[Verse 1]
Grandma sipped her bitter tea
Eyes on the news
Then eyes on me
“Why you paint your cheeks so pale?
Why you reading all those ghostly tales?”
I’d shrug
Kick dust from Sunday shoes
Count graveyard crows instead of pews
“Guess I’m just wired strange
” I said
“Thinking ’bout bones and the stillness ahead”
[Chorus]
You always asked why I liked the dead
Why I wanted to be a skeleton instead
Morbid curiosity running at full speed
While death goes riding on his white steed
Oh
I dance on the edge of dread
Waltzing with the shadows in my head
If life is a wound we all must bleed
I’ll laugh in the dust of that white steed (hey!)
[Verse 2]
I’d sketch skull rings on my math-page grid
Name each rib like a favorite kid
Sing old hymns in a crooked key
Turn every prayer to a riddle for me
Grandma crossed herself
Half amused
“Why chase the dark that leaves you bruised?”
“’Cause every story ends
” I’d grin
“And I just like starting where others won’t begin”
[Chorus]
You always asked why I liked the dead
Why I wanted to be a skeleton instead
Morbid curiosity running at full speed
While death goes riding on his white steed
Oh
I toast every year we shed
Like petals on the river’s red
If fate is a pact we all must read
I’ll sign my name beneath that steed (oh yeah)
[Bridge]
Maybe I’m wrong
Maybe it’s right
To joke with the jaws
Of the endless night
But when he comes calling
I won’t plead
I’ll tip my hat
To that white
White steed
[Chorus]
You always asked why I liked the dead
Why I wanted to be a skeleton instead
Morbid curiosity taking the lead
Hand in hand with that white steed
So when my heartbeat’s quieted
And my Sunday shoes are finally shed
I’ll clack my teeth in a carefree creed
Riding shotgun on that white steed