[Intro]
Screen door slam
Rust on the latch
Boot prints, red
Name on the mailbox, scratched (uh)
[Verse 1]
Got a Bible with the spine all split
Page stained brown where my thumbprint sit
Granddad’s knife in the coffee can
Mud on the floor where the trail began
Rocking chair creak in the back room slow
Something in a sack where the corn should grow
Moon like a busted floodlight, flick
Dog won’t bark, just hides and licks
[Chorus]
Blood on the boots, on the old front steps
Guts in the sink where the dishes left
Fingers in a jar by the window glow
Toes in a row where the wild weeds grow
We don’t lock doors ‘cause the hills don’t care
If you came for a prayer or a nightmare there
Blood on the boots and the gravel road
Pray you keep all your fingers and toes (hey)
[Verse 2]
(She:) Lipstick smeared on a burlap sack
Wedding ring hangs from a railroad track
Lullaby hum through a split lip grin
Counting every knock like a next of kin
(He:) Spit out teeth in a Coke can rattle
Brand new spur for the next night’s cattle
License plate nailed to the barn wall bent
Names carved deep where the last ones went
[Chorus]
Blood on the boots, on the old front steps
Guts in the sink where the dishes left
Fingers in a jar by the window glow
Toes in a row where the wild weeds grow
We don’t lock doors ‘cause the hills don’t care
If you came for a prayer or a nightmare there
Blood on the boots and the gravel road
Pray you keep all your fingers and toes (oh)
[Bridge]
(She, whispered) Count ‘em slow
One, two, three, hold your breath, don’t speak
(He) Four, five, six, if I knock, don’t peek
Seven more names carved under the paint
Mama said mercy, but mercy ain’t
[Chorus]
Blood on the boots, on the old front steps
Guts in the sink where the dishes left
Fingers in a jar by the window glow
Toes in a row where the wild weeds grow
We don’t lock doors ‘cause the hills don’t care
If you came for a prayer or a nightmare there
Blood on the boots and the gravel road
Hope you leave with your fingers and toes (yeah)