Bang, Bang, Sinner Man

[Intro, Spoken, distant reverb, crackling tape hiss] (Spoken, slow, broken) What... What have... What have I done... [Verse, Sparse acoustic strums, Male vocals, Slide guitar whispers, Harmonica wail] Tommy got a gun, thought having it would be fun It slept in his drawer like a silver-boned son Now he's doing life for the thing he done His wife showed up in court, but she’s been gone since ‘21 [Melancholy steel string flourish] The judge leaned in, said “Son, she’s dead…” But her voice rang out like a choir unsaid “I stood by this man through fire and flood— He didn’t pull the trigger, but he soaked it in blood.” [Chorus, Swelling gospel harmonies, Deep drums, Reverb-heavy guitar stabs] (Sung by gun, low and slow) I was born in a forge, fed fire and breath I don't choose the hand—I just promise death Passed through fathers, sold in sin I only sing when the devil walks in (Back vocals, ghostly choir) Bang, bang, sinner man Who do you blame when the smoke don't land? Bang, bang, empty shell There's a courtroom in heaven and a furnace in hell [Verse 2, Distant cell ambience, Fingerpicked acoustic, Minor piano tones under vocals] Now every night in that concrete tomb Tommy sees her face float across the room She don’t cry, just hums that wedding song While the gun in his mind keeps singing along [Quiet arrangement] “I didn’t lie, I didn’t fight— I just waited in the dark for a spark of light You held me tight when the world fell through But death ain't mine—I was handed to you.” [Bridge, Deep baritone harmony, Swell of strings, Organ drone, Gun's POV] I don’t feel sorrow, I don’t feel shame I don’t remember faces, just the aim But oh, I’ve sung for cowards and I’ve sung for kings I don’t pull the trigger—just give the wings [Final Chorus, Full gospel swell, Female ghost harmony layered over gun's vocals] (Gun) I was born in a forge, fed fire and breath I don't choose the hand—I just promise death Passed through fathers, sold in sin I only sing when the devil walks in (Ghost, harmonized) Bang, bang, mercy’s gone Love can’t breathe where the blood runs strong Bang, bang, cold and still You can't buy peace when you pay with a kill [Outro, Faint wind, sparse guitar harmonics, reverb-drenched whisper] (Whispered, female voice) You buried me deep... but I sleep in your head.