[Style: Dark Ozark bluegrass horror, slow steady tempo, mournful banjo, low fiddle drone, upright bass, acoustic guitar, distant harmony vocals, tense nighttime atmosphere, gradually building intensity] [Intro: Quiet banjo picking, low fiddle sustained beneath it, wind and distant insects] [Verse 1] Walked down an old trail after sundown Moon was barely showing through the trees Cedar branches scratching at my shoulders Night wind moving softly through the leaves Didn't hear a thing for half a mile Just my boots upon the ground Then something stepped across the timber But I never turned around [Pre-Chorus: Fiddle rises softly] That's the first thing that they teach you If you walk these woods alone Don't look toward the sound behind you Just keep walking toward your home [Chorus] Don't acknowledge it Don't answer back Don't turn around Don't leave the track If you hear your name Coming through the trees Keep your eyes ahead And let the forest be You can hear it walking You can hear it call You can hear something breathing But don't acknowledge it at all [Verse 2] Heard a woman crying in the distance Sounded like somebody needed help But something in me knew to keep on walking So I never stopped to find out who it was Then a child laughed behind me Clear as daylight, close and near I could feel the hair rise on my shoulders But I never let it know I heard Something cracked a branch beside me Something heavy moved the leaves I kept my eyes upon the trail And never gave it what it needs [Pre-Chorus] 'Cause the old folks always told us Some things listen when you speak And some things only follow When they know that you can see [Chorus] Don't acknowledge it Don't answer back Don't turn around Don't leave the track If you hear your name Coming through the trees Keep your eyes ahead And let the forest be You can hear it walking You can hear it call You can hear something breathing But don't acknowledge it at all [Verse 3] Something howled beyond the ridgeline Low enough to shake the ground Then another answered farther And another circled round Something ran beside the trail But I never saw its face Just the sound of heavy footsteps Keeping right beside my pace Then I heard my name whispered From a hollow dark and deep I kept walking like I didn't hear it And I never missed a beat [Bridge: Banjo drops out, fiddle becomes tense and dissonant] Don't look Don't speak Don't answer Don't seek Whatever's calling Let it call Whatever's walking Let it walk Whatever's watching Let it watch You keep your eyes upon that trail And you don't acknowledge it at all [Instrumental: Banjo and fiddle build slowly, then drop suddenly] [Verse 4] When I finally saw my porch light I could hear the creek behind Every sound that followed with me Stopped the moment I stepped inside I stood there at the doorway Listening to the dark Nothing moved among the cedars Nothing called beyond the yard But I knew what I'd been hearing And I knew what I had done Sometimes making it back home Means pretending nothing's wrong [Final Chorus: Full dark bluegrass, haunting harmonies] Don't acknowledge it Don't answer back Don't turn around Don't leave the track If you hear your name Coming through the trees Keep your eyes ahead And let the forest be You can hear it walking You can hear it call You can hear something breathing But don't acknowledge it at all Don't acknowledge it And you'll be fine Keep your eyes ahead And stay between the pines Let the woods keep talking Let the darkness have its way If you don't acknowledge it It can't make you stay [Outro: Banjo slows, lone fiddle note fading] [Spoken, very quiet] That's how you walk these woods at night. [Spoken] You hear it. You don't acknowledge it. And you keep walking.
