Manifesto

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The night is clear, the liqour is warm

The cases, in the back of the Ford

The Carolina mountainside had come to life

His pockets would be full by the morn

A red-faced man in a black Cadillac

Pulls in behind the truck

Says they'll burn the fields, blow up the still

If they don't get their cut

Well, there's Lightning on the Mountain

And there's fire in the still

Now Billy's got a new set of plans

And a Colt 45 in his hand

He lights a cigar with a crooked smile and says, 

"Do we have a deal?"

Bill doesn't move, he just spits in the dirt and says,

"Get your ass out of Waynesville"

They unstrap their pistols and soak the fields

throw dynamite into the barn

He winks at Billy as he slowly kneels

And lights it all with his cigar

Well, there's Lightning on the Mountain

And there's fire in the still

Now Billy's got a new set of plans

And a Colt 45 in his hand

He tracked them down just outside of town

To a station by a Blueridge mine

Tonight that son-of-a-bitch is gonna light his cigar

With the help of hellfire

Well, there's Lightning on the Mountain

And there's fire in the still

Now Billy's got a new set of plans

And a Colt 45 in his hand-

And a Colt 45 in his hand

She’s pressed against the bar

With lipstick on her glass

She’s known ‘round these parts

And he just stumbled onto the tracks

Hand him the spade, take your seat

Enjoy the show

Pretty girls make graves

But a fool will dig his own

He strolled up like the King of Hearts

Countin’ money for her drinks

Took her hand and brushed against

The Ace of Spades in her sleeve

Hand him the spade, take your seat

Enjoy the show

Pretty girls make graves

But a fool will dig his own

Now he’s clothed in skin and bones

The sky is turning black

He tells hisself he should have known

Opens the bottle and tips it back

Hand him the spade, take your seat

Enjoy the show

Pretty girls make graves

But a fool will dig his own-

But a fool will dig his own

Screamin' through the pass in a cannonball flash

Half-lit, hell-on-wheels

Jesse's got a Mustang with four-on-the-floor

And Joanie's got it head-over-heels

Jesse & Joan were just flesh & blood

But that car was American steel

That's a bad combination when you're 17

With all your time to kill

But they got the Devil by the tail

And an Angel on their side

Livin' out their lives 

like they're Bonnie & Clyde

With the thunder of a Shelby '65

They must've wrecked that car a half-a-dozen times

Gettin' by without a scratch

But when the wheels come off the ground this time

They shatter through the front glass

But they got the Devil by the tail

And an Angel on their side

Livin' out their lives 

like they're Bonnie & Clyde

With the thunder of a Shelby '65

That Mustang rolled going 104

But somehow they made it out alive

And their wounds have healed into nice, big scars

They'll keep the rest of their lives

Now that hot rod Ford's just a junkyard heap

And those kids are now 35

And they cross their chest to their God and their flesh

For outlivin' that '65

They had the Devil by the tail

And an Angel on their side

Livin' out their lives 

like they're Bonnie & Clyde

With the thunder of a Shelby '65

They had the Devil by the tail

And an Angel on their side

The kind of luck that rolls 

Those sevens every time 

With the thunder of a Shelby '65

The wind howls down off Saginaw Bay

Throwin' freezing, driving rain

In a snow-covered blind in the Tuscola pines

She raises her .308

She was showed how to shoot in size two boots

And her Father taught her well

Exhale and squeeze, be sure that it bleeds

"And darlin'- take care of yourself"

'Cause you don't know 'til they get close

If they're rootin' 'round for sheep

So keep your powder dry and your sharp eye

For when the wolf shows it's teeth

Handsome & sharp, chalk full of charm

He'd swept her off her feet

But it wasn't too long before the man was gone

And the wold showed it's teeth

Oh,  you don't know 'til they get close

If they're rootin' 'round for sheep

So keep your powder dry and your sharp eye

For when the wolf shows it's teeth

She didn't know how long she laid there alone

With the tile spotted and smeared red

He swore, "When I get back, if One bag is packed

I'll put 2 into your chest"

As she got to her feet she caught the gleam

Of an old familiar friend by the stairs

And in her hands she felt the weight, felt the steel, felt her fate

and made her way to the dark corner chair

Oh,  you don't know 'til they get close

If they're rootin' 'round for sheep

So keep your powder dry and your sharp eye

For when the wolf shows it's teeth

He threw it into park, stumbled through the dark

When he saw her bag on the front porch steps

And as he burst through the door she heard these words from before

"Darlin'- take care of yourself"

Well, she says that she don't drink

That she dumps his whiskey down the sink

But I've seen her put away some Old Crow

Bright as a flower, soft as rain

Tongue with a cuttin' Dust Bowl twang

And she wears a ring, the good girl down the road

Been close with Johnny since we was 12

With our single-shot rifles, raisin' hell

We got stories that nobody knows

We still get together for some cards and beer

When the work week's through and we're free & clear

And he's only a stone's throw down the road

Johnny had a bottle he'd tucked away

He tossed the cap like a bride's bouquet 

And laughed, "You ain't leavin' 'til this sucker floats"

We dealt and we drank 'til I stumbled to go

Then there she was like a Bright Red bow

Smiling at me through the door,

The Good Girl down the road

Well, I was full of cheap gin and my wishful thinkin'

But I swear that her eyes were cheatin'

And now I can't let it go...

She's the Good Girl down the road

Rose in the mornin' as slow as molasses

Felt around for my sunglasses

Last night sinkin' in like melting snow

And now I'm gettin' flashes of her big brown eyes

And they're lightin' up all kind-a wildfires,

Fillin' my mind with stupid thoughts and hopes

For the Good Girl down the road

Well, I was full of cheap gin and my wishful thinkin'

But I swear that her eyes were cheatin'

And now I can't let it go...

She's the Good Girl down the road

Johnny & I knew her in curls

Before Docs and Tommy Girl

She's had me since 1991

Oh, but my buddy's got himself one silver tongue

On a river road, hours away,

Sits a pine cabin in post oak shade

The woman on the phone says she'll let me know

I gotta get myself out of this county

The lines are blurring all around me-

Gonna break out the big bottle of Old Crow-

Gonna raise a few glasses 'fore I go-

To the Good Girl down the road

Well, I was full of cheap gin and my wishful thinkin'

Well now I know that her eyes were cheatin'

And now I can't let it go...

She's the Good Girl down the road...

The Good Girl down the road

He leans on a banister, staring down the stairs

Toward the Woman in Gold with Platinum blond hair

Daddy's got the money, Mother wears her heels

And their Little Girl's cold as Steel

The family filters in, in Fours & Fives

He puts out the plates and the Forks and the Knives

November's been bitter but let's be real

It hasn't been cold as Steel

Well, the fire has died

And the embers won't glow

And this chill in the air cuts to the bone

Oh, but there was a time

Babe was soft as silk

Now he's livin' like a villain

With the Woman of Steel

They met in the hall, he studied her face

She pulled away as his hand touched her waist

When a Copperhead bites sometimes it feels

Just as cold as Steel

An uncle says the grace, they gather in the room

She grabs her plate and a Silver Spoon

And he's sittin' there like a sore thumb that just won't heal

Next to the Woman of Steel

Yeah, the fire has died

And the embers won't glow

And this chill in the air cuts to the bone

Oh, but there was a time

Babe was soft as silk

Now he's livin' like a villain

With the Woman of Steel

The curb is cluttered with cars & trucks

He slides in his cab and cranks the heater up,

Stares out the windshield toward Fayetteville,

Where it's not cold as Steel