(Intro) (A lone, mournful trumpet holds a long, bending note that hangs in the air like exhaust smoke. The upright bass enters with a heavy, deliberate thumping rhythm, matched by the dry, sandpaper whisper of brushes on a snare drum. A sparse, low-register piano melody follows, ringing out with plenty of room between the keys.) (Verse) The asphalt runs like a black snake through the valley of the pines Where the billboards are rotting and the faded white lines Tell a story of a man who stopped at the bridge just past the bend With a trunk full of secrets and no money left to spend The river below is a graveyard for things that couldn’t float And the wind through the pines sounds like a man clearing his throat. (Chorus) Oh, you pay your toll to the silence, you pay your toll to the dark When you’re driving through the hollow without a light or a spark Yeah, the bridge keeper’s gone, but the toll stays the same It’s a debt you gotta settle in the whisper of your name Don't look in the mirror, don't look at the shore You don't own your soul on Jericho Road no more. (Verse) I saw him standing there in a coat made of dust and gray rain Looking for a ride that could swallow all his pain He said, “I built this crossing with a hammer and a heavy hand But I lost the damn blueprint in the shifting of the sand” He offered me a coin that was worn down to the rim And I knew if I took it, I’d be walking just like him. (Chorus) Oh, you pay your toll to the silence, you pay your toll to the dark When you’re driving through the hollow without a light or a spark Yeah, the bridge keeper’s gone, but the toll stays the same It’s a debt you gotta settle in the whisper of your name Don't look in the mirror, don't look at the shore You don't own your soul on Jericho Road no more. (Verse) The engine coughed twice and the headlights went dim for a breath And the trees bowed their heads like they were mourning a death I slammed on the gas, let the tires chew the gravel and the grit I didn't turn back, no, I didn't give a damn about it But sometimes at night when the moon’s hanging low and thin I hear that toll-bridge calling, trying to let me back in. (Chorus) Oh, you pay your toll to the silence, you pay your toll to the dark When you’re driving through the hollow without a light or a spark Yeah, the bridge keeper’s gone, but the toll stays the same It’s a debt you gotta settle in the whisper of your name Don't look in the mirror, don't look at the shore You don't own your soul on Jericho Road no more. (Outro) (The piano plays a descending, bluesy riff that sounds like a car driving slowly into the distance. The trumpet returns, lower and sadder, playing a final, unresolved phrase. The bass pulls one last, long, vibrating note that fades into the sound of wind.) Keep moving. Don't check your pockets. The toll is already paid. Yeah. Already paid.
