Midnight in the Pasture

[Intro]
Dirt on my boots
Bible on the dash in my mind
Moon lookin’ like an eye
Watchin’ every crooked line
[Verse 1]
Up ‘fore the crows even think about cryin’
Coffee on my tongue and the sky still violet
Hand on the steel, drag the plow in a spiral
Turnin’ up bones and bottles, old farm idols
Rust in the rows
Granddad’s ghost in my clothes
Every furrow that I carve feel deep, feel cold
Like I’m writin’ in the ground what I’ll never be told
I’m
Plantin’ them seeds in a straight thin grave
Talkin’ to the dirt like, “Remember my name”
If the rain don’t come, if the sun misbehaves
It’s still these rough hands that gotta pay
[Chorus]
Midnight in the pasture, I pray, I pray
Plow that earth, put the fear away
Plant those seeds in the dark, they stay
’Til the dawn pulls ‘em up my way
Milkin’ these cows while the sky stays gray
Steam from their breath, mine drift the same
Gather them eggs like I’m stackin’ my faith
Put up hay, put up hay, put up hay
[Verse 2]
Barn light swing like a slow last warning
Chains in the rafters hum every morning
Cold tin pails and a one-eyed heifer
She know my secrets better than the shepherd
Grip on the teat, hear the foam start hissin’
Rhythm of a life that the world stop listenin’
Floor all slick where the milk line drippin’
Boot prints map out every bad decision
Walk that path to the coop out back
Fox left feathers like a note in black
Shells in my hands, little soft warm prayers
One false move and they’re gone in the air
Stack that hay ‘til my spine feel twisted
Straw in my lungs, old sins in my whispers
Each square bale like a brick in a wall
Keepin’ out winter, keepin’ in it all
[Chorus]
Midnight in the pasture, I pray, I pray
Plow that earth, put the fear away
Plant those seeds in the dark, they stay
’Til the dawn pulls ‘em up my way
Milkin’ these cows while the sky stays gray
Steam from their breath, mine drift the same
Gather them eggs like I’m stackin’ my faith
Put up hay, put up hay, put up hay
[Bridge]
Who gonna reap when I finally fall? (who?)
Who gonna drink from the tank I hauled?
Who gonna eat from the rows I raised?
Name on the deed, but it feel like chains
Talk to the field like it talk back cruel
“Boy, you the beast and the burden too”
[Chorus]
Midnight in the pasture, I pray, I pray
Plow that earth, put the fear away
Plant those seeds in the dark, they stay
’Til the dawn pulls ‘em up my way
Milkin’ these cows while the sky stays gray
Steam from their breath, mine drift the same
Gather them eggs like I’m stackin’ my faith
Put up hay, put up hay, put up hay (put up hay)
Midnight in the pasture, I stay, I stay
’Til the dirt write back my name

rap, Sparse, beatless, a cappella male vocals with deep chesty lead and low stacked harmonies on hooks; verses ride a loose, conversational rap cadence that leans into country drawl. Occasional stomp-and-clap feel implied by vocal accents and hummed rhythm parts. Energy grows from an intimate, close-mic whisper in the first verse to a raw, revival-style call-and-response on the final chorus, with gritty, breathy texture and tight group shouts on key lines., country, a cappella