[Verse 1]
Boot prints burn in the red clay road
Sun hangs low like a busted halo
Coat like blood in the afterglow
He don’t talk much
But the tales all grow
Name gets passed in a barroom hush
Cards stop fallin’
The room goes hushed
One cold shadow in a curtain of dust
If he tips his brim
You already lost
[Chorus]
He’s the Crimson Reaper
Ridin’ in slow
Ridin’ in deeper
If he calls your name
Better start that prayer
‘Cause the dirt remembers
Every man who met his temper
And the wind keeps singin’
“The Reaper’s almost there” (oh)
[Verse 2]
Six eyes painted on his old carved grips
For the six last words from the last man’s lips
Keeps a ring on a leather strip
Every lost promise
Swingin’ from his hip
Campfire sparks in his scarred black hat
He deals in dues
Never deals in chat
If he laughs
You don’t laugh back
Sky goes silent
Like it knows the track
[Chorus]
He’s the Crimson Reaper
Ridin’ in slow
Ridin’ in deeper
If he calls your name
Better start that prayer
‘Cause the dirt remembers
Every man who met his temper
And the wind keeps singin’
“The Reaper’s almost there” (hey!)
[Bridge]
Is he justice?
Is he just a curse?
Does he ride for the better
Or ride for the worse?
All you’ll see
In that final light
Is a red coat fading
Into black night
[Chorus]
He’s the Crimson Reaper
Ridin’ in slow
Ridin’ in deeper
If he calls your name
Better start that prayer
‘Cause the dirt remembers
Every man who met his temper
And the wind keeps singin’
“The Reaper’s almost there”
[Outro]
Red coat glowin’ on the edge of town
One last hoofbeat
Muffled in the ground
Crimson Reaper
Never stickin’ around
Just a ghost on a horse
And a whispered sound