Lyrics

Funeral In Wichita

Never thought we'd have this day
No one saw it coming
The old man was too mean to die, and he took it nice and slow
His summons must have come, boys
From some bloody black hereafter
Satan finally closed the deal he brokered long ago

Rain pretending it's not snow
As if we don't know better
Low morning sky like a veil of dirty wool
Cold to your marrow, boys
It's Wichita in winter
Where the wind scours the soul and takes no pity on the fool

Chorus
There's a funeral in Wichita
Everybody's gonna be there
So button up your coats and clamp your hats down on your heads
This hole won't dig itself, boys,
So put your backs in to it
With each bite of the spade hear the whispers of the dead

The old man left with his first penny
That he'd ever made, boys
And the pennies and the hopes and dreams of folks for miles around
He was just this side of outlaw
But of course he owned the sheriff
And the police and the council and nine-tenths of the town

There's a funeral in Wichita
Everybody's gonna be there
So button up your coats and clamp your hats down on your heads
This hole won't dig itself, boys,
So put your backs in to it
With each bite of the spade hear the murmurs of the dead

Bridge
No hymn today, no epitaph, no charity in mind
Rememb'ring all the broken lives the old man leaves behind

Grab a shovelful of mud, boys
And chuck it in the hole
Let's bury that old bastard and let no one wish him well
Then fortify yourselves, boys
With powder, prayer or potion
That box down in the pit lies on the front porch of hell

Tamp her up now good, boys
See that she don't settle much
The only marker left'll be an indent in the plains
But the prairie grass will grow and die
And wither with the seasons
Until the old man's story is all that remains

There's a funeral in Wichita
Everybody's gonna be there
So button up your coats and clamp your hats down on your heads
This hole won't dig itself, boys,
So put your backs in to it
With each bite of the spade hear the welcome from the dead

There's a funeral in Wichita
Everybody's gonna be there