The Blackwood Pass

Verse 1
Out where the pine trees choke the moon
And the winter ridge cuts sharp and cold
There's a story told in the valley bar
That the young men laugh at, but the old men know
Back in seventy-nine when the coal train ran
Through the Blackwood Pass on a midnight run
Jack Mercer held the throttle tight
Chasing a ghost or a loaded gun
​[Chorus]
And the banjo picks like a heartbeat fast
When the fog rolls heavy and dark
You can hear twin fiddles down in the gap
Spitfire high and wild and stark
If you cross that track when the clock strikes twelve
Listen close to the timber line
Old Jack’s still rolling through the Blackwood Pass
Trying to beat the end of time
​[Verse 2]
They say he took a curve that wasn't there
When the iron bridge gave way to dust
Down in the creek where the hemlocks grow
Under ninety tons of twisted rust
They never found a shred of his leather coat
Nor the silver watch his daddy gave
Just a phantom whistle in the mountain wind
Echoing long above his grave
​[Chorus]
And the banjo picks like a heartbeat fast
When the fog rolls heavy and dark
You can hear twin fiddles down in the gap
Spitfire high and wild and stark
If you cross that track when the clock strikes twelve
Listen close to the timber line
Old Jack’s still rolling through the Blackwood Pass
Trying to beat the end of time
​[Instrumental Interlude]
[Fast clawhammer banjo solo, haunting twin fiddles call-and-response, steady upright bass rhythm]
​[Bridge]
Now some folks swear it’s just the wind
Blowing cold through the holler trees
But I seen two headlights in the dark
And smelled black smoke on a lifeless breeze
​[Chorus]
And the banjo picks like a heartbeat fast
When the fog rolls heavy and dark
You can hear twin fiddles down in the gap
Spitfire high and wild and stark
If you cross that track when the clock strikes twelve
Listen close to the timber line
Old Jack’s still rolling through the Blackwood Pass
Trying to beat the end of time
​[Outro]
Yeah, listen close to the timber line...
Old Jack’s still rolling...
Through the Blackwood Pass...
Spoken growl
Mind the gap, boys.
[Fading fiddle flourish and final banjo pluck]