Pain Well

[Verse 1]
Into the pain well we go, where shadows reign,
A black stone hewn abyss, like Hades’ dread domain,
The cage descends with groans, to judgment’s solemn gate,
Each clink a knell for the Last Day’s fearsome weight.
I see my wife’s blest smile, on the earth’s fair shore above,
My children’s tender mirth, the beacon of my love.

[Chorus]
The pain well whispers, a portal to the void,
Where eternity’s embrace the tunnel’s end anoints,
Kingdom Come, let Your light transcend the fall,
Miner’s weary souls pray to God through darkness’ thrall.

[Verse 1]
Into the pain well we go, where shadows reign,
A black stone hewn abyss, like Hades’ dread domain,
The cage descends with groans, to judgment’s solemn gate,
Each clink a knell for the Last Day’s fearsome weight.
I see my wife’s blest smile, on the earth’s fair shore above,
My children’s tender mirth, the beacon of my love.

[Verse 2]
I may not rise again to greet the sun’s warm grace,
Should death’s cold hand bestow my final resting place,
The shaft’s unyielding grasp, a crypt where spirits wail,
I pray I’m reconciled with God, and with kin I’ve failed.
Swifter than this cage, let the tunnel’s radiance gleam,
A meadow’s fleeting vision through my dread’s dark stream.

The Only Thing Working in this Town

[Verse 3]

They bounced our checks, shut down the schools,

Now they act surprised when we break the rules.

Kids play in yards full of needles and glass,

While his friends toast high and watch us collapse.

[Verse 4]

Never thought the wrong side of the tracks would be on my neighbors’ arms,

Black tar veins where the scars outnumber the charms.

Used to chase dreams, now she’s chasing a dose,

The kid we knew? Man, she’s long gone, a ghost.

[Bridge]

You can smell the rot in the air we breathe,

A whole town dyin’ on its knees.

They took our future, left us to nod,

And all that’s left is their chemical gods.

[Final Chorus]

And the drugs are the only thing workin’ in this town,

Ain’t no saviors, ain’t no turnaround.

No cops, no cure, just a slow-motion drown,

Yeah, the drugs are the only thing workin’ in this town.

On the Chopping Block

[Verse 2]

It was early at dawn, when the crappie would bite,

The brothers were working to make their wrongs right.

The warden’s boat came, cutting swift through the mist,

A badge in his hand and a fine on his list.

Jimmy glanced at Clyde, their hearts full of dread,

“You know the fine’ll break us,” was all that he said.

And a play from the past crossed both of their minds—

A chop block remembered, old habits unkind.

[Chorus]

Two brothers on Rend Lake, running out of time,

For a cooler full of crappie and a fifty-dollar fine.

They hit him low, sent the boat to the side,

And a game warden’s breath sank in the current’s ride.

Now the Tornado Brothers, their glory’s come late,

With fifteen years in the prison of this state.

Hum in the Wires

[Verse 2]

Scrolling through the dark with my blue-screen bloodshot eyes,

Findin’ other brothers in the void who can see through their lies.

But the more I read, the less I can sleep,

And the hum keeps callin’ and it’s pullin’ me  in deep.

[Pre-Chorus]

The town moves on, but I’m stuck in place,

Every job’s got a line, every door’s got a brace.

Ain’t no way in, but there ain’t no way out,

Just that low, deep hum keepin’ me in doubt.

[Chorus]

There’s a hum in the wires, a fog in the light,

A whisper in the static that has never sat right.

It’s washin’ through my skull, creepin’ up my spine,

I don’t know if it’s real, but it’s real in my mind.