Scarecrow at the Gate

[Intro | distant wind | dry corn rattling | low church bell]

[Male Vocal | deep baritone | quiet | ominous]

I left him standing in the field
With a crooked grin and a rusted shield

[Instrumental Pickup | stomping drums | dark guitar riff]

[Verse 1 | Male Vocal | dark baritone | restrained storyteller]

My father built him out of timber
Stuffed his coat with autumn straw
Set him where the crows could see him
Like a warning and a law

Every evening from the window
I would watch the daylight die
But the scarecrow faced the farmhouse
Though we’d turned him toward the rye

[Pre-Chorus | Male Vocal | tension rising | subtle grit]

One step closer every night
Black against the pale moonlight
I locked the door and stayed awake
But nothing stopped the sound he made

[Chorus | Male Vocal | powerful | catchy gothic hook]

There’s a scarecrow at the gate
And he knows my name
Standing where the lantern burns
Waiting in the rain

There’s a scarecrow at the gate
I can hear him scrape
You can bar the door and kill the light
But you can’t keep out your fate

[Post-Chorus | Male Vocal | low chant | layered male backing]

At the gate
At the gate
He has come to collect what waits

[Verse 2 | Male Vocal | steady | haunted]

I found footprints through the corn rows
Made of mud and broken twine
Found a trail of yellow straw there
Leading straight up to the line

On his sleeve, a strip of black cloth
From the coat my father wore
And beneath his painted smile
Were the teeth I’d seen before

[Pre-Chorus | Male Vocal | stronger grit | building drums]

One step closer every night
Now he stands beneath the light
I heard him whisper through the wood
“You always knew someday I would”

[Chorus | Male Vocal | powerful | heavier guitars]

There’s a scarecrow at the gate
And he knows my name
Standing where the lantern burns
Waiting in the rain

There’s a scarecrow at the gate
I can hear him scrape
You can bar the door and kill the light
But you can’t keep out your fate

[Instrumental Break | heavy gothic riff | floor toms | short organ accents]

[Bridge | Male Vocal | low spoken-sung | menacing]

The field is empty
The crows have fled
The moon hangs crooked
The leaves burn red

The latch is lifting
The hinges shake
And something wearing Father’s face
Is standing at the gate

[Breakdown | Male Vocal | commanding | male gang response]

Who walks the field?

[Male Gang Vocal | shouted]

The one we made

[Male Vocal | commanding]

Who calls my name?

[Male Gang Vocal | shouted]

The one who stayed

[Male Vocal | rising intensity]

Who waits outside?

[Male Gang Vocal | shouted]

The debt unpaid

[Male Vocal | rising into scream]

Then who is laughing behind the wall?

[Final Chorus | Male Vocal | full power | layered male harmonies]

There’s a scarecrow through the gate
And he knows my name
Walking where the lantern died
Dragging broken chains

There’s a scarecrow through the gate
No more time to pray
You can bar the door and kill the light
But you can’t keep out your fate

There’s a scarecrow in the hall
There’s straw across the floor
And when the morning finds this house
I won’t be here anymore

[Outro | Male Vocal | deep whisper | wind and corn ambience]

I left him standing in the field

Now he stands where I once stood