Coffin Nails

Something from the dark came down
The night John Rufus died
It landed on the window sill
And there it cried all night
We could not see the shape of it
Wailing filled the air
We knew not what it looked like
But we knew why it was there

I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails

I'd moved off of the family farm in 1954
I was in and out of Fort Roots since I came back from the war
He died on the Ides of March
Just before the dawn
Mama stayed up with him 'til that howling thing was gone

I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails

The things we carried in war
The things we carry now
Every ounce added up
Can't seem to set them down
I can't seem to set 'em down

Something from the dark came down
I still hear its song
Did it follow from the old world
Had it been here all along
The banshee didn't seem to bother
When it was wartime
Too much death and sorrow
Too many people crying

I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails
I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails