[Verse 1] Sun's nearly gone when six horses reach the gate Foam on their mouths legs shaking from the road The men look untouched White hems clean boots not a grain between them I run my thumb across my own sleeve Sand comes off Look at theirs again Nothing One of them catches me staring Smiles I don't smile back [Pre-Chorus] The horses made the journey Something about the riders didn't My hand settles near the sword Just in case [Chorus] The road puts something on everyone Blood sweat sand in the seams You don't cross that much empty ground and arrive looking clean So come through the gate Keep smiling at me Whatever carried you this far left footprints You didn't [Verse 2] First scream comes from inside I turn Too late Steel slips between the ribs of the man beside me White robes open Blades underneath I draw Catch one across the jaw His head snaps sideways Comes right back No stumble No breath He grabs my throat I drive steel under his arm The wound opens Black sand spills out Not blood Sand [Low] Oh, hell. [Pre-Chorus] He looks down at the hole Then smiles again Now I've got a reason to wipe it off his face [Chorus] The road puts something on everyone Blood sweat sand in the seams You don't cross that much empty ground and arrive looking clean So come through the gate Keep smiling at me Whatever carried you this far left footprints You didn't [Breakdown - Rough] SHIELD UP DRIVE THEM BACK ONE AT THE STAIR TWO AT MY LEFT CUT DEEP DON'T WAIT FOR BLOOD THEY DON'T BLEED LIKE WE DO BREAK THE KNEE TAKE THE HAND KEEP THEM OFF THE LOWER STONE [Verse 3] One gets through I chase him down the passage Shoulder's burning boot full of blood He never looks back Just straight for the seal Palm hits stone The writing under his skin lights through the sleeve Same crooked lines I saw beneath the floor The wall answers Not with sound With movement Stone pulls inward An inch Maybe two Enough cold air escapes to turn my stomach I hit him before he can do it again [Bridge] We go down together His hand stays on the wall I break two fingers Still there Three Still there So I take the whole hand That works He looks at the stump Looks at me And laughs Then his skin cracks Dry lines racing up his neck Across his face He reaches for me Falls apart before he gets there Dust across my boots Finally [Final Chorus] The road puts something on everyone Guess it found you in the end All that white all that clean gone the second the surface split You crossed the gate untouched You won't leave it that way Whatever wore those bodies here can crawl back through the sand [Breakdown Tail - Rough] FROM DUST THROUGH DUST BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM [Clean, Low] Dust you shall become. [Outro] Something glints in the pile A strip of metal covered in those same lines I reach down Then stop Last time I picked something up a lock turned underneath me.
