[Intro – Slow swampy slide guitar riff, deep and dirty, low bass pulse, sparse drums, dark atmosphere] [Verse 1 – Deep husky baritone, almost spoken at first, then opens up, heavy guitar chords under the voice] I shook their hands, I shared my wine They smiled so wide, said “brother of mine” But every word was sugar-coated lies While they were counting what they could take from my life They crawled so low just to climb so high Kissed the ground then they spit in my eye False friends wearing friendly skin I let ‘em in… and they let the darkness in [Pre-Chorus – Vocals rise slightly, more intensity, guitars start to push] All that glitter turned to rust All that trust just turned to dust [Chorus – Full band kicks in, powerful and memorable, deep baritone belting with grit, anthemic but still bluesy] Ash to ash, dust to dust Everything fake turns back to rust Ash to ash, dust to dust All your lies just turn to dust You can crawl, you can beg, you can smile so sweet But ash to ash… is all you’ll meet [Verse 2 – Same deep rough tone, slightly more aggressive, slide guitar answers the vocal lines] They wanted the throne but wouldn’t build the fire Wanted the crown but never walked the wire False expectations, painted smiles While they were digging graves behind my back for miles I gave them light and they brought the shade I gave them truth and they sold it for trade Now the masks are falling one by one And I can see what they’ve become [Pre-Chorus] All that glitter turned to rust All that trust just turned to dust [Chorus – Bigger, more force, slight vocal harmonies in the background on the second half] Ash to ash, dust to dust Everything fake turns back to rust Ash to ash, dust to dust All your lies just turn to dust You can crawl, you can beg, you can smile so sweet But ash to ash… is all you’ll meet [Bridge – Drop to almost half-time, sparse and heavy, vocals lower and more intimate, then build] I used to believe in the hands that I held Now I only believe in the ashes that fell No more snakes in the grass wearing human skin I’m done with the false… let the burning begin [Guitar Solo – Dirty slide guitar over a heavy blues-rock riff, raw and emotional, no fancy shredding] [Final Chorus – Full power, vocals rough and almost shouting on the last lines, gang vocals optional on “Ash to ash”] Ash to ash, dust to dust Everything fake turns back to rust Ash to ash, dust to dust All your lies just turn to dust You can crawl, you can beg, you can smile so sweet But ash to ash… is all you’ll meet Ash to ash… Dust to dust… [Outro – Slow fade with the main riff, distant slide guitar, final low vocal line] Ash to ash… Dust to dust… [fade out]
