[Intro — Lone Harmonica] [Spoken — Deep Male Baritone] Grafton, West Virginia. June, 1964. Everybody tells you to keep your head when you're walking alone after dark. Nobody ever tells you what to do... when the thing standing beside the road ain't got one. [Verse 1 — Harmonica and Sparse Acoustic] I was walking home beneath a cloudy sky Railroad somewhere humming in the distance behind Streetlights getting fewer with every passing mile Just another summer night outside a little mountain town Then something pale caught underneath the light Standing by the roadside maybe fifty yards to my right I figured it was somebody in a coat too big to wear Till I noticed that whatever it was... Was damn near twice as tall as any man standing there [Cello Enters — Low Bowed Note] [Pre-Chorus] I took another step It didn't move Another step Still nothing My mind kept finding reasons For what my eyes were seeing Then the clouds broke... And the moon gave me a better look. [Chorus — Full Band Builds] GRAFTON WHAT THE HELL IS STANDING THERE? Pale against the mountain Like a nightmare wearing skin Too damn big to be a man Too damn wrong to be a bear I went looking for a face... But there wasn't nothing there GRAFTON Something's standing by the road [Verse 2 — Cello and Harmonica Trade Phrases] I should've turned around Should've headed back toward town But fear has got a funny way Of rooting both your boots into the ground So I raised my light a little higher Let the beam crawl up that thing Across a body wide as hell To where a head should've been Nothing. No eyes reflecting. No mouth. No face. Just pale flesh disappearing Into shoulders at the place Where every living thing I'd ever known Had something looking back [Pre-Chorus — Cello Descending] No neck. No face. No head. [Silence] [Spoken] And then that son of a bitch... moved. [Cello Scrape] [Harmonica Wail] [Chorus — Crushing] GRAFTON WHAT THE HELL IS STANDING THERE? Pale against the mountain Like a nightmare wearing skin Too damn big to be a man Too damn wrong to be a bear I went looking for a face... But there wasn't nothing there GRAFTON And now it's moving toward the road [Bridge — Stripped, Heartbeat-Like Floor Tom] You ever see something your mind refuses to understand? Your eyes tell you it's there. Your feet tell you to run. But your brain keeps whispering... No. That ain't real. [Low Cello] Maybe that's why I waited. [Harmonica — Single Note] Maybe that's why it got so close. [Silence] [Breakdown] NO! NECK! NO! FACE! NO! HEAD! JUST A PALE GODDAMN BODY MOVING THROUGH THE NIGHT! I RAN! BOOTS ON PAVEMENT! HEART IN MY THROAT! DON'T TURN AROUND! DON'T NEED TO KNOW! I HEARD SOMETHING MOVING OFF THE ROAD TO MY RIGHT KEEPING PACE THROUGH THE DARKNESS JUST OUTSIDE THE LIGHT! [Guitar and Cello Lock Together] YOU DON'T NEED A FACE TO KNOW WHEN SOMETHING'S WATCHING! [Instrumental — Cello and Harmonica Duel] [Verse 3 — Driving] First porch light I saw burning I damn near kicked the door apart Some old man opened with a shotgun And found me fighting for my heart I pointed toward the road behind me Couldn't make the words come out He stepped outside and stared awhile Then slowly lowered that gun down He didn't laugh Didn't call me crazy Didn't ask what I had seen Just looked toward those dark West Virginia hills And said... "Boy, get inside with me." [Final Chorus] GRAFTON SOMETHING STOOD BESIDE THAT ROAD Pale against the mountain Where the summer night ran cold Call it monster Call it nothing Say my frightened eyes were wrong But I know what should've had a head... And I know that thing had none GRAFTON I never walked that road again [Outro — Lone Harmonica] [Spoken] Years later people asked me what it looked like. That's always been the hardest question. Because describing what was there... ain't nearly as frightening as describing what wasn't. [Low Cello] No eyes. No mouth. No face. [Pause] Nothing... where a man keeps his soul. [Harmonica] Some roads take you home. Some teach you... to find another way. [Cello Fades]
