Where the lantern fell

[intro] “I told her not to go near them pines… but love makes fools of all of us.” [Verse 1] She took the lantern, said she’d be right back Said she’d left her ribbon by the old dirt track I waited an hour, then two, then ten And the woods just breathed like they knew back then The flame came first, floatin’ low and wide Then the fog rolled in like it meant to hide I heard her hummin’ through a broken tooth Then the hum turned sharp—and that’s the truth I found her shoe by the sawmill bend Found her hair where the barbed vines end The trees don’t talk, but they sure do lean Like they watchin’ you try to scrub what’s seen [chorus] Where the lantern fell, the b***d ran thin And the bagboy grinned like a long-lost kin Ain’t no trail back once you gone that way Just a burlap hush and a debt to pay Where the lantern dropped, my heart stayed broke Now I hum alone in the fire-smoke c***e I don’t sleep, I don’t eat, I just dwell By the roots and bones where her lantern fell [Verse 2] Folks say “move on,” but where would I go? I married that soil, I buried that glow I see her in steam, I see her in crows And I hear her laugh where the cold wind blows I tried to burn it all, torch the pines But the flames just laughed and traced her lines Even tried prayer, tried moonshine forget But the burlap sings and I ain’t d**d yet Some nights I dig, though I know she gone Just want one bone to prove love’s not wrong But the woods don’t give—they only take And leave you hummin’ with a heart half-baked [chorus] Where the lantern fell, the b***d ran thin And the bagboy grinned like a long-lost kin Ain’t no trail back once you gone that way Just a burlap hush and a debt to pay Where the lantern dropped, my heart stayed broke Now I hum alone in the fire-smoke c***e I don’t sleep, I don’t eat, I just dwell By the roots and bones where her lantern fell [Outro] “She lit the night… and the night swallowed her whole.” [Outro] “She danced toward the dark and smiled for me…” “Lantern flickered, soul set free…” “Love is tender, but rot runs deep…” “Now she hums in burlap while you can’t sleep.”