Graveyard Dirt Monkey
v4
@Neil Herman
Graveyard Dirt Monkey
v4
@Neil Herman
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Rust on the swings in the churchyard corner
Candy in your pocket
Pockets full of thorns
Digging with a spoon in your Sunday sneakers
Laughing at the worms like they’re your little brothers
[Chorus]
Graveyard dirt monkey
Hands all black
Eyes all bright
Building little castles
Out of somebody’s midnight
Graveyard dirt monkey
Jump that fence
Don’t look back
Got a pocket full of secrets
And your name scratched in the plaque
[Verse 2]
Momma said “don’t play past the crooked statue”
But the wind sounds sweet where the names turn green
You crown your head with a cracked glass halo
Chewing on a prayer like a piece of tangerine
[Chorus]
Graveyard dirt monkey
Hands all black
Eyes all bright
Building little castles
Out of somebody’s midnight
Graveyard dirt monkey
Jump that fence
Don’t look back
Got a pocket full of secrets
And your name scratched in the plaque
[Bridge]
You say
“If the ground can hold them
It can hold my fears” (hey!)
Then you plant your shame like marbles
In the roots of the years
If the stones don’t speak
You’ll shout for two
“You stay quiet down there
I’ll stay loud for you”
[Chorus]
Graveyard dirt monkey
Hands all black
Eyes all bright
Building little castles
Out of somebody’s midnight
Graveyard dirt monkey
Jump that fence
Don’t look back
You’re the king of every shadow
On the wrong side of the tracks
Rust on the swings in the churchyard corner
Candy in your pocket
Pockets full of thorns
Digging with a spoon in your Sunday sneakers
Laughing at the worms like they’re your little brothers
[Chorus]
Graveyard dirt monkey
Hands all black
Eyes all bright
Building little castles
Out of somebody’s midnight
Graveyard dirt monkey
Jump that fence
Don’t look back
Got a pocket full of secrets
And your name scratched in the plaque
[Verse 2]
Momma said “don’t play past the crooked statue”
But the wind sounds sweet where the names turn green
You crown your head with a cracked glass halo
Chewing on a prayer like a piece of tangerine
[Chorus]
Graveyard dirt monkey
Hands all black
Eyes all bright
Building little castles
Out of somebody’s midnight
Graveyard dirt monkey
Jump that fence
Don’t look back
Got a pocket full of secrets
And your name scratched in the plaque
[Bridge]
You say
“If the ground can hold them
It can hold my fears” (hey!)
Then you plant your shame like marbles
In the roots of the years
If the stones don’t speak
You’ll shout for two
“You stay quiet down there
I’ll stay loud for you”
[Chorus]
Graveyard dirt monkey
Hands all black
Eyes all bright
Building little castles
Out of somebody’s midnight
Graveyard dirt monkey
Jump that fence
Don’t look back
You’re the king of every shadow
On the wrong side of the tracks
Style of Music
Swampy alt-rock stomp with fuzzed guitars and a lurching mid-tempo groove; male vocals half-snarled, half-crooned. Verses stay tight and dry with roomy drums and a grimy bassline, chorus explodes with gang shouts, trashy cymbals, and a singalong hook. Bridge drops to toms, bass, and eerie organ before a final, shouted outro.
