The boy in the bag

[intro] “He don’t say much… but them eyes don’t blink neither…” [chorus] There’s a boy in the bag, he don’t talk right Came out wrong, all teeth and night Got a grin like a split in a hog’s wet hide Draggin’ somethin’ heavy when the moon get high There’s a boy in the bag, burlap stitched tight Eyes cut through you like a floodlight bite Ain’t no lullaby gonna make him sleep He just hums in the dark while the old dogs weep [Verse 1] Wasn’t born—he was found in the kudzu crawl Wrapped in rags with a crow’s foot jaw Ma said “shhh,” when he started to twitch Put him in the root cellar under the switch Ain’t no friends, just rust and bone Talks to the wind like it’s b***d and stone He don’t eat much, just dirt and dreams And he cuts real quiet when the pinewoods scream Folks went missin’, cops came snoopin’ Pa fed ‘em moonshine, said “They just loopin’” But I seen tracks out behind the shed Three-toed prints and a burlap thread [chorus] There’s a boy in the bag, he don’t talk right Came out wrong, all teeth and night Got a grin like a split in a hog’s wet hide Draggin’ somethin’ heavy when the moon get high There’s a boy in the bag, burlap stitched tight Eyes cut through you like a floodlight bite Ain’t no lullaby gonna make him sleep He just hums in the dark while the old dogs weep [Verse 2] Granny say he’s cursed, born from spite Raised on pain and killin’ night He don’t cry, don’t bleed, don’t beg Just rocks back n’ forth with a hacksaw leg Uncle got drunk, tried to take a peek Next day, they found him floatin’ in the creek Face all gone, just teeth and rot Boy in the bag just smiled a lot They say keep him fed, keep him hid Or the bag come open—and the bag don’t forgive I still hear hummin’ when I try to pray And a shadow crawlin’ ‘cross my yesterday [chorus] There’s a boy in the bag, he don’t talk right Came out wrong, all teeth and night Got a grin like a split in a hog’s wet hide Draggin’ somethin’ heavy when the moon get high There’s a boy in the bag, burlap stitched tight Eyes cut through you like a floodlight bite Ain’t no lullaby gonna make him sleep He just hums in the dark while the old dogs weep [Outro] “He’s still down there… waitin’…” [outro] “I am the burlap… I am the still fog that creeps on the cornfield breath…” “I don’t run, I don’t chase—I just wait…” “When the dogs go quiet and the wind holds its breath… that’s me…” “I was born in a cough, raised in a stain…” “They gave me a name, but I tore it away…” “Now I wear the sack, stitched from sin and hush…” “Every footstep I take makes the tree line blush…” “I don’t k**l for rage… I k**l ‘cause it sings…” “And the fog wraps me up like a mother with wings…” “So if you hear hummin’, or the creek starts to groan…” “Just know: I’m close… and you’re already alone.”