[Intro: low choir drone alone, one frame drum] [Hook: old menacing male lead, low choir answers] Bread on the chest and a coin on the bread (stay dead) I eat what they did, so the dead stay dead (stay dead) Don't look in my face when you pay what you owe I swallowed this whole holler. I'm the only one who knows [Verse 1: slow and heavy] They knock on my door with a walkin' stick, so their knuckles stay clean Lead me to the parlor where the mirrors face the wall, so I won't be seen Heel of bread on his breastbone while the body's still warm Cup of ale on his heart, and I tip it back like a horn Then they throw the coin at my boots and slam the door behind me Burn the bowl I ate from, so the bad luck never finds 'em Forty-one years I been eatin' this town, one funeral at a time Every sin in every grave up on that hill? It ain't theirs no more. It's mine [Hook] Bread on the chest and a coin on the bread (stay dead) I eat what they did, so the dead stay dead (stay dead) Don't look in my face when you pay what you owe I swallowed this whole holler. I'm the only one who knows [Verse 2: All Hallows, the stomp gets heavier] I know what the preacher did down at the baptizin' creek I know whose daddy ain't his daddy, and who moved the fence a foot a week [Flow switch: double-time, what a sin tastes like] Lies taste like wet ash, and greed tastes like a penny on the tongue Cheatin' tastes like sugar, and the sugar's always young Pride's a mouthful of feathers, and a grudge is gristle you can't chew Murder don't taste like nothin'. That's the only way I knew Now it's All Hallows, and I'm dyin' in my chair by a fire gone low Laid a heel of bread on my own chest, and a coin, and I sent word up every road Nobody came. Not one damn soul. Every door got bolted, every lamp got blown All my life I ate for you, holler, and I'm dyin' with a mouthful of your own [Beat Switch: all drops to the choir drone and one frame drum, then the stomp slams back twice as hard] Fire went out at midnight, and I stood up out of me Left the bread on the old man's chest, and the coin, and the key Every sin in my belly, and nobody came to clear my plate So I'm walkin' every one of 'em back down the holler. Every porch. Every gate [Verse 3: half-time, choir hums under] Knock, knock, with a walkin' stick. I keep my knuckles clean Preacher, this one's yours. Open up. You know the one I mean Sheriff, here's your granddaddy's. Widow, here's your man's I ain't hauntin' nobody. I'm just puttin' it back in your hands [Final Hook: full choir, lead raw] No bread on my chest, not a coin on the bread (nobody came) So I'm bringin' it back, every sin, every name (every name) Don't look in my face when I knock on your door I swallowed this holler. I ain't swallowin' no more [Outro: choir holds, a stick knocks three times on wood, silence] [End]
