Kudzu Cemeteries

Billy was a fighter, had a fire in his grin

Said he'd leave this dusty town, see where the world begins

Traded in his football for a bottle and a sin

The war he fought at home was one he was never gonna win

We buried him on Tuesday, under skies as gray as lead

The kudzu's already creepin' over his new bed

Another headline whispers somethin' nobody said

About the plagues that are livin' when the headlines say they're dead.

And these kudzu cemeteries keep on growin' every year

Green vines swallowin' the names of everyone held dear

Coverin' the headstones, chokin' out the fear

'Til the whole damn town is just a monument of tears

We lose 'em to the bottle, to the fight, or to the road

Another heavy secret, another silent load

We just keep on diggin' in this poisoned Southern loam

Another ghost that's wanderin', too young to find a home.

Jenny had a spirit wilder than a summer storm

Fell in love with someone who didn't fit the local norm

They painted slurs upon her door to keep their hatred warm

Tried to catch a ride to Mobile just to keep herself from harm

We don't know where she landed, just that she ain't comin' back

Another empty seat inside a lonely railroad track

This town, it eats its young, it's a goddamn heart attack

Or it chases them away and hopes their memory fades to black.

And these kudzu cemeteries keep on growin' every year

Green vines swallowin' the names of everyone held dear

Coverin' the headstones, chokin' out the fear

'Til the whole damn town is just a monument of tears

We lose 'em to the bottle, to the fight, or to the road

Another heavy secret, another silent load

We just keep on diggin' in this poisoned Southern loam

Another ghost that's wanderin', too young to find a home.

And who's gonna be left here, when all is said and done?

Just the silent stones baking in the sun?

I walk between the rows and I can feel the weight

Of all the early endings sealed by love and hate and fate

And sometimes I wonder if there's a stone out there for me

Or if I'm just another ghost they'll never see... lost to the kudzu... and the memory.