Appalachian B***d Thanksgiving

[Intro] (Acoustic guitar riff in E minor, sparse and haunting, accompanied by low, resonant bass notes. Distant, unsettling wind sound effect.) [Verse 1] Cold wind whistles 'cross the mountain pine Thanksgiving sun refused to shine Door hung open, turkey on the table cold A story here that won't be told I called their names into the silent air Found 'em scattered, everywhere My darlin' wife, my boy so small The skinwalker left nothin' at all Just muddy tracks and feathers blown And something clawed into the bone [Chorus] It ain't the Lord I'm thankin' for today With empty chairs where loved ones lay That twisted thing that wears a stolen face Left death and silence in this place So grab my rifle, load it true A different hunt I mean to do Through holler, shadow, rock, and thorn I hunt the thing that left me torn This Appalachian B***d Thanksgiving's due I'll see that demon's dyin' too [Verse 2] Saw its eyes last summer's eve Yellow glow beneath the leaves Thought it a wolf, or maybe worse But now I know it spoke the curse That turns a man to beastly fright That walks the world in d**d of night It learned our cabin, learned our ways Waited through the shortenin' days 'Til gatherin' time, 'til thanks were said Then left my precious family d**d [Chorus] It ain't the Lord I'm thankin' for today With empty chairs where loved ones lay That twisted thing that wears a stolen face Left death and silence in this place So grab my rifle, load it true A different hunt I mean to do Through holler, shadow, rock, and thorn I hunt the thing that left me torn This Appalachian B***d Thanksgiving's due I'll see that demon's dyin' too [Bridge] The preacher talks of love and grace But vengeance has its sacred place When hearth and home lie torn asunder By unholy force and hellish thunder That thing don't bleed like man nor beast But silver shot can bring its cease Or so the ancient stories claim I'm stokin' fury like a flame Through haunted woods where shadows crawl I answer death's Thanksgiving call [Verse 3] Snow starts fallin', tracks grow thin But I can feel it deep within That crawlin' sense upon my spine Its stolen shape aligns with mine It shifts beside the frozen creek A form familiar, dark and bleak It grins at me with teeth too wide My brother's face it wears inside My finger's frozen on the trigger cold The final story to unfold [Chorus] It ain't the Lord I'm thankin' for today With empty chairs where loved ones lay That twisted thing that wears a stolen face Left death and silence in this place So grab my rifle, load it true A different hunt I mean to do Through holler, shadow, rock, and thorn I hunt the thing that left me torn This Appalachian B***d Thanksgiving's due I'll see that demon's dyin' too [Outro] (Guitar shifts to a heavier, distorted, yet still sparse riff reminiscent of Me and That Man. The bass becomes more prominent and driving. The singer's voice, low and gravelly, repeats the final line of the chorus twice, growing more intense. The music builds slightly in tension, then abruptly cuts out on a final, dissonant chord. Silence. Fade in the sound of wind howling through bare branches and a single, echoing gunshot far in the distance.)