since the sixth grade Sleepin' with his wife since the summer of the heatwave Back right, the lawyer, Mr. Pruitt, he don't cry He just came to read the will, he got a meetin' after five Watch 'em lift it off the stand, every shoulder bendin' low Knees shakin', faces red, they take it slow, they take it slow Strange, 'cause Ray was never big, a buck-forty soakin' wet Six grown men can barely lift him, that's the heaviest regret [Beat Switch: timpani, strings rise, drums hit harder] Graveside, Pruitt pulls six envelopes out his coat Says Ray wanted each of y'all to get a little note Benny opens his, it's the IOU he signed, with a copy to his wife Alonzo gets the skim sheets, every Friday of his life Father Cole gets a cassette, his own voice on the tape Takin' cash to keep the secrets of the people that he saved Dominic gets the deal he signed, the feds' letterhead Already mailed to every soldier Ray had, enough said Tommy gets a photo and a hotel key, room nine Widow got the same one, she's lookin' at him, takin' her time Six men holdin' paper and the paper holdin' them Shit, they came to bury Ray, now Ray is buryin' them [Verse 3: drums drop, music box alone, then creep back] They lower it down and the ropes start to creak Too heavy for a small man, too heavy for the weak Eighty pounds of river sand inside a box of pine Shoveled in at midnight by the only lawyer that was mine Pruitt looks up at the back row, gives a little nod I tip my gray hat back, the only prayer I ever got Six worst men in the city, standin' in the rain Carryin' a coffin full of nothin' but their shame First funeral I been to where the dead man watched y'all cry I'll be gone before the dirt hits, no goodbye [Final Hook] Closed casket, keep the lid down tight Six men carried sand and they thought they did it right Every one of 'em cried, every one of 'em lied Closed casket, 'cause there's nobody inside [Outro: music box winds down] Nobody inside Rest in peace, Ray I will
