[INTRO — low bass pulse, plucked cello, no vocals, 8 bars, steel guitar enters bar 5] [VERSE 1] The road bends where no road ought to The creek runs back the way it came Your map was made by men who didn't linger The land don't answer to your name (mmmmmmhmmmmm) There's a right way and a wrong way through these ridges Most folks only learn the one The fog sits low where cell towers don't reach us Best keep moving toward the sun (mmmmmmhmmmmm) [PRE-CHORUS — female choir enters, soft, underneath] You felt it at the county line, didn't you Something pressing through your chest That's not fear, friend — that's the mountain (mmmmmmhmmmmm) Taking your measure like the rest [CHORUS — full choir, bowed cello swell, heavy kick drops] We hold the faith of the mountains Oldest mountains We hold the faith of the mountains Gods can't judge what they can't find in the gully We hold the faith of the mountains Come and find why no one leaves the holler [VERSE 2] There's names carved in stones before the county There's fires that don't need wood to burn The faces on the porch got their granddaddy's eyes now (mmmmmmhmmmmm) They're patient like a thing that's learned to wait The welcome here is real, don't misread us (mmmmmmhmmmmm) We've kept a place at every table set But the ones who came through asking too many questions They're keeping that place warm for you yet [PRE-CHORUS — choir pulls back, male voice alone] You thought the quiet meant that nothing's watching You thought the dark meant you were free (mmmmmmhmmmmm) The holler's got no need to chase what enters What's yours to find will find you, guaranteed [CHORUS] We hold the faith of the mountains Oldest mountains We hold the faith of the mountains Gods can't judge what they can't find in the gully We hold the faith of the mountains Come and find why no one leaves the holler [BRIDGE — bass only, plucked cello, choir drops completely, single male voice, spoken] We don't lock our doors We don't need to What finds you here Was always meant to The ridge remembers every name that crossed it The creek keeps time on what it's owed You're welcome here long as you mind your manners And don't ask about the old road [CHORUS — heaviest version, choir full, bowed cello, bass pulse dominant] We hold the faith of the mountains Oldest mountains We hold the faith of the mountains Gods can't judge what they can't find in the gully We hold the faith of the mountains Come and find why no one leaves the holler [OUTRO — choir fades bar by bar, steel guitar carries last 8 bars alone, then bass drone fades] (spoken, male, low, no reverb) Road back looks the same as the road in. It isn't. Mind the creek.
