The sun bleeds out on the western line, not a single soul in sight

Just me and the hum of these worn-out tires, chasin' the fallin' night.

I was thumbin' east of nowhere, my throat was cracked and dry

When a long black Cadillac pulled over, with a gleam in the driver's eye

He was old and thin as a razor, with skin like a wrinkled map

He said, "Son, the road is a weary thing, and you've fallen in its trap.

"But I know a quicker way," he rasped, with a voice like shifting stones,

"A path that's paved with promises, right down to the marrow bones."

He didn't ask me for a price, just said he'd take his due

When I finally reached the place I was gettin' to.

And the shadow of the vulture falls on everythin' you own

When you make a deal in desperation, you'll never be alone

He'll offer you the kingdom, for a soul you cannot sell

The vulture's toll is silence, on the lonely road to hell.

He dropped me at a crossroads, where the dust devils danced and swayed

And handed me a silver flask, with a serpent inlayed

"Drink this down," the old man hissed, "and you'll sing a sweeter song

The kind that makes the righteous weep and makes the wicked strong."

So I took a drink for courage, and a second for the pain

And a third to kill the memory of standin' in the rain

And just as he had promised, a tune began to rise

A melody of ruin, behind my weary eyes.

And the shadow of the vulture falls on everythin' you own

When you make a deal in desperation, you'll never be alone

He'll offer you the kingdom, for a soul you cannot sell

The vulture's toll is silence, on the lonely road to hell.

I played in smoky barrooms, and I played for gamblin' men

They'd stop and listen to the sound, again and then again

The women gathered 'round me, with wantin' in their stare

Drawn into the darkness that was hangin' in the air

I had the fame I'd prayed for, the fortune in my hand

But every note I played was just a curse upon the land

And in the quiet moments, when the final bottle's drained

I can feel the debt inside me, forever to be claimed.

Now the Cadillac is waitin', at the end of every show

The old man's in the driver's seat, and it's my time to go

He told me that the final ride is silent, cold, and deep

And the promises he made to me are the only ones he'll keep

So listen to the silence, between the song's last sigh

That's the sound of my redemption, as my soul is passin' by

For a moment's empty glory, I played the losing game

And the vulture's now collectin', and he's callin' out my name.

And the shadow of the vulture falls on everythin' you own

When you make a deal in desperation, you'll never be alone

He'll offer you the kingdom, for a soul you cannot sell

The vulture's toll is silence, on the lonely road to hell.

There ain't no water, in that silver flask

Just a long, slow journey

From which you can't turn back.

No... you can't turn back...

He's comin' for his due...

Hmmmm...