[Verse 1] I paid the preacher I paid the ground I paid the men who took the box I paid the silence on the mile I paid the lychgate iron frost I thought a year could be receipted I thought a burial closed the book Then the calendar turned over And the rooms still had that look August took the heat for nothing September taught the doors to swell October stood there like a landlord With a hand out I knew well [Pre-Chorus] Not candy Not a dance Not a lantern on the sill This one wants What you promised When you said you had your fill [Chorus] October still wants its due It does not care what I already spent October still wants its due It comes back when the money's gone and spent If the corpse road was the payment Then the road was just the first October still wants its due And it knows the address of the hurt [Verse 2] I put iron in the apple I put black salt on my tongue I cut the widow’s share in daylight I hung the coat until it froze and clung I washed until the water quit I wrapped the private things away I did the work a living person Does to make a year behave Still the first night of the dark month Put its knuckle on my door Not a guest. Not a child. A collector asking for more [Pre-Chorus] Not candy Not a dance Not a story for a crowd This one counts In old numbers And it says them to you loud [Chorus] October still wants its due It does not care what I already spent October still wants its due It comes back when the money's gone and spent If the corpse road was the payment Then the road was just the first October still wants its due And it knows the address of the hurt [Verse 3] I walked the dead mile empty-handed I said, take it, I am through The trees leaned in like bookkeepers The ditch kept its black revenue At the far gate nothing answered But the bell inside the town A season is not a person It does not know how to settle down It wants the plate left on the table It wants the chair you will not fill It wants the mouth you keep from talking It wants the part of you that will [Bridge] I can give it grief I can give it frost I can give it one more night I will not give it the rest of me Like a tithe I have to like Due is due And then it's done That is the only hymn I got [Breakdown] Pay Pay Then stop Pay Pay Then lock Year Road Gate Debt October You get this Not the rest [Verse 4] In the morning I made coffee In his cup, then in my own I set a coin upon the shroud-place Of a memory and left it lone That is all. That is the offering That is the line I drew in air A month can have its ancient hunger It cannot have my whole affair If the neighbors want a holiday They can keep their pretty dark I will pay what I can carry And I will not call it a lark [Chorus] October still wants its due It does not care what I already spent October still wants its due It comes back when the money's gone and spent If the corpse road was the payment Then the road was just the first October still wants its due And it knows the address of the hurt [Final Chorus] October still wants its due I will meet it at the gate October still wants its due I will not confuse it with fate If you find me on that dead road I am there to pay and quit Not to live inside the invoice Of a month that feeds on it [Outro] Coin down Door shut Month waiting I paid enough Due Due Then no
