Gravel Road Mercy

“Gravel Road Mercy” 

(Single low guitar. Open space.)

[Verse 1]
She used to ride shotgun
In that old Chevrolet
Sun fallin’ sideways
At the end of the day
Hair caught gold
In the rearview frame
Said, “Daddy, one day
They’ll all know my name.”

(long pause)

[Verse 2]
He came ’round summer
With a borrowed grin
Clean boots, smooth talk
And a jaw set thin
Said he’d take care of her
Swore he’d treat her right
I should’ve seen the dark
Behind those headlights

(bass enters — slow pulse)

[Verse 3]
They found her by the treeline
Off an old farm road
Dress torn at the shoulder
Hands clenched in the cold
Sheriff said they’re lookin’
Said it’ll take time
But time don’t mean nothin’
When the girl was mine

(silence — let it hang)

Chorus — low, steady
There’s a gravel road
Past the county line
Where the trees grow thick
And the stars don’t shine
You can say you’re sorry
You can beg the sky
But some men answer
Eye for eye

(instrument breath)

[Verse 4]
I knocked on his trailer
Just before dawn
He opened the door
Like nothin’ was wrong
Said it was an accident
Said he lost control
I watched the truth
Shake through his soul

(brush snare — faint)

[Final Verse]
They’ll say he went missin’
Maybe skipped town
Truck still in the driveway
Keys on the ground
And I’ll sit at supper
In her empty chair
Hear the wind move soft
Through her mama’s hair

(final chorus — stripped down)
That gravel road
Don’t speak my name
It just keeps quiet
And does the same
Call it justice
Call it sin
I won’t lose
What I lost again

(last line — near whisper)
Not again.

Dark brooding country ballad, male baritone