The Big Sleep

At the end of the road
He calls everyone home
And the fire will consume us
Striking through to the bone

At the end of the road
You will soon hear him call
As the congregations crumble
And the chapels will fall

And the taste on your tongue
Well it comes, yeah it comes
With the bittersweet pang
Of remorse and pain

'Til the judgment is made
The prosecution's won
The gavel has fallen
And justice is done

The courtroom clears
I'm left alone on the bench
My wife and children gone
Along with the defense

The bailiff leads me back to my cell
Like the riverman ferrying me to hell

I can't blame them, no
To hate me for what I've done
I hear them whispering in the hall
You live and die by the gun

All I can do is sit here and pray
I'll be forgiven on Judgment Day

Tell my wife in our yard
Buried underneath the pine
There's a shoebox full of money
Of which I never earned a dime

Use it to start over
The way things should have been
Live honest
And love again

Tell my wife, tell my kids:
I never meant for this to happen

When they flip the switch
Please do not stay
I couldn't bear for you
To remember me this way