Black River Falls

[Verse 1]
All Woe Jane stood in the parlor room
Drunk enough to tell it to the moon
And the party wasn't here, and there's bills to pay
And she hasn't seen her lawyer since Saint Agnes Day
The brothers Finn begin with a scotch on the rocks
Good thing that this dolly never learned to talk
And they took down forty chapels just to fill them in
And this is where the party will begin

[Chorus]
Welcome, my friends, to the Midnight Cabaret
Where the drinks are free, but you really must stay
We'll dance all night 'til the house falls down
But we'll never pull your body from the bleeding ground
We'll never pull your body from the ground

[Verse 2]
Little Bradley's ruined, and he's only seventeen
Head shaped like a pool cue, and a thing for gasoline
Set his house aflame, and he didn't get a cent
'Cause he's four months late upon his first month's rent
House reinvented for the newlywed
Good thing that their contract surely went unread
And he put his wife to bed, and the bed fell through the floor
And he jumped out of the window, couldn't take it anymore

[Chorus]
Welcome, my friends, to the Midnight Cabaret
Where the drinks are free, but you really must stay
We'll dance all night 'til the house falls down
But we'll never pull your body from the bleeding ground
We'll never pull your body from the ground
[x2]

[Verse 1]
The highway patrolman is bald
And I can see you dancing in his skull
The deacon whispers something obscene
It seems so clear
Are we stuck here?

[Chorus]
I'm scared
And it seems that you're not here
No road out of Houston

[Verse 2]
Satan speaks to me
You'll never gain the status of the meek
But I've seen God when I drink
And paradise too
It may well bode true

[Chorus]
I'm scared
And it seems that you're not here
No road out of Houston

Alright

[Verse 3]
The beggars dance with rich men's wives
The cock will crow, then take its life
The browbeater's protected son
And the rabbit has no intention to run

It started off so good and fine
Protected here by my Maginot Line
Your drink, it seems a little strong
When is it time, is it time to move on?

[Verse 4]
The time draws long
And tell me, is it time to carry on?
Oh, I thought not, my dear
Between a wretch and the dismal sky
The abysmal abyss

[Chorus]
And it seems that you're not here
No road out of Houston
[x3]

[Verse 1]
Said the old night rider
When questioned where to stand
"They left ol' Plymouth County
And in him the real [?]
Ol' wives with empty pockets
Another train station light
And so folks still do shout out
Went out picking on the night
For there was no trial nor hanging
No witness, [wire?], or woe
No neck-work, and no rug burn
Not a upon the gallows pole
Got down and hauled forward
With blood upon their hands
Stopped briefly for a beer
And then it's on the train again

[Chorus]
The train ain't moving
This train ain't moving, yeah
This train ain't moving away
[Fled the 'ol six and?] and through our [?]
Is but a devil's trail
Away, away, away

[Verse 2]
On the gates of desperate times
We'll hang the dollar from a wire
And call it friendly gambling
Like the broke man to the friar
What seems ol' Colonel Custer
And his [prayer, line of?]
Start shaking in their cabin
There's miracles tonight
The abrasions on his wrists
We couldn't look away
It seems that something's not right
Colonel Custer got away
Got back in Carolina
With three beers in his guts
To add the six of thousand
Led to several savage cuts

[Chorus]
The train ain't moving
This train ain't moving, yeah
This train ain't moving away
[?] and through our [?]
Is but a devil's trail
Away, away, away

[Verse 3]
The poor man at the crossroads
With the lion's lightning eye
And drinks from sacred promises
On a scarlet ribbon night
Oh, the righteous have no glory
Their gospel has no tone
When it's rum, they're shattered senseless
And no one's going home
One night in West Virginia
And one night in Birmingham
Where it's hard to be the horror
Harder still to be them
Well it's better to be Jesse James
When fighting's on his men
The getting all together like at the old [?]

[Chorus]
This train ain't moving
This train ain't moving, yeah
This train ain't moving away
[?] and through our [?]
[?] is but a devil's trail
Away, away, away

[Verse 4]
[Swears?] the foul tempter
Along capturing the flag
Laid flat their eyes on sunlight
With their dirty money bag
But no saving may be needed
Down the sunken old hole
Where they dream in panorama
About the swinging palace pole
Oh, on this train 'til sunup
Becomes the only resting place
Well wrinkles in the wire
With his awful tattooed face
But no tear is left unblooded
This brickhouse is condemned
And they're stuck upon the railroad
Damned to ride the train again

[Chorus]
This train ain't moving
This train ain't moving, yeah
This train ain't moving away

[Verse 1]
My little town is [on a scare?]
There seemed to be an evil here
Its nature we cannot tell
The [bald?] man has seen the beast
He's seen this coward's face [at knees?]
[?] on his well
Women and the drinks as well
The farmer knows it all too well
His virtue is saying his prize

[Chorus]
As his day
As his day with the foggy eyes
Don't approach him in the night
There seemed to be a killer here
His .32-20 held so high
The water holds a darker tide
The future ain't so crystal clear
The land don't know this dreadful man
And though it seems an evil plan
He knows that he will be received
And the blood o' the lambs
Staining his white pressed [?]

[Verse 2]
[The ?]
[?] an evil waiting here
[?] a dead man's game
Two murders in this river town
And though no killer's been brought down
He walked with that ruby stain
The gospels they outlawed
It seems to be a matter of time
To them there is no other man

[Chorus]
As his day
As his day with the foggy eyes
Raising wit, so paralyzed
He revelates a couple times
His father [named?]
His mother left to clean up his mess
[?]
He walks into the [?]
He carries on as no one knows
He knows that he will be received
And the blood o' the lambs
Staining his white pressed [?]

[Verse 3]
Old man, it's such an ease
[These ?] bring me to my knees
I see the future
[?] all this talking [?]
[?] evil spirit away
I move on, brothers and sisters
And though it seems I never chose
The land, oh no, gave up the coast
Not me, it would've been another

[Chorus]
As his day
As his day with the foggy eyes
And don't approaching in the night
There seemed to be a killer here
His .32-20 held so high
The water holds a darker tide
The future ain't so crystal clear
But the land don't know he's an evil man
And though it seems a dreadful plan
He knows that he will be received
And the blood o' the lambs, oh
Staining a white [?]

[Chorus]
Polly, pretty Polly
Won't you stay the night with me
We'll climb upon the highway, and we'll climb the old birch tree
I've never met no one sweeter, more persistent, or more fair
Polly jumped and flipped a dime
With those beads in her hair

[Verse 1]
The caravan was empty
And Saint Peter wasn't there
Polly jumped and flipped a dime, those beads ran through her hair
And came the Holy Roller, and he stabbed her with his spade
Forty miles from Plymouth Town
That's where pretty Polly laid

[Verse 2]
Oh, come ye velvet beggars, with their cannon, dill and grain
Penitentiary Highball that stuck along the spine
No they didn't get no older, and they didn't seem to mind
Polly and her baby there
Lying side by side

[Verse 3]
And he never saw the baby, though he fumbled with his mitt
Although he was so heavy, always had a place to sit
Up jumped the preacher's daughter, and they slowly swept the girl
One more chance of freedom, and then slowly up the hill

[Verse 4]
Oh, these velvet beggars grabbed her, piled her in their fort
Drove her off to Plymouth Town in the fashion of the Lord
Oh, the road it was unholy, and they wanted to go home
Couldn't make the highway out
From this road was made of bone

[Verse 5]
And he never saw the baby, when he fumbled with the noose
Although he was so heavy, always had a place to choose
Alone by the roadside was a private county fair
One more chance at freedom, and pretty Polly wasn't there

[Chorus]
Polly, pretty Polly
Won't you stay the night with me
We'll climb upon the highway, and we'll climb the old birch tree
Well I never met no one sweeter, more persistent, or more fair
Polly jumped and flipped a dime
With those beads in her hair

[Verse 1]
Oh, well the water level's rising underneath the crescent moon
And the little girls are strangled, the little boys have swooned
My father came up to me all along the wounded knee
Saying "Boy, you won't believe, but nothing here is free"
See as goes the saying, and he broke the mighty spoon
The son cries tears upon the leaves under the crescent moon
And the father said "We shouldn't", but the son he said "We should"
'Cause he's got a daughter made of stone, and a son made of wood

[Chorus]
And I said "Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
My Lord"

[Verse 2]
Tell little John Benet that it's almost Christmas day
The chimney needs a sweeping
Before the deer can play
But a stranger came up to the door alone on Christmas Eve
Saying "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, do you love me?"
But Johnny had the wildest eye
She had the wildest tongue
And spoke not only to the old, but also to the young
The rattle upon the door step, and a breeze through the front door
And there's blood upon the alleyway, and a body in the morgue

[Chorus]
And I said "oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
My Lord"

[Verse 3]
And if this story's got a moral, well as surely it must have
The little girls don't stand up, but stumble a direct path
And we are just the cappings all along the devil's tooth
Aloof Like Cain and Abel, and let down Like John Wilkes Boothe

[Chorus]
And I said "Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
My Lord"

[Verse 4]
And in the middle of the spring
Little girl lays down to cry
The bow lays pushed upon her hand
And no tears in her eye
Oh, my little mountain friend
I will never see you again
It's time to roll, and I might as well
And I'll see you again in hell

[Chorus]
And I said "Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord"
And I said "oh, my Lord"
For the seven little girls
And I said "Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord
Oh, my Lord"

[Verse 1]
Mary held on to the three ton chain
Every little link was in our Lord's name
A little bit further down the road, boys
A little bit further down the road

[Verse 2]
She pulled on the sleeves of her dear old pa
"Ain't we gonna stop before Arkansas?"
A little bit further down the road, boys
A little bit further down the road

[Chorus]
This troubled land is all I see
These troubled visions of the gallows tree
And a little bit further down the road, boys
A little bit further down the road

[Verse 3]
The last place we stopped, they were unkind
My pa's hands trembled and we got back in line
And a little bit further down the road, boys
A little bit further down the road

[Verse 4]
We found a pasture near a lovely well
My pa said it would lead us straight to hell
And a little bit further down the road, boys
A little bit further down the road

[Chorus]
This troubled land is all I see
These troubled visions of the gallows tree
A little bit further down the road, boys
A little bit further down the road
[x5]

[Verse 1]
It was midnight when she called
Throttled in remorse
No tears, just confessions
And she called it new over her sins, so I knew it was a lie
But I asked for a new rendition
No-oh-oh-oh

[Verse 2]
Alberta stood in flaw
She asked for the shoe to drop
Nervous and delightful
She ain't never wanna see those hoods again, who waited at the county fair
Vainness ends so frightful
No-oh-oh-oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
Oh, as she's standing so easily misled
She holds her carnival of pills
And she slowly makes her bed

[Verse 3]
His name was known by few
He waited on her porch
His Buick in the driveway
His leather jacket labelled "Norm"
His tattoos known to lie
"Son, just drop her on the highway"
No-oh-oh-oh

[Verse 4]
She got into the car
He offered her a drink
She said she ain't got time for pity
He stopped and picked a pack of smokes
The tendrils dancing in the car
As their burning forms were sitting
No-oh-oh-oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
And as she sits there alone in his car
She holds a carnival of pills
That she pressed against her heart

[Verse 5]
They found her facing down
On highway 55
[Entertained?], then deconstructed
And none was more the wiser then
To not say her name; she lied
Thoroughly deconstructed
No-oh-oh-oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
And as she lies there, her smile looks amused
She holds her carnival of pills
No glade in the hand of doom
[x2]

[Verse 1]
Little baby in the black cabaret
With them long drawn ears
With that long bird's neck
Legs a chainlink fence
And she's always undermined
Well at least that's what she cries
Haunted by the roses when you look into her eyes
And she likes to tightrope dance, she says
Alone in the room on a piano string
Well her horses may be hungry, but they won't eat your hay
Her teacher is Franciscan, and he doesn't know a thing
And if you don't love me, just say so
I'll take all my bills from the coffee table
And I'll run through the streets, run through the snow
One more smoke before I go

[Chorus]
Just give me one more smoke before I go
One more smoke before I go, yes I go
And one more smoke before I go
One more smoke before I go

[Verse 2]
She never loved you, didn't she say? On the rainiest day
How it's woe, woe, woe, down the gallows pole?
And you never understood what she's trying to say
She talks so clear that the words get in the way
And if you don't love me, just say so
I'll take all my bills from the coffee table
And I'll run through the streets, run through the snow
One more smoke before I go

[Chorus]
Just give me one more smoke before I go
One more smoke before I go, yes I go
Now one more smoke before I go
One more smoke before I go

I really mean it, one more smoke before I go
One more smoke before I go, yes I go
Now one more smoke before I go
One more smoke before I go

[Verse 1]
Well I've time with the fishermen
Tragic, operatic, and true
Well, they mourn the loss and impending frost
And the fish will escape to great gaping maws
In Black River Falls

The fisherman's daughter went to the soothsayer [aways?]
With nothing revealed that nothing is ill
And she left bitter, imprisoned, disdained

His daughter longed for truths
Hypnotized by the blacksmith's son
Collapsed into the pews
The funeral was filled with grief
Her mother made not a sound
And no one could hear her bite her fingers off
Buried alive underground

[Verse 2]
Townfather Spaulding, stingy with the woods that were his
Had no love for the Saints with their axes and canes
Not all would go to heaven, but still none would remain
In Black River Falls

With no wood for their temples
The Saints cut their morals instead
Rather make him a martyr than keep him Townfather
And the woods would scream murder with blood, ruby red

And, oh, how they came prepared
Swinging their hatchets and loading their guns
Firing rounds in the air
And Spaulding's blood, it would not stain
The woods would not bury his woe
A bitter old man with twenty-five dead
Sunk in the undertow

[Verse 3]
Bury me in a lily-white gown
Here in Black River Falls
Bury me in a lily-white gown
Here in Black River Falls

The martyrs wear black robes
In terror how they'd scream
Why it's us, not them
That sleep in the river deep
Anew they may approach
In time they may forget our names
Taken by Black River Falls
[x9]