VCG - TRACK 7 — BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES

[INTRO - LOW ACCORDION, BLUES GUITAR, DISTANT CASH REGISTER] Step right up... No pushing in line. Plenty for everybody— if everybody brought enough money. [CASH REGISTER DINGS] [VERSE 1] Step right up to the grocery line, Watch the numbers climb the signs. Milk was cheap not long ago, Now the tag says twenty-four. Bread sits locked behind the glass, Eggs displayed like polished brass. Cashier shakes her tired head, Changes prices on the bread. Mama counts what's in her hand, Puts the coffee back again. Daddy stares down aisle nine— Pay the power? Or we dine? [PRE-CHORUS] People whisper through the aisles. Something darker walks the miles. And underneath those checkout bells— A pair of balances. [CHORUS] Got those BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES, Every receipt brings bad news. Working harder, losing ground, Watching every dollar drown. BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES, Tell me what we're gonna choose? Bread or heat? Rent or shoes? Everybody pays these dues. And a whisper rides the gale— A measure of wheat for a penny... While the rider holds the scales. [VERSE 2] Farmers shake their weary heads, Families count the loaves of bread. Children looking at the shelf— Mama says, Just pick one, help. Coffee's wearing evening clothes, Butter thinks it's precious gold. Cereal behind velvet rope— Manager says, Please don't joke. Screens above the checkout lane Tell us everything's okay. Smiling experts brightly say— Prosperity is on its way! [PRE-CHORUS] But nobody inside the store Can buy reassurance anymore. The brass grows quiet. Hear that sound? Hooves are getting closer now. [CHORUS] Got those BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES, Every receipt brings bad news. Paycheck comes and disappears Somewhere between bread and bills. BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES, Nothing left we want to lose. Count the coins. Read the scales. Something's moving down the trails. And the whisper rides the gale— A measure of wheat for a penny... While the rider holds the scales. [INSTRUMENTAL - SLIDE GUITAR AND WEEPING ACCORDION] [CHIEF ECONOMIST RINGMASTER] Ladies and gentlemen... Please remain calm. Food prices are merely adjusting to current economic conditions. [CROWD SILENT] The economy remains— strong. [ONE PERSON] Then why can't I afford dinner? [PAUSE] [CHIEF ECONOMIST RINGMASTER] That's... a household-level question. [CROWD MURMURS] Please focus on the broader indicators. [OLD WOMAN] Can I eat the indicators? [SILENCE] [CHIEF ECONOMIST RINGMASTER] Next question. [LOW GOSPEL ORGAN ENTERS] [VERSE 3] No one cheers the ringmaster. No one dances through the store. Someone leaves a basket sitting by the automatic door. Half a loaf. A can of beans. Medicine beside the greens. Little choices nobody sees become somebody's emergencies. The printer somewhere down the street still pounds out its familiar beat. BRRRR... BRRRR... But here beneath fluorescent light, Paper doesn't fill a plate tonight. [BRIDGE - GOSPEL BLUES BUILD] [CHOIR] Hold the scales. Count the grain. Count the wages. Count the pain. [RINGMASTER] Where'd the laughter go? [CHOIR] Down the aisle. Past the show. [RINGMASTER] Where's the carnival? [CHOIR] Outside. But the horse is coming inside. [HOOFBEATS] [HALF-TIME] And I beheld— and lo... a black horse. [METAL BALANCES CREAK] And he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. [FINAL CHORUS - FULL GOSPEL BAND] Got those BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES, Every receipt brings bad news. Working hard and falling back, Watching green turn into black. BLACK HORSE GROCERY BILL BLUES, Now the joke has changed its tune. No confetti. No excuse. Just a family forced to choose. And above the dying carousel, A voice comes through the gale— A measure of wheat for a penny... [CHOIR] A measure of wheat for a penny... [RINGMASTER] And the rider holds— [CHOIR] THE SCALES. [OUTRO - BAND FALLS AWAY] [QUIET ACCORDION] No more shouting. No applause. Just a receipt as long as your arm. [HOOFBEATS STOP] [WHISPER] A measure of wheat for a penny... [ONE CASH REGISTER DING]