The Church Beneath the Graveyard

THE CHURCH BENEATH THE GRAVEYARD Southern Gothic Country · Dark Country · Cinematic Horror [Intro — Distant Church Bells, Wind, Fingerpicked Acoustic Guitar] Down in the hollow where the black roots grow, There's a church underground where the lost souls go. They say don't listen when the midnight bells ring... 'Cause the dead ain't dead when the preacher starts to sing. [Verse 1] I was riding through Georgia on a cold November night, When I saw a crooked steeple in the pale moonlight. No road on the map, no town in sight, Just a rusted iron gate and a lantern burning white. An old man stood waiting by a weather-beaten stone, With a cross in his hand and a face like bone. He said, "Stranger, if you're looking for a place to pray, There's a church down below where the sinners stay." [Pre-Chorus] Then the ground began to tremble, And the black birds took to flight. I heard a hundred voices whisper, "Son, you shouldn't be here tonight." [Chorus — Deep, Powerful Vocals, Stomping Drums] There's a church beneath the graveyard, Where the devil wears a crown. Where the bells ring out at midnight, And the dead don't make a sound. There's a preacher in the shadows, With no eyes beneath his hood. He'll forgive you for your sins, boy... If your soul ain't made of good. Oh, the church beneath the graveyard, Where the lost are laid to rest. You can run from every demon, But the truth lives in your chest. [Verse 2] I followed down the stairway through the roots and broken stone, Past a thousand little crosses with no names upon their bones. Candles burned in empty hands, the walls were wet with rain, And a choir of the buried sang a slow and mournful refrain. Then the preacher stepped before me in a coat of funeral black, With a silver Bible in his hand and a shadow at his back. He said, "I've been waiting for you since the day that you were born. Every soul must face the reckoning before the final dawn." [Pre-Chorus] Then he spoke my mother's name, And my blood ran cold as ice. He said, "The dead remember everything... And the living pay the price." [Chorus — Heavier Guitars, Haunting Fiddle] There's a church beneath the graveyard, Where the devil wears a crown. Where the bells ring out at midnight, And the dead don't make a sound. There's a preacher in the shadows, With no eyes beneath his hood. He'll forgive you for your sins, boy... If your soul ain't made of good. Oh, the church beneath the graveyard, Where the lost are laid to rest. You can run from every demon, But the truth lives in your chest. [Bridge — Whispered Vocals, Bare Acoustic Guitar] I said, "Preacher, tell me why You keep the dead beneath the sky." He said, "These graves conceal the truth... And every stone remembers you." Then he lifted up his hood, And I saw the face I knew. It was my own, all pale and broken, With eyes that bled like morning dew. He whispered, "Son, you've been here before. You died outside that iron door." [Instrumental Break — Eerie Slide Guitar, Dark Fiddle, Distant Thunder] [Final Chorus — Explosive, Desperate Vocals] There's a church beneath the graveyard, Hear the bells begin to cry! Every soul that ever wandered Leaves a shadow when they die. There's a preacher in the shadows, And he's calling out my name! I can hear the dead all singing, And the walls are born of flame! Oh, the church beneath the graveyard, Now the gates are closing fast! Lord, forgive me for my sins... If this night should be my last! [Outro — Fading Guitar, Wind, One Final Church Bell] Down in the hollow where the black roots grow, There's a church underground where the lost souls go. And if you hear those bells tonight... Don't follow them. Just ride. Ride... Before they call your name.