Charred Trunk Cure

Lyrics

[Verse 1] The road gave up at the pines My boots sank in blackened loam Every door in the village Closed before I found a home They said, "Don't drink from the well" "Don't sleep where the crows still roam" But the air smelled sweet as sap And the trees knew me by name [Pre-Chorus] Down by the hollow grove She stood in bark and bone Hair full of ash and clover Hands like roots turned old [Chorus] She heals, they say, she heals She takes the fever whole She heals, they say, she heals And feeds the woods your soul (Heals, she heals) (Heals, she heals) [Verse 2] The mothers came at sunrise With cheeks gone thin and white Carrying sons and daughters Wrapped in fever cloth and fright She touched their throats with leaves She laid them in the shade By noon the dirt was breathing By dusk the mouths were paved [Pre-Chorus] And every time she smiled The priest would bow his head "Mercy lives in the timber" Was all he ever said [Chorus] She heals, they say, she heals She takes the fever whole She heals, they say, she heals And feeds the woods your soul (Heals, she heals) (Heals, she heals) [Bridge] I watched from the churchyard fence As the last bell lost its tone A trunk split wide as a doorway And called each name I know No grave was dug for answer No mercy in that bed Just rings around the fire-scars And a quiet, rooting red [Final Chorus] She heals, they say, she heals She takes the fever whole She heals, they say, she heals And feeds the woods your soul She heals, they say, she heals Now I know what they meant When the forest wears a woman It always wants a rent (Heals, she heals) (Heals, she heals)