Our story starts in the dead of night in a lonely prairie town.
After the people have gone to bed, someone rides through,
the horse as quiet as a ghost.
The man gets off his horse, loosens a bundle,
and drops it down the town well, riding off as silent as he came
In the morning the sun comes up, and people awaken to a scream.

Ring the bells, we best gather round
Woke up this morning, we can’t believe our eyes and what we found
In the bottom of the well, so dark as caverns deep
Lies the body of a woman, peaceful as in sleep
the water hides the details of her face
how did she come to end her life in such a dismal place
Or did somebody here, think to hide
The evil deeds that lurk behind their cold dead eyes

And in the morning they scream
There’s a body in the well, dropped so far we couldn’t tell
Look around you brother, evil lies among us here today
You best repent for all your sins, or he may come back here again
Before the sun sets there is gonna be, a hanging out this way

Gathered in the town square, suspicious looks are cast around.
Was it you? Was it you? Whispers swirl around the collected mass
Until finally one man steps forward -
and on the steps, he speaks

Brother Mark, can you explain us why,
Your cousin left us, and never took the time to say goodbye
Or brother Bill, down in the sawmill camp
There's a lot of shadows dancing, in the night light from the lamps
Reverend Joe, the farmer's daughter’s been,
spending time, you call it prayer but could it be a lie
Or was it you, who choked the life from some poor soul
Who knew your secret, and now she lies in that hole

And in the morning they scream
There's a body in the well, dropped so far we couldn’t tell
Look around you brother, evil lies among us here today
You best repent for all your sins, or he may come back here again
Before the night falls there is gonna be, a hanging out this way

Secrets lie, in the bona fide
Dark and dusty evil corners of collective little minds
Everyone knows what they’re gonna do
But what happens
when the fingers
point at you



And so they drag him to the tree…

There's a body in the well,
dropped so far we couldn’t tell
Look around you brother,
evil lies
among us here
today
You tried to cover up your sins
The devil came you let him in
before we string you up
have you got any
last words left to say

And as his body swung and swayed
All the people kneeled and prayed
with their knees that sank so deep into the mud into the ground
they hardly even noticed that
A rider came in oh so fast
and shouted to the group
A man...just confessed...in the next town