Follow Through (after Hangman)
In the traditional song "Hangman," a young man stands at the scaffold, soon to be hanged unless a loved one comes to pay his fee. Depending on the length and viciousness of the version you hear, he might be rejected only by his parents or by a mob of relatives before his true love comes to save him. I could never hear that song without thinking, however, that it ended where the real story began. How would he go on after all but that one woman had been ready to stand back and watch him die?
"Follow Through" is a continuation of that story, and a song for all those who have been abandoned and left at a loss trying to express their pain.
If you were to see
What's happened to me
From the outside looking in
I'd be in such pain
It never would wane
But I'd gladly shed this skin
If you were to know
If we were to go back to the place
Where intrusions came to pass
I've put it behind myself
But I keep it in mind
How illusions come to last
And drive our hands to such unspeakable…
With no help to offer me
They just come here to see me hang
They say "I'm sorry, but suck it up"
As the bell from the tower rang out a warning
"As you do so shall it be done to you."
I imagine that it's true
But I won't be here to see the follow through.
Fearing a touch
To be seen as such
So I hide behind the wall
Turn on the sound
Let these things drown
In the water let them stall
Chorus
Baring this arm
But without call to harm
Silent moving through my head
The air's clean though cold
Now I am controlled and known so deep
I just watch my mind instead
Chorus
