The radio went dead at the break of dawn The crows didn’t call, they just knew to be gone The treeline is burning, the valley turned gray They are begging for storms just to wash it away But the altars are cracked and the idols are blind There is nothing but ash in the ruins behind Take my coat, let the winter sink in This is where the world ends, and where we begin. (Chorus) (The low-register bass slides in—a thick, mournful hum under the floorboards.) So close your eyes tight, let the oceans go black We are crossing the line and we ain’t looking back Let the righteous have gold and their blinding white light I’ll build us a kingdom deep in the night Where the stars never burn and the shadows run deep In the dark side of heaven, forever to keep. (Verse 2) (Sparse, heavy tom fill. The room mics catch the deep resonance rolling off the tile.) The clock on the mantle gave out at three There is no more tomorrow for you and for me The neighbors are breaking, they’re begging for grace But I’m spending my last breath watching your face Let the firmament shatter, let the monuments fall We don’t need their pity, we don’t need it at all They promised a city of glass and of stone But I’d rather be damned with you than saved on my own. (Chorus) So close your eyes tight, let the oceans go black We are crossing the line and we ain’t looking back Let the righteous have gold and their blinding white light I’ll build us a kingdom deep in the night Where the stars never burn and the shadows run deep In the dark side of heaven, forever to keep. (Bridge) (The music completely drops out. A single, vibrating, sub-frequency low note hangs in the hollow space. The vocal becomes almost a whisper, inches from the mic.) They say there’s a ledger that counts every sin They say that the gates will not let a man in But there’s a wild, quiet pasture behind the great wall Where the outlawed spirits answer no call Past the choirs of angels, past the judgment and fire Is the cold, silent country of our last desire. (Guitar Solo) (Slow, weeping, echoing. The clean electric bends are drawn out, crying against the tile reflections, underscored by the relentless, dragging brush on the snare.) (Verse 3) The floorboards are buckling, the roof is giving way The sky is a color that bleeds out the day Grip my arm tighter, feel the pulse in my wrist We are fading away like the morning mist It’s the beautiful ruin of everything made And I'm walking you into the deepest of shade. (Chorus) So close your eyes tight, let the oceans go black We are crossing the line and we ain’t looking back Let the righteous have gold and their blinding white light I’ll build us a kingdom deep in the night Where the stars never burn and the shadows run deep In the dark side of heaven, forever to keep. (Outro) (The bass fades. Only the fingerpicked guitar and the scrape of the snare remain, slowing down even further.) Just behind the light... Where the quiet things grow. No more keeping time. No more snow. (A resonant line, especially for a life built in Ferry) I'll meet you there soon, on the dark side of heaven... Forever to keep. (A final, unresolved guitar chord rings out, the wet room reverb catching every overtone until it decays into total silence.) Forever to keep.
