[Intro: solo iron handbell, slow irregular tolls, long metallic decay] [Iron handbell instrumental] [Verse 1: bare voice, low banjo drone, tolling iron bell] Cold in the ground Cold in the bone Something out walking Ought to stay gone Nails in his head Bell on his neck Lord don't look Lord don't check [Iron bell break: one solitary toll, long decay] [Chorus: iron handbell answers each vocal phrase] Ring-a-ding Ding-dong Way down in the woods Ring-a-ding Ding-dong Lord, that don't sound good [Instrumental: repeated iron handbell tolls, no vocals] [Verse 2: crooked banjo, low fiddle drone, iron bell providing the pulse] Mud on the feet Blood gone black Bell went quiet Then come back [Iron bell break] Teeth in the moonlight Feet in the leaves Something been standing Behind them trees [Instrumental: two uneven iron bell tolls] [Chorus: voice and tolling iron bell, sparse fiddle underneath] Ring-a-ding Ding-dong Slow and low Ring-a-ding Ding-dong Don't wanna know [Iron handbell instrumental: irregular tolls, long spaces between strikes] [Verse 3: voice nearly alone, iron bell underneath] Rusted iron nails Driven down Bell on a rope Rope gone brown Run from the woods If you hear the sound [Iron bell break: single heavy toll] [Break: voice and iron handbell only, no banjo, no fiddle] He was told not to answer. Told not to speak. [iron handbell toll] He was told not to answer. Told not to speak. [Iron handbell instrumental: slow tolls becoming more frequent] [Final Chorus: iron bell answers every phrase] Ring-a-ding Ding-dong Nearer now Ring-a-ding Ding-dong Nearer now [Instrumental: iron handbell only] [Outro: bare voice and solitary iron handbell] No wind. No dogs. No frogs down by the water. [Iron bell break: long decay] [long silence] [solo iron handbell] [long silence] [one final iron handbell toll, very close, decay abruptly cut short]
