"Iron in the Blood," from gravel in my throat.
[Intro]
[heavy, resonant chest thumps]
Doom-doom, doom-doom
[metallic clicking sound made with teeth]
Tck-clink, tck-clink
(it’s in the marrow now)
Mmm-hmmm...
[Verse 1]
Rust on the gate
Waking up early with a heavy-weight plate
I don’t breathe the dust, I swallow the ore
Found a new hunger I didn’t feel before
Knuckle-crack rhythm like a breaking branch
Cold wind howling through the ghost of the ranch
I don’t whisper now, I speak in the grit
Light a match-stick just to watch the dark spit (hiss)
Boot on the shovel, push it deep in the clay
Burying the man that I was yesterday.
[Chorus]
Iron in my blood, let it pump, let it freeze
I’m the winter-time shiver in the willow trees
Hmm-hmmm, hmm-hmmm, I hum like a wire
Electric and low, just a spark in the mire
Clang-bang, clang-bang, that’s the sound of the cage
Turning the lock on a blood-stained page
Iron in my blood, let it ache, let it hold
If the devil still walking, tell him do what he’s told (hah)
[Verse 2]
Crow on the wire looking down at my sin
Where the gravel ends is where the iron begins
I don’t look for shade, I don’t look for the well
I’m digging out a basement in the middle of hell
Psh-tkt, psh-tkt, breath like a saw
Living outside of the mercy and law
Owl in the rafters, eyes like gold
Watching my story as it starts to unfold
My shadow’s got teeth, my shadow’s got claws
I stopped asking why and I stopped asking 'cause (shh)
[Chorus]
Iron in my blood, let it pump, let it freeze
I’m the winter-time shiver in the willow trees
Hmm-hmmm, hmm-hmmm, I hum like a wire
Electric and low, just a spark in the mire
Clang-bang, clang-bang, that’s the sound of the cage
Turning the lock on a blood-stained page
Iron in my blood, let it ache, let it hold
If the devil still walking, tell him do what he’s told
[Bridge]
[vocal build: “boom-chack, boom-chack, clink!”]
Feet in the river, but the water won’t flow
Ice in the spirit where the weeds used to grow
Mmm-hmmm, mmm-hmmm, heavy in my chest
Ain't no such thing as a soul at rest (nah)
I’m the hammer now.
I’m the anvil too.
I’m the cold hard fact coming straight for you.
[Verse 3]
Empty the bottle, let the glass hit the stone
I’m building a kingdom out of nothing but bone
Skin like leather, heart like a fluke
Reading my life like a black-letter book
Tsk-tsk, doom... tsk-tsk, doom...
Rain on the tin like a beat in the room
Every little scar is a bolt and a screw
Telling me exactly what I gotta do.
[Chorus]
Iron in my blood, let it pump, let it freeze
I’m the winter-time shiver in the willow trees
Hmm-hmmm, hmm-hmmm, I hum like a wire
Electric and low, just a spark in the mire
Clang-bang, clang-bang, that’s the sound of the cage
Turning the lock on a blood-stained page
Iron in my blood, let it ache, let it hold
If the devil still walking, t