Rotten Roots

[Verse 1]
It started with a silence, a whispered kind of rot,
The well was sealed, but truth was not.
A lie to calm the people's mind,
While darker deeds grew close behind.


[Verse 2]
They preyed on those just passing through,
The ones no kin would miss or sue.
A girl on horseback never seen,
A boy found cold near Abilene.


[Chorus]
Rotten roots beneath the dust,
Fed by greed, desire, and lust.
No law, no god, no holy flame—
Just hungry hands and hidden shame.


[Verse 3]
The preacher’s words were soft and kind,
But blood still soaked the ties that bind.
The sheriff smiled, the townsfolk prayed,
While strangers screamed where none obeyed.


[Bridge]
The railman’s wife, the peddler’s son,
All vanished when the day was done.
Some saw the truth but turned away,
In Dust Creek, guilt don’t ever stay.


[Final Chorus]
Rotten roots, too deep to burn,
A town too blind, too cruel to learn.
No justice rides, no judgment speaks—
But one day soon, the silence breaks.


[Outro – whispered line, fading:]
And when it does... they’ll hear the bell.

gothic country, slow tempo, gritty slide guitar, eerie harmonica, deep male vocals, desert noir, sinister mood