Hell and Haydevils

Lyrics

[Instrumental Intro] It was a night like tonight A night like forever I'd spent the day in a field Full of hell and haydevils When we returned to the farmhouse On the windows all bright There crept a frost of such fineness I thought the sun had left cracks in my eyes Then from the lake Came a wind like a silence I'd say what happened, happened there Out there on that island [Instrumental Break] If the earth and the sky Became more than a match And if the fires we're feeding Need no longer ask And if the forests that shield us Splinter to matches And the outside creep under Like a child snatcher's hand Lest our boats lose their buoyancy To the lake bottom blackest And that lake rise up steaming And leave a blanket of ash Lest we're beaten by breezes And start bleeding molasses Yeah, prepare to be steamrolled By history's passage And judged on your past And to have your hide tanned We went looking for trouble And it's trouble we've found [Instrumental Break] Well, if you're looking for trouble It's trouble you've found Here's the crux of our problem The way that things stand Granddaddy was a farmer He worked clearing the land Though he never once held An axe in his hands But with a pick-axe he'd hack At the rock and at sky Burying black boys by moonlight On an island On an island [Instrumental Outro]