Mudbound Creed

[Intro – slow slide guitar wail, distant frog croaks] Mud clings to my boots and bones Bayou mist wraps around my home [Verse 1 – gritty slide guitar riff, sparse snare taps] I got a pocket full of regret and a rusted knife Bayou water hides the things I’d rather not find Cypress trees lean in like they know my sin Mud sucks me down every time I try to win [Pre-Chorus – swelling harmonica, thudding bass] The water’s dark and the sky’s low Every step I take’s a heavy blow I can’t outrun what I left behind It’s stuck to me like the mud in my mind [Chorus – full band crash, wailing harmonica lead] This mudbound creed’s my only company Guilt’s the shadow that follows me Bayou’s got my secrets buried deep Every night I pray the water’ll keep The truth from rising up to meet The man I used to be, the man I can’t beat [Verse 2 – bluesy guitar licks, slow tambourine shake] I found a locket in the muck last night Her face still shines like the firelight I left her waiting on that rotting dock Now the bayou’s got her, and I got the shock [Pre-Chorus 2 – harmonica trill, heavier bass] The crickets hum and the moon’s thin I can hear her voice in the wind I can’t wash the blood from my hands It’s mixed with the mud on this bayou land [Chorus 2 – amplified slide guitar, layered vocals] This mudbound creed’s my only company Guilt’s the shadow that follows me Bayou’s got my secrets buried deep Every night I pray the water’ll keep The truth from rising up to meet The man I used to be, the man I can’t beat [Bridge – stripped-back acoustic guitar, gravelly spoken-word edge] I tried to run to the city lights But the mud stuck to me, day and night The bayou calls me back, calls me home To the guilt I can never outgrow [Solo – screaming slide guitar, swampy reverb] (Instrumental Solo) [Chorus 3 – full band climax, harmonica wail] This mudbound creed’s my only company Guilt’s the shadow that follows me Bayou’s got my secrets buried deep Every night I pray the water’ll keep The truth from rising up to meet The man I used to be, the man I can’t beat [Outro – fading slide guitar, distant frog croaks] Mud clings to my boots and bones Bayou mist wraps around my home