[Chorus – grown young’un, steady and wise] Heed my words if you’re headin’ that way, Granny’s mountain don’t forgive who stray. Hundred years she’s held that ridge alone, trespass her ground and you’ll never come home. Stories of missin’ and camps left cold, Granny’s watchin’—the legend’s still told. [Verse 1 – grown young’un, private confession] Back in forty-six I climbed that trail alone, cabin stood quiet, no smoke from the stone. Graves in the row were tended and new, note on a stone said, “Speak not, come not again.” If Granny was livin’, would I be welcomed in, pouring a jug strong for Grandpappy’s kin. That silence still haunts me, a watch I can’t see, I keep to the warning, whatever it be. [Verse 2 – grown young’un, tavern 1965 public warning] Tavern lights flicker in nineteen-sixty-five, hundred years Granny’s kept the legend alive. Crowd leans in, locals and strangers alike, talkin’ of climbin’ that ridge in the night. Grandpappy’s words still ring in my ear, battle on the mountain, the warning clear. I’ve seen things myself that I’ll never explain, but the mountain takes fools who ignore the pain. [Verse 3 – grown young’un, mid-50s confluence diggers tale] I tell ’em of men in the fifties who came, camped where two creeks meet, treasure their aim. Pannin’ for gold like the old-timers do, but diggin’ big holes for a different clue. They hired local kids to scout the ground near, kids came next mornin’—no men to appear. Tents stood untouched, tools laid in a row, camp like they’d stepped out a moment ago. [Chorus – grown young’un] Heed my words if you’re headin’ that way, Granny’s mountain don’t forgive who stray. Hundred years she’s held that ridge alone, trespass her ground and you’ll never come home. Stories of missin’ and camps left cold, Granny’s watchin’—the legend’s still told. [Verse 4 – grown young’un, strangers at his home] Strangers knocked bold at my door one fall day, asked how I lived when I climbed that way. Wanted the trail to the cabin up high, to see if the tales of her mountain don’t lie. I told ’em of hunters who vanished one fall, surveyors with chains never answered the call. Lucky ones stumbled back wild in the eye, swore a small Granny chased ’em under the sky. [Verse 5 – grown young’un, strangers ignore warning] I told ’em the warnings, the missin’ and more, showed ’em the door when they begged for the lore. Greed in their eyes as they walked out the gate, too late for warnings—they’d sealed their own fate. They climbed that ridge with their maps and their pride, thought they’d outsmart what the mountain hides. Headed for Granny’s through briar and stone, laughin’ at tales of the ridge she owns. [Chorus – grown young’un] Heed my words if you’re headin’ that way, Granny’s mountain don’t forgive who stray. Hundred years she’s held that ridge alone, trespass her ground and you’ll never come home. Stories of missin’ and camps left cold, Granny’s watchin’—the legend’s still told. [Verse 6 – grown young’un, strangers reach the cabin] They made it to Granny’s in the cold autumn chill, cabin in ruin, no fire on the sill. Boards fallen in, dust thick on the floor, graves in the row—more than before. They laughed at the tales, set camp for the night, thought the old legend had lost its bite. Searched every corner for signs of the lore, but found only silence behind the old door. [Verse 7 – grown young’un, sentinel justice] Shadows moved quiet as the moon climbed the sky, Circle sentinels watched with a cold, steady eye. Strangers slept sound in the cabin’s decay, never woke up to see the new day. Added to the row where the eagles lie deep, oath kept forever—no promise too cheap. The mountain took payment in the dark of the night, Granny’s legend stronger in the pale morning light. [Chorus – grown young’un] Heed my words if you’re headin’ that way, Granny’s mountain don’t forgive who stray. Hundred years she’s held that ridge alone, trespass her ground and you’ll never come home. Stories of missin’ and camps left cold, Granny’s watchin’—the legend’s still told. [Verse 8 – grown young’un] Christmas morn brought shine to my door once again, case on the porch and a note in her hand. “They sang your warning, yet chose not to hear, here’s shine for the season, to spread Christmas cheer.” Signed plain and simple, in Granny’s own hand, the legend lives on in this guarded land. I pour one out quiet for the ones who didn’t learn, the mountain keeps secrets that never return. [Final Chorus – grown young’un, steady and fading] Heed my words if you’re headin’ that way, Granny’s mountain don’t forgive who stray. Hundred years she’s held that ridge alone, trespass her ground and you’ll never come home. Stories of missin’ and camps left cold, Granny’s watchin’—the legend’s still told...
