Kudzu Cemeteries
About this track
Billy was a fighter, had a fire in his grin Said he'd leave this dusty town, see where the world begins Traded in his football for a bottle and a sin The war he fought at home was one he was never gonna win We buried him on Tuesday, under skies as gray as lead The kudzu's already creepin' over his new bed Another headline whispers somethin' nobody said About the plagues that are livin' when the headlines say they're dead. And these kudzu cemeteries keep on growin' every year Green vines swallowin' the names of everyone held dear Coverin' the headstones, chokin' out the fear 'Til the whole damn town is just a monument of tears We lose 'em to the bottle, to the fight, or to the road Another heavy secret, another silent load We just keep on diggin' in this poisoned Southern loam Another ghost that's wanderin', too young to find a home. Jenny had a spirit wilder than a summer storm Fell in love with someone who didn't fit the local norm They painted slurs upon her door to keep their hatred warm Tried to catch a ride to Mobile just to keep herself from harm We don't know where she landed, just that she ain't comin' back Another empty seat inside a lonely railroad track This town, it eats its young, it's a goddamn heart attack Or it chases them away and hopes their memory fades to black. And these kudzu cemeteries keep on growin' every year Green vines swallowin' the names of everyone held dear Coverin' the headstones, chokin' out the fear 'Til the whole damn town is just a monument of tears We lose 'em to the bottle, to the fight, or to the road Another heavy secret, another silent load We just keep on diggin' in this poisoned Southern loam Another ghost that's wanderin', too young to find a home. And who's gonna be left here, when all is said and done? Just the silent stones baking in the sun? I walk between the rows and I can feel the weight Of all the early endings sealed by love and hate and fate And sometimes I wonder if there's a stone out there for me Or if I'm just another ghost they'll never see... lost to the kudzu... and the memory.