[Verse 1]
Root riot heavy on the soles of my work boots
Tracing out the veins where the black water shoots
Copperhead lullabies singing in the tall weeds
I'm planting all the secrets where the soft mud bleeds
Iron in the soil, rust on the latch
Ain't no escaping what the gray willows catch
Shadows grow long, teeth sharper than the briar
Molding on the sins like a coal from the fire
Like a coal from the fire
[Chorus]
This, that, and the other drowned out echo of a long lost brother
Moss in the lungs and the soul in the gutter
The sky turns green whеn the night starts to stutter
This, that, and the othеr, black water rise, and watch the world smother
Sign on the line for the swamp and the cover
Outlaw opera, now I'm the lover of the dark
Of the dark
[Verse 2]
Stagnant pools reflecting eyes that shouldn't be there
Smell of wet dog and sofa in the thick air
Papa said, "The body takes what it wants to keep"
Now I'm the one walking while the righteous are asleep
Got a jar of tea, and a heart made of cypress
Watching for the law with a cold dead eyed stillness
One for the mud, two for the bone
Three for the king on the driftwood throne
He's watching, he's waiting
[Chorus]
This, that, and the other, drowned out echo of a long lost brother
Moss in the lungs and the soul in the gutter
The sky turns green when the night starts to stutter
This that and the other black water rise and watch the world smother
Sign on the line for the swamp and the cover
Outlaw opera brother earth is my mother
[Outro]
The fields ain't dead