Just Left, Left Of The Well

Lyrics

(Slow bluegrass waltz, 3/4 time, open tuning, somber banjo and bowed bass) [Verse 1] Granddaddy said, “It don’t take claws To make a room go still. I’ve seen wrong dressed up in Sunday white, And smilin’ just for thrill. You won’t find it in the shadows, Nor in teeth or twisted spell— It’s sittin’ where the silence leans, Just left of the well.” [Verse 2] He read the Book from start to end, Then turned it back again. Walked cable through the mountains, Learned the weight of death and men. And when the witch came lookin’ With no smoke and not a smell— He met her with his eyes alone, Just left of the well. [Chorus] No, she didn’t curse the water, Didn’t salt the roots or rye. She just watched your hands start shakin’, When you didn’t know quite why. And the flowers kept on bloomin’, While the neighbor’s chickens fell— She don’t walk like storm or fire— She moves left of the well. [Verse 3] He knew the smile that don’t belong, He knew the door that creaked off-beat. He knew when God stepped back a bit And left the room to heat. Not every wound will bleed out red, Some rot too soft to tell— But he knew the ache behind the laugh, Just left of the well. [Chorus] No, you won’t catch her with scripture, Won’t trap her with a name. She don’t deal in good or evil, Just the chill behind the flame. And when your boots don’t touch the earth, And your dreams begin to smell— She’s sittin’, quiet, watchin’, From left of the well. [Bridge – Half-Spoken] “She never touched the water,” he’d say, “But the garden died all the same.” “And she never raised her voice,” he’d say, “But I still don’t hear quite right.” “There’s a science to the silence,” He said. And he looked left When he said it. [Final Verse] So when you feel that pull behind you, And the window’s breathin’ wrong, Don’t you turn or call out kindly— Don’t you try to be strong. Just leave a single light on, And walk out where you dwell— And never meet the eyes that wait Just left of the well.