[Intro] [Slow dark banjo, sparse and haunted] [Verse 1] Born in the hollow where the coal seams run deep Daddy worked the dark and Mama tried to keep Food on the table and the fear off the porch We learned early how the mountain can scorch Brothers got restless, one left in the night One stayed and drank till he couldn’t see right I stayed for the blood and the dirt on my hands Family don’t leave when they can’t understand [Chorus] Hollow kin, hollow kin Tied to the land and the weight we’re in Banjo cries low when the night gets thin We carry the fear and we carry the kin [Verse 2] Winter comes hard and the checks come slow Kids learn the silence when the money won’t grow I watch my boy sleep and I pray he don’t stay But the mountain don’t ask and it won’t look away There’s a darkness that lives in the blood that we share It waits in the corners and it breathes in the air I try to be better than the men that I knew But the hollow keeps calling and the old ways pull through [Chorus] Hollow kin, hollow kin Tied to the land and the weight we’re in Banjo cries low when the night gets thin We carry the fear and we carry the kin [Bridge] [Banjo picks up a steady toe-tapping rhythm] Ain’t no highway that can outrun this ground Ain’t no prayer that can quiet this sound We smile for the neighbors and we break when alone This is the only home we’ve ever known [Final Chorus] Hollow kin, hollow kin Tied to the land and the weight we’re in Banjo cries low when the night gets thin We carry the fear… And we carry the kin [Outro] [Banjo slows, dark and lonely, fading out]
