[Soft, gentle piano. A single, weeping cello. Brother Sammartino's voice — quiet, tender, almost fragile:]
"Brothers and sisters. Severed and saved. This is the quiet hymn. The one we sing when the voices are sleeping. The one we sing when the blade is resting. The one we sing when we just want to walk. A little closer. A little nearer. A little more."
[The piano continues. The cello weeps.]
"Just a closer walk with thee. And my axe."
[The hymn begins.]
[VERSE 1 — SUNG, SOFT, TENDER]
Just a closer walk with thee. And my axe.
Just a closer walk by the river. Down the tracks.
Let me hold the blade. Let me feel the steel.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Let me feel what's real.
The voices whisper. The voices sing.
"Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Let the blade be the thing."
[CHORUS — FULL CHOIR, SOFT, SWELLING]
Just a closer walk with thee. And my axe.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk down the tracks.
The blade is my companion. The blade is my friend.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk until the end.
[VERSE 2 — SUNG, BUILDING TENDERLY]
Just a closer walk with thee. And the voices.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk where the severed make their choices.
I choose the blade. I choose the blood.
I choose the closer walk through the mud.
The mud is red. The mud is warm.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk through the storm.
The storm is inside. The storm is in my head.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk with the severed and the dead.
[BRIDGE — SPOKEN OVER SOFT PIANO]
[Brother Sammartino's voice, quiet, tender:]
"You ever just want to walk? Not run. Not swing. Not cut. Just walk. With the blade. With the voices. With the faces on the shelf. Just walk. A little closer. A little nearer. A little more."
"That's the hymn. That's the prayer. That's the thing that makes the voices quiet."
[The piano swells. The choir returns.]
[VERSE 3 — SUNG, FULL CHOIR, TENDER, TRIUMPHANT]
Just a closer walk with thee. And my axe.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk down the tracks.
The tracks are red. The tracks are deep.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk where the severed sleep.
The severed sleep. The severed dream.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk by the crimson stream.
The stream is blood. The stream is grace.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk to the face.
[FINAL CHORUS — FULL CHOIR, FULL ORCHESTRA, TENDER, TRIUMPHANT]
Just a closer walk with thee. And my axe.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk down the tracks.
The blade is my companion. The blade is my friend.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk until the end.
Just a closer walk with thee. And the voices.
Just a closer walk where the severed make their choices.
I choose the blade. I choose the blood.
Just a closer walk. Just a closer walk through the mud.
AsheTheHyena
