THE BLACK DOLLAR They say every road has a beginning, darling... They just don't tell you what they buried underneath it. Black raven on my shoulder, black iron in the rain, I learned to love the sound of wheels rolling down a midnight lane. There's a road beneath the city where the lonely people go, and every mile remembers what the living never know. I wear a little raven where a good heart ought to be, and if you follow where he flies, you'll find the rest of me. I got a black dollar, baby, burning cold inside my hand, it ain't worth a thing in daylight, but at midnight it commands. You can spend it on a promise, you can spend it on a lie, you can spend it on a man's last breath and never ask him why. I got a black dollar, baby, and a raven made of iron. He came dressed like a gentleman, with silver on his tongue, talking like the world was his and he'd only just begun. He said, “Ruby, what's a woman like you doing walking all alone?” I said, “I'm not walking, darling. I'm deciding where the road goes.” He laughed like he had money. He laughed like he had time. He never saw the raven until he crossed the line. I got a black dollar, baby, and a road beneath my feet, every mile a little darker, every heartbeat keeping beat. You can buy yourself a kingdom, you can buy yourself a name, but the road don't care who owns it when the black iron takes the rain. I got a black dollar, baby, and a raven knows my name. Seven candles in the window, six are burning bright, one is waiting for the stranger who won't make it through the night. There's a blackbird on the telephone, there's a key beneath the glass, and somewhere down the old back road I hear the engines pass. The raven spreads his wings now. The room begins to turn. Some things aren't meant for heaven. Some things aren't meant to burn. [Bridge] Oh, darling... Don't mistake a quiet woman for a woman without teeth. Iron doesn't need to threaten. It just waits beneath the street. And every road I've ever loved was paid for in the dark. Every man who crossed my path left something with the raven's mark. I got a black dollar, baby, and it's never spent the same. Sometimes it's just a piece of metal, sometimes it's someone's name. Sometimes it's a kiss at midnight, sometimes it's a loaded lie, sometimes it's the final mile between a man and his goodbye. I got a black dollar, baby, and the raven's flying higher. Black iron underneath the road... and red sparks in the fire. You can follow any road you like, darling. Just remember... Ruby built this one.
