[Intro] [Male Lead: Close-mic, raw Southern voice, almost whispered; trembling authority.] O Death... O Death... Not tonight... [Verse 1] [Male Lead: Intimate, sermon-like, weary but defiant.] O Death, O Death, won’t you spare me over ’til another year This body’s tired, this road is long And your footsteps sound too near I’ve walked these hills with a burden on my back Every mile I travel, every shadow leaves a track There’s still a little fire burning underneath my chest And I ain’t ready for the darkness I ain’t ready yet [Chorus] [Male Lead: Haunting, sustained, emotionally restrained; instruments answer between phrases.] O Death... O Death... Please come and take me not today O Death... O Death... Let me live my life and pray O Death... O Death... There’s still a song I need to sing O Death... O Death... Let me hold on to this living thing [Verse 2] [Male Lead: Deeper, more resigned; piano and dobro answer the vocal.] O Death, O Death, how you come for all, for rich and poor No silver tongue, no golden crown Can lock your heavy door The farmer and the king both meet you in the ground The proud man and the beggar hear the very same sound No money buys another breath No wall can keep you out When the road reaches its ending There’s no turning back around [Rap Verse 1] [Male Lead: Low, rhythmic Southern cadence; controlled and prayer-like.] Yeah, I hear that knock in the midnight air Cold reminder life ain’t fair Time keeps moving like a runaway train Tryna hold joy through the hurt and pain Graves in the valley, names in the stone Makes you wonder what you leave when you’re gone I ain’t ready, no, I still got breath Still got songs to outrun Death I got people I love and words left unsaid Dreams in my heart that ain’t finished yet So if you’re standing outside, wait by the door I’ve got a little more living I’m asking for [Chorus] [Male Lead: Stronger than the first; gritty sustained notes, no choir.] O Death... O Death... Please come and take me not today O Death... O Death... Let me live my life and pray O Death... O Death... There’s still a song I need to sing O Death... O Death... Let me hold on to this living thing [Bridge] [Male Lead: Pull back almost to a whisper; contemplative and existential.] Mountains whisper what the preacher said “All roads end where the earth turns red” River keeps running, moon stays bright Even in the longest night Maybe Death ain’t waiting just to take Maybe every ending makes us see what matters Every breath is borrowed, every dawn a flame And love is what remains when nothing bears our name [Rap Verse 2] [Male Lead: Reflective Southern cadence; gradually shifts from resistance toward acceptance.] Now I’m thinking maybe Death ain’t cruel Just a doorway, just a rule Every heartbeat borrowed, every day a flame We all fade, but the love remains So if I go, let the mandolin ring Let the trumpet cry and let the fiddle sing Ashes to the soil, soul to the sky Still swinging on an Appalachian night I don’t have to run from the end of the road I just want to finish carrying what I was owed Tell the ones I love that I loved them true Tell the ones I hurt I was trying too And when that final silence comes calling my name I won’t curse the darkness, I won’t bargain with the flame But until that hour comes walking through the door I’ll keep singing, keep loving Keep living a little more [Final Chorus] [Male Lead: Full emotional weight, gritty and solemn; no shouting.] O Death... O Death... When you come, won’t you come slow O Death... O Death... Let me leave with the music low O Death... O Death... When you call, I’ll answer then O Death... O Death... But tonight I’m living again O Death... O Death... I know someday you’ll have your way O Death... O Death... But I’ve got one more song to play [Outro] [Male Lead: Whispered, close and exhausted; instruments disappear one at a time.] O Death... I know you’ll find me... But not today... There’s still a road beneath my feet Still a song inside my bones Still a river running somewhere Still a light beyond these stones O Death... Not today... [Male Lead: Barely audible.] Not today...
