Where the Black River Bends - Take II

I woke with rust in my mouth

And gravel in my bones

Your name was nailed to the door

Of

every road back home

I kept one match for the rain

One prayer I couldn't sell (ahhhh)

The floorboards moan under midnight weight The ceiling leans like stone

If mercy ever finds this place Let it find me alone (mm-mm)

Lay me down

where the black river bends Let the cold ground take my name

I have carried

this fire to the end And I won't be clean again (ohhh) (ahhh)

The saints on the dashboard cracked Their painted eyes turned gray I

drove until the tires sang Then threw the map away

Every mile had teeth in it

Every mile knew why (yeah)

I heard the rails in my bloodstream

I felt the hills cave in

No angel came to bargain No law could call me clean (ohhh)

Lay me down where the black river bends

Let the cold ground take my name

I have carried this fire to the end

And

I won't be clean again No,

I won't be clean again (ohhh) (ahhh)