Someone Turned the Page

[Verse 1] Father brought a bundle home, Wrapped in twine and smelling old. Tales of something in the pines, Sold for pennies, so I'm told. Mother said to leave them be. "Foolish tales will spoil your sleep." But the creature on the cover Had a face I wished to keep. They had drawn his claws like daggers, Made his wings blot out the moon. But his head hung low between them, Like he'd lost his way there too. [Chorus] They say, "Look at those wicked eyes. Look at the wings he spreads." I see someone far from home In the picture that I've read. If he means to frighten everyone, Why does he stand apart? They've drawn a Devil on the page. Have they drawn him with a heart? [Verse 2] Warren County's fields and fences Aren't the southern woods they name. I've no road to reach those Barrens, But the papers came the same. Borrowed more from Father's neighbors. Laid them out across the floor. Found a winter by a sawmill, Then a farmhouse years before. Different names beneath the pictures. Different dates above the lines. But the face beneath their warnings Looked as weary every time. [Chorus] They say, "Look at those wicked eyes. Look at the wings he spreads." I see someone far from home In the picture that I've read. If he means to frighten everyone, Why does he stand apart? They've drawn a Devil on the page. Have they drawn him with a heart? [Verse 3] One account was from a farmer. One was from a traveling man. Both had found a little booklet Just before their trouble began. Both recalled an old man's kindness. Both had tried to turn for home. Both had taken roads they shouldn't. Neither made the choice alone. Then the ending changed its wording. Then the teller changed his name. Yet the sentence at the bottom Of the drawing stayed the same. [Bridge] "You're right on time." Not a warning. Not a prayer. Why would someone print those words In accounts from everywhere? What if someone sends the stories So the frightened tell them more? What if someone needs their terror? What are all these stories for? What if he is sent to haunt them? What if he would rather hide? What if all these years of terror Have a lonely soul inside? [Instrumental] [Verse 4] I have marked the dates in charcoal. I have traced each place in thread. I oughtn't know more than the grown folk, But I've read what they have read. Every witness feeds another. Every drawing brings him near. Someone wants the story growing. Someone has a use for fear. I don't know who turns the pages. I don't know what lies beyond. But a tale can't lead you anywhere Unless somebody draws you on. [Final Chorus] They say, "Look at those wicked eyes. Look at the wings he spreads." I see someone far from home In the picture that I've read. If I ever saw him standing there, I'd ask before I ran: "Are you truly what they've called you? Were you something else back then?" They've drawn a Devil on the page. I wish I knew his name. [Outro] Mother called. I hid my papers. Said I'd come before too long. In the darkened window by me, One reflection lingered wrong. An old hat. I turned. Gone.