“Mercy” was written as a lyrical compositional experiment involving the dichotomies of good and evil. It tells the story of Whitey Bulger, the notorious Irish gangster of South Boston, and his brother Billy Bulger, a powerful Massachusetts politician. The music bed attempts to imitate the dichotomous charade the pair played through text painting, multi-faceted rhyme schemes, and the use of the split 3rd scale in the vocal melody. The lyrics draw parallels between political and religious hypocrisy, while conveying the loss of a parent.
Additionally, it was written as an homage to our favorite bluegrass band "The SteelDrivers".
LYRICS
As the willow leaves on the willow trees keep shaking as they do
I’m going to sidestep over this mountain and walk on waters blue
Because the cretins lie and the police spy, waiting for a miracle to come their way
When they could and should have easily turned their head to the sky and pray
They say “Father, please have Mercy for what we’ve done
Let sleeping dogs lie in the burning sun”
As the vultures spin and culture’s sin lays waste to all we’ve come to know and love
And now honor and truth’s a might long in the tooth, yet it’s veracity we’re dreaming of
So the broken smiles and the token milestones come to make us all just what we are
As we squeeze the souls snuggly into the molds, unfit to harness but a shooting star
We pray “Father, please have Mercy what they’ve done
Let lying dogs burn in the sleeping sun”
Now the willow leaves, once as thick as thieves, wilt away with all our hopes and dreams
And a shadowy voice gives illusion of choice, all to silence the enduring screams
So we face the dawn with a pistol drawn and repugnance burning in our soul
And the fury at hand storms from jury to stand as we draw near to the final toll
We sing “Father, we won’t have Mercy for what you’ve done
Father, we’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done
Father, I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done!”
21 окт 2024
