When the Night Turns Wrong
[INTRO — BRIGHT COUNTRY-ROCK DRIVE] [TELECASTER + ACOUSTIC | BIG LOW-TUNED DRUMS] [PEDAL STEEL ANSWERS] [WILLIE — ROUGH MALE LEAD] [VERSE 1] There's a copper moon above the highway, Got a dirty halo round its face. All the birds went quiet before sundown, And the dogs won't leave their hiding place. There's a warm wind blowing out of nowhere, But the leaves are turning upside down. If you're thinking this is just some weather— Better take another look around. [DRUM FILL — HARD STOP] [CHORUS — RAP BREAKDOWN] [BASS + KICK + SNARE | HALF-TIME] Moon hanging low, sky turning green, river running higher than I've ever seen. Barometer falling, power lines sing, you can laugh right now— but you won't when it hits. Get your people inside. Get away from the glass. Whatever's coming, it's coming in fast. Don't wait. Don't stare. Don't ask what's wrong. Just move— WHEN THE NIGHT TURNS WRONG. [SNARE CRACK — FULL BAND RETURNS] [VERSE 2] There's a black wall building on the skyline, Lightning crawling sideways through the clouds. Old man Mercer closed his filling station, Said he'd never seen the heavens look that loud. County sirens started up at seven. Radio went dead at seven-five. Then the church bell rang without a hand there— That's when I decided, “Fuck it. Drive.” [TELECASTER TURNAROUND] [CHORUS — RAP BREAKDOWN] [STRIPPED DRUMS + BASS] No stars above. No crickets below. Something in the timber says it's time to go. Road signs shaking, ditch water climbs, blue-white fire on the telephone lines. Take what you need. Leave what you can't. This ain't the evening for making a stand. Head down. Lights on. Keep moving along. You don't wanna be here— WHEN THE NIGHT TURNS WRONG. [INSTRUMENTAL — TELECASTER + PEDAL STEEL] [DRUMS BECOME MORE AGGRESSIVE] [VERSE 3] Now the rain is coming down like gravel, And the wind just tore the courthouse bare. There's a freight train roaring through the valley— Ain't a railroad anywhere near there. Saw a white flash turn the midnight daylight, Saw an oak tree disappear from sight. And that copper moon is still above us, Like the bastard bought a ticket for tonight. [HARD STOP] [BRIDGE — WILLIE + FLOOR TOM] Maybe morning finds us laughing. Maybe morning finds this gone. Maybe sunrise shows us everything we thought was nailed down— wasn't. [BUILDING TOM PATTERN] But till then— [FINAL CHORUS — RAP | INTENSE] [BASS + HUGE DRUMS] Roof coming loose. Creek broke the bank. Whole damn house just shuddered and sank. Windows bow. Transformer blows. Nobody knows where the back road goes. Hold somebody close. Keep your head down low. If the walls start talking, you don't need to know. No prophecy. No judgment. No right or wrong. Sometimes the whole damn world just turns— WRONG. [DRUM SOLO — WILLIE] [LOW TOMS | SNARE | KICK | BUILD TO FULL KIT] [FINAL VERSE — BAND RETURNS] Then somewhere east the black starts breaking, Just a thread of silver through the rain. Wind falls down. The river quits its rising. And the world begins to breathe again. I step outside among the broken branches, Watch that copper bastard fade from sight. [WILLIE] “See? Told you something wasn't right.” [BEAT] [LOW THUNDER] “...Aw, shit.” [ONE HUGE DRUM HIT] [CUT]
