Witch Bottle by the Gate

[Verse 1] There's an old glass bottle buried by the gate Been there since my great-grandmother's wedding date Full of rusty nails and pins and rosemary and thread Keepin' watch upon the family, the livin' and the dead [Verse 2] She made it in the springtime of nineteen twenty-two When the times were hard and the troubles weren't few She said a little prayer as she buried it down deep To keep the evil from the door and the children in their sleep [Chorus] Witch bottle by the gate, keepin' watch all night Turnin' back the darkness, holdin' in the light Paul Hesch knows the old ways never fade Witch bottle by the gate, standin' in the shade [Verse 3] The nails are for the sharpness that'll turn the harm away The pins'll catch the curses that come driftin' down the way The rosemary's for blessings and the thread's to tie it tight And the bottle holds it all inside, a soldier in the night [Chorus] Witch bottle by the gate, keepin' watch all night Turnin' back the darkness, holdin' in the light Paul Hesch knows the old ways never fade Witch bottle by the gate, standin' in the shade [Verse 4] A hundred years have passed and the old house still stands Through tornadoes and depressions and the changing of the lands Every generation's had its troubles, had its pain But the family's held together through the wind and through the rain [Verse 5] So when I got my own place out on the desert plain I made a bottle just like hers, and I made it just the same Buried it by my gate with a prayer and a song And I know that it'll keep my family safe and strong [Chorus] Witch bottle by the gate, keepin' watch all night Turnin' back the darkness, holdin' in the light Paul Hesch knows the old ways never fade Witch bottle by the gate, standin' in the shade