Cinematic true bluegrass; technical modern-ancient dark Appalachian minor. Begins 148 BPM, relentless staged accelerando through increasingly frantic breakdowns, reaching 210–215 BPM finale. Virtuosic but raw. GDGD baritone acoustic Travis picking and crosspicking NEVER STOPS. Clawhammer, Scruggs, single-string tremolo and fretless gourd banjo. Fiddle tremolo dirge; mountain dulcimer drone; upright bass bowed and galloping; washtub jug bass; hurdy-gurdy dark drone and chain buzz; tremolo guitar; weeping pedal steel; deep low piano; jaw harp; mouth harp; bones; spoons; washboard; galloping floor toms; chain rattle; boot stomp; handclaps. Weathered male mountain-country baritone; mischievous but completely straight-faced delivery. Increasingly rapid, articulate vocal phrasing; crisp consonants, no slurring. Rough group shouts. Vast mountain hollow space. Tension-building opening. Dramatic hard stops and absolute silence used for comic timing. Explosive widescreen choruses. Raw barn session, wood room, close-mic'd, tactile, unpolished. Epic finale ALL 7 burning together: fiddle, upright, banjo, hurdy-gurdy, dulcimer, tremolo baritone, bones. No mandolin. [INTRO, G MINOR] [GDGD BARITONE, TRAVIS PICKING] [DULCIMER + HURDY-GURDY DRONE] [BOWED UPRIGHT] [FIDDLE DIRGE] [DISTANT CHAIN] [TENSION BUILDS] [VERSE 1] [HUSHED] The old folks know that holler well, And what sleeps underground— They'll tell you— "Don't ever dig it out." [PAUSE] [WHISPER] Don't dig it out. [VERSE 2] A father kept a little place Beside the mountain road, His boy was all the wealth he had, His whole wide world and soul. Then strangers came with dust and wheels, Too wild, too hard, too fast— One careless moment took the boy, And grief turned black at last. [CHAIN RATTLE] [FIDDLE RISES] They said, "There's one beyond the ridge, If vengeance is your need." He carried sorrow up that hill— [STOP] And sorrow turned to hate. [WIDESCREEN CHORUS] What you raise up, you can't lay down, What you call won't turn around, Blood wants blood when blood is found, What you raise up, you can't lay down. You name the debt, you mark the ground, You wake what's sleeping underneath— What you raise up, you can't lay down, Till vengeance takes its fee. [BREAKDOWN] [SCRUGGS + GDGD CROSSPICK] [UPRIGHT GALLOP] [FIDDLE + CLAWHAMMER] [HURDY-GURDY] [VERSE 3] The woman on the mountain said, "You sure you want this done? Once that road is opened, boy, There ain't nowhere to run." She sent him where the dead don't rest, Where thorn and briar entwine, He dug beneath a crooked mound And found what waited inside. [THIN] He brought it wrapped against his chest, All root and bone and clay— [STOP] She took his blood to wake the thing. [STOMP] Then sent it on its way. [DARK CHORUS] What you raise up, you can't lay down, What you call won't turn around, Blood wants blood when blood is found, What you raise up, you can't lay down. No lock will hold, no road outrun, No prayer unmake the deed— What you raise up, you can't lay down, Till vengeance takes its fee. [INSTRUMENTAL] [TREMOLO BANJO] [WASHBOARD + BONES] [JAW HARP] [FLOOR TOMS] [VERSE 4] The first one screamed beneath the trees. The father woke and knew. He saw the dying through its eyes, And felt the killing too. Another fell. Another ran. Each death became his own. The thing he'd begged the night to send Was wearing flesh and bone [HURDY-GURDY SWELL] And somewhere underneath his skin, Its hunger had begun. [STOP] He'd thought he'd sent a Devil out. [WHISPER] He'd tied himself to one. [HALF-TIME] [PIANO + PEDAL STEEL] [BOWED UPRIGHT + FIDDLE] He climbed back to the woman, Said, "Call that creature home. I asked you for my vengeance— I didn't ask for this." She looked at him a long, long while, Then turned away her face: "You wanted blood. You gave it blood— Now blood decides the price." [VIOLENT BREAKDOWN] [SCRUGGS + FIDDLE] [GDGD CROSSPICK] [UPRIGHT + BONES + STOMP + CHAIN] [VERSE 5] He found the thing among the trees With murder left to do, He struck it once— [STOP] His own flesh tore. He finally understood. He hurt the thing, The father bled. It staggered when he fell. Two shadows bound by borrowed blood, One road that led to hell. So he raised his hand against himself— [SILENCE] And watched the creature fall. [ALL VOICES] WHAT YOU RAISE UP, YOU CAN'T LAY DOWN! WHAT YOU CALL WON'T TURN AROUND! BLOOD WANTS BLOOD WHEN BLOOD IS FOUND! WHAT YOU RAISE UP, YOU CAN'T LAY DOWN! [ALL SEVEN BURNING] [FURIOUS APPALACHIAN MINOR] [FIDDLE + GALLOPING UPRIGHT] [SCRUGGS BANJO + HURDY-GURDY] [DULCIMER + TREMOLO GDGD BARITONE] [BONES] [BUILD] [HARD STOP] [OUTRO — GDGD BARITONE] [SLOW TRAVIS PICK] The old woman came before the dawn When mist lay on the clay. She dragged him where the black roots grow And laid his bones away. [HURDY-GURDY] For something waits beneath that hill For the next fool coming 'round. [CHAIN RATTLE] [WHISPER] What you raise up... [LOW GDGD CHORD]
