album cover
Population: None
album cover
Population: None was released on August 19, 2026 by Blackspur Productions as a part of the album Too Mean To Bury
August 19, 2026
LabelBlackspur Productions
LanguageEnglish
BPM135
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy

Lyrics

Rode into Mercy
Quarter past three
Horse at the rail
But nobody to see
Whiskey still waiting
Beside someone's chair
Piano wide open—
But nobody there
Cards on the table
Dinner still warm
Laundry still hanging
Behind every barn
Clock tower ticking
Church bell struck one
Sign at the edge said—
Population: none
Population: none!
Turn that horse and run!
When the bells ring twelve
And the daylight's done—
Don't look back!
Don't ask why!
Don't wait around
To say goodbye!
If you're still here
When midnight comes—
Population: none!
Walked through the hotel
Beds still made
Ledger left open
To yesterday's date
Found one LINE written
Across every page
"Leave before dark"
No name
No date
Sun hit the mountains
Temperature fell
Then every door in town
Opened itself
My horse started pulling
Trying to run
That's when I knew—
I should've listened to someone
Population: none!
Turn that horse and run!
When the bells ring twelve
And the daylight's done—
Don't look back!
Don't ask why!
Don't wait around
To say goodbye!
If you're still here
When midnight comes—
Population: none!
Eleven fifty-nine
Town went still
No wind
No dogs
No sound from the hills
Then that old piano
Played one note
Church bell rang
My horse broke loose
One
Lights came on
Two
Footsteps upstairs
Three
Something whispered—
"He's still here"
I ran for the street
Four! Five! Six!
Shadows filled windows
Where nobody lived
Seven! Eight!
Front door slammed
Nine! Ten!
I saw faces
That weren't there then
Eleven!
Reached my horse
Grabbed that rein
Then the whole town screamed—
Twelve!
Population: none!
Now I know where they've gone!
Every soul that stayed too late
Is still here holding on!
Ride! Ride!
Beat the rising sun!
Don't let Mercy
Make you one!
I crossed that LINE
When morning come—
Population: none!
Never told the sheriff
Never went back
Some things are better
Left off the map
Years later, a traveler
Asked about Mercy one night
I told him
"Keep riding
Don't stop for the lights"
He laughed
Said towns don't disappear
Maybe he's right
But there's one thing
I still see every night—
That sign in the darkness
That bell counting one
And beneath welcome to Mercy—
Population: none
Written by: Jonathan Held

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