[Verse 1]
Something from the dark came down the night John Rufus died
It landed on the window sill and there it cried all night
We could not see the shape of it, wailing filled the air
We knew not what it looked like but we knew why it was there

[Chorus]
I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails

[Verse 2]
I'd moved off of the family farm in 1954
I was in and out of Fort Roots since I came back from the war
He died on the Ides of March just before the dawn
Mama stayed up with him 'til that howling thing was gone

[Chorus]
I wеigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance thеm with coffin nails

[Bridge]
The things we carried in war
The things we carry now
Every ounce added up
Can't seem to set them down
I can't seem to set 'em down
[Verse 3]
Something from the dark came down, I still hear its song
Did it follow from the old world? Had it been here all along?
The banshee didn't seem to bother when it was wartime
Too much death and sorrow, too many people crying

[Chorus]
I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails
I weigh my deeds on my father's scales
And I balance them with coffin nails