The Gallows Don't Creak

Intro
0:00 - 0:22
(Single haunting banjo riff, deep distant thunder, slow thumping bass drum, reverbed telecaster swell)
​[Verse 1]
0:22 - 0:50
There’s a preacher buried under the sycamore tree
He carried the Bible, but he didn't save me
Left the iron gate unlocked, left the lantern burning low
Now the red clay's dry and the midnight crows crow
Got a cold six-shooter and a heavy iron chain
Riding down the ridge through the black sulfur rain
​[Chorus]
0:50 - 1:18
Oh, the gallows don't creak when the wind stops dead
And the devil don't bargain for the words I said
I’m a ghost in a trench coat, outlaw to the bone
Walking through the brambles, heading home alone
Lord have mercy on a sinner’s grave
‘Cause there ain’t no gospel left to save
​[Verse 2]
1:18 - 1:44
Crossed the Blackwood Creek where the copperheads crawl
Saw my own silhouette on the churchyard wall
Spurs ringing faint like a funeral chime
Payback’s running on borrowed time
The sheriff’s got a badge made of tarnished lead
But he can’t hang a man who’s already dead
​[Chorus]
1:44 - 2:12
Oh, the gallows don't creak when the wind stops dead
And the devil don't bargain for the words I said
I’m a ghost in a trench coat, outlaw to the bone
Walking through the brambles, heading home alone
Lord have mercy on a sinner’s grave
‘Cause there ain’t no gospel left to save
​[Guitar & Lap Steel Solo]
2:12 - 2:38
(Dark, weeping lap steel solo layered over heavy acoustic strumming and low cello drone)
​[Bridge]
2:38 - 2:54
(Music strips down to bare kick drum and low acoustic guitar)
Bury my boots in the Southern pine...
Leave the silver coins on my eyes...
Let the thunder roar down the county line...
When the midnight outlaw dies...
​[Outro]
2:54 - 3:15
(Full band swells with dark reverb, fading out)
Yeah, no gospel left to save...
Just the red clay and the grave...
(Final slow banjo stroke fades into wind)
Fade out
End