[Single cello, pizzicato, one repeating note] I have plowed this rocky earth Since before your father’s birth I have buried wives and sons I have outlasted everyone [Second cello enters] So you think a little stone Is enough to break my bone Enough to make me speak Boy, you’ve never met the meek [Stone drop sound effect. Silence.] MORE WEIGHT Give me more weight I’ve carried heavier things than hate I’ve carried grief and drought and shame I’ll carry this before your name Leaves my lips MORE WEIGHT [Strings swell then cut] [Bridge, sung by DANFORTH, alto voice] Old man this is mercy This is simply law We are not your enemies We have no personal quarrel Just a name Just one name And the rocks go away Just one name And you sleep in a bed today [Long silence] Here’s a name. More weight. [Low choral hum begins] [Strings soften, slow] Martha I never named you Even when they asked Martha whatever comes next I did not put that weight on your back [Choir adds words, echoing one beat behind] They can press me to the ground They can press me underground But the only name I’ve got left to give Is the name of how a man should live [Full orchestra, slow, heavy] MORE WEIGHT [CHORUS: more weight] Give me MORE WEIGHT [CHORUS: more weight] I will not be the stone That crushes someone else’s— [Orchestra holds one chord] More. Weight. [Silence]
