[Intro]
[low drones, distant child hums]
Boot print
Blood trail
No path
Just pale
[Verse 1]
Boots sink deep in the mud, that red on the leaves, it drip slow
Branches scratch my face like claws, I keep my head low
Phone dead, sky dead, can’t see where the road went
Every tree looking like a cross, like I ain’t supposed to repent
Children laughing in the dark, but the laughs all wrong (shh)
Little hands tapping on my back like a broken song
Whispers in a voice that sound kinda like mine
“Turn around, turn around, you already crossed that line”
[Chorus]
There’s blood on the roots of this forest
Every step say you ain’t going home
Hear ‘em hum that cold little chorus
Tiny voices calling your bones
Ain’t no road, ain’t no turn
Just the fire, just the burn
Once you in, you in for certain
In this forest, there’s no return
[Verse 2]
She walk ahead in a torn white dress, bare feet on stone
Eyes like she been wide awake since the world was grown
Says, “Mama told me never wander past that last fence post”
Now she leading every lost soul deeper to the host
I see a swing set made of roots, it creak but it don’t sway
Kids sitting still in a line, all facing my way (hey)
Smiles carved long, like they painted ‘em on
Every time I blink twice, one more kid gone
Gun on my hip but the metal feel cold as a prayer
Click, click—nothing but the echo and the heavy air
Her voice in my ear like a hymn turned crooked
“Keep walking, keep walking, you already booked it”
[Chorus]
There’s blood on the roots of this forest
Every step say you ain’t going home
Hear ‘em hum that cold little chorus
Tiny voices calling your bones
Ain’t no road, ain’t no turn
Just the fire, just the burn
Once you in, you in for certain
In this forest, there’s no return
[Bridge]
[beat drops sparse, child choir closer]
They count
One by one
Soft feet
Start to run
But the path bend back like a snake, same tree, same stump
Same crow on the branch, same heart in the pump (thump)
She smiles, “You can scream, you can pray ‘til you choke”
Every word just feeds that root, every root that oak
[Chorus]
There’s blood on the roots of this forest
Every step say you ain’t going home
Hear ‘em hum that cold little chorus
Tiny voices calling your bones
Ain’t no road, ain’t no turn
Just the fire, just the burn
Once you in, you in for certain
In this forest, there’s no return (no return)
[Outro]
[drone fades, children humming one last line]
Boot print
Blood trail
No path
You fail