The Blackthorn Road

[Intro] propulsive acoustic guitar enters cleanly, low toms building underneath, faint fiddle drone, no wordless vocal [Verse 1] The moon was thin as silver wire The road was white with rain I heard your horse beyond the hill And knew you’d come again Below the inn, the lanterns swung Their light was cold as bone And every mile between our hearts Was calling you back home [Pre-Chorus] Under elder boughs we swore Where no church bell could hear That I would hold the night for you If death should draw you near [Chorus] Ride, my love, ride There are lanterns in the rain There are redcoats at the stable door And iron in the lane Ride, my love, ride Do not turn your face to me Where the blackthorn grips the moonlit road I’ll meet you past the veil [Verse 2] The king’s men drank beneath the stairs With muskets by the door Their laughter crawled along the walls Like blood across the floor They asked me if I knew your name I gave them none to keep But I could hear your heartbeat ride Across the fields of sleep [Pre-Chorus] Under elder boughs we swore Where no church bell could hear That I would hold the night for you If death should draw you near [Chorus] Ride, my love, ride There are lanterns in the rain There are redcoats at the stable door And iron in the lane Ride, my love, ride Do not turn your face to me Where the blackthorn grips the moonlit road I’ll meet you past the veil [Verse 3] They tied my wrists with curtain cord And set me by the pane The barrel watched the moonlit road The trigger drank the rain I saw your shadow crest the hill I heard the bridle ring So I gave the night my final breath And made the warning sing [Instrumental Break] driving fiddle melody, mandolin shimmer, toms rising, electric guitar accents answering the melody [Bridge] They say you turned beneath the moon They say you cursed the rain They say you rode against the guns Like thunder into flame But I was there beside your hand Though no one saw me near And when the powder kissed your coat I whispered, I am here [Final Chorus] Ride, my love, ride There are lanterns in the rain There are redcoats at the stable door And iron in the lane Ride, my love, ride Do not turn your face to me Where the blackthorn grips the moonlit road I’ll meet you past the veil [Outro] Now when the moon is silver wire And rain begins to fall Two shadows cross the blackthorn road Where no one rides at all And under elder boughs they say The dead do not depart They only trade the beating drum For hoofbeats in the heart