The ghost in badge

Intro

​(The sound of a wind-up music box that fades into a heavy, rhythmic thumping on a wooden floor. A distorted slide guitar weeps in the background.)

​Verse 1

​Six feet of shadow, two inches of tin,

A heart made of marble, a soul worn thin.

He rides where the sun fears to touch the ground,

In the silence of canyons, he’s the only sound.

No name on his lips, no home in his sight,

Just a silver star glimmering in the dead of night.

​Chorus

​(Heavy drums kick in – a slow, powerful 4/4 beat)

He’s the Lone Ranger of the valley of bones,

A king of the dust on a desert throne.

One hand on the reins, one hand on the gun,

Counting the sins since his life was undone.

Oh, the law is a burden, the law is a chain,

And he’s washing the badge in the blood and the rain.

​Verse 2

​He don’t speak to the living, he don’t pray to the sky,

He’s seen too many good men and outlaws die.

The mask ain’t for hiding, it’s a shroud for the ghost,

Of the man that he buried on the edge of the coast.

Every town is a memory he’s burning away,

While the crows circle low in the heat of the day.

​Bridge

​(Tempo slows down. Only a haunting banjo melody and a deep hum.)

Justice is cold...

Justice is blind...

Leave all your mercy and your loved ones behind.

The desert don't care if you're wrong or you're right,

When the man in the mask comes to claim you tonight.

​Outro

​(A single, sharp gunshot sound. The slide guitar screams one last time and then fades into the sound of a horse galloping away into the distance.)

Ride on...

Ride on, Ghost...

Into the dark.