Chickasaw Mountain
Leslie Fish Lyrics

High up on the mountain of Chickasaw they say
There's a mountain called Chickasaw that people talk about

There's one patch of darkness that never yields to day
There's a dark patch on the mountain that never gets any sunlight

Deep are those shadows old as the mountain
Those shadows are ancient and go deep, like the mountain

Something is waiting in there
There's something waiting in the shadows

Call on her if you dare
If you're brave enough, you can call on whatever is in there

Seek no level
Don't look for good or evil

Of god or devil
Don't label it as one or the other

She's something older by far
It's something that's been around for a very long time

Call her lady of the morning star
It's sometimes called the 'lady of the morning star'

She offers two bargains, the price is steep and dark
It will offer you two choices, both of which are costly and dangerous

One takes your life and the other leaves a mark
One choice will kill you, the other will mark you in some way

If there's a third one I've never heard one
The artist doesn't know of any other options

Choose for yourself what's to be
It's up to you to decide

Nothing she gives comes free
There's always a price to pay

Name your goal
Tell it what you want

She won't ask your soul
It won't demand your soul

She might even give you her own
It might even give you its own soul

And maybe you'd be better off alone
But you might be better off not making a deal at all

My old fellow rebel, I know what deal he made
The singer knows someone who made a deal with the 'lady of the morning star'

The power rang through every song he wrote and played
That person became incredibly powerful and it was reflected in their music

Made him the best of his generation
They became the most talented person in their time

Sang to the end of the war
They kept singing until the end of the war

And not a moment more
But then they couldn't go on after that

Then it left him
The power they gained left them

The power bereft him
They lost all of their power

Left only one fate to see
They were left with only one possible outcome

Hanging on his sister's apple tree
The person who made the deal hanged themselves on their sister's apple tree

Forgive my old buddy who soon forgot my name
The artist forgives someone who forgot about them

I chose not to follow his seven years of fame
The artist didn't follow the person who made the deal, even though they were famous for seven years

He took the high road, I take the low road
They took different paths

Sing second place but sing long
The singer is happy being second best and will keep singing for a long time

And have always one more song
They always have one more song to sing

Take your stars
You can have your fame and fortune

And give me my scars
The artist would rather have their scars and experiences than fame

I'd rather live long and be free
The singer would rather live a long, free life than make a deal for fame

So take his cup the hell away from me
The artist doesn't want anything to do with the deal

Whoever has wisdom can guess what lies unsaid
Only wise people can know what's not being said

The cost of the gift to the living and the dead
The price of the deal affects both the living and the dead

Still if you feel
If you think it's worth it

You'll gain from the deal
You'll get something out of the deal

You'll play with the old morning star
You'll be making a deal with the 'lady of the morning star'

No need to travel far
You don't have to go to Chickasaw mountain to make this deal

Don't just count on Chickasaw mountain
Don't assume Chickasaw mountain is the only place to make this deal

If there's a deal meant for you
If there's a deal that's right for you

Any wild place on earth will do
You can make the deal anywhere in nature