[Intro][Art Rock][Melancholic Piano][Clean Guitar]
(Instrumental intro, sorrowful and sparse)

[Verse 1][Narrative][Male Vocal]
The midwife's hands, they trembled so,
As fever claimed what we held close.
A breath too short, a life undone,
My little boy, my precious son.
The winter clung, a shroud of white,
And stole the stars from his fading light.

[Verse 2][Narrative][Male Vocal]
Then came the man, with parchment grim,
His ledger full, his heart a whim.
A parish fine, for straw too old,
A debt demanded, stark and cold.
He spoke of rules, of due decree,
While death had stolen him from me.

[Pre-Chorus][Building Tension][Quiet Anger]
The ink ran dark, a smudge of shame,
On bills for earth, and whispered blame.
One man's grief, a silent plea,
Another's duty, set him free.

[Chorus][Heartbreak][Helpless Anger]
Oh, the gall and bitter sting,
To mourn the life the angels bring,
And be harried for a penny spent,
A broken spirit, heaven-sent.
The doctor’s plea, the clerk’s harsh hand,
Lost in this unforgiving land.

[Verse 3][Narrative][Male Vocal]
I walked the fields, where frost did lie,
Beneath a vast and weeping sky.
His tiny grave, a mound of earth,
A testament to fleeting mirth.
The world moved on, it paid no heed,
To this small hurt, this bitter need.

[Bridge][Reflection][Orchestral Swell]
The spring will bloom, the sun will shine,
But shadows linger, yours and mine.
This heavy weight, this silent war,
Of loss and law, forevermore.

[Chorus][Heartbreak][Helpless Anger][Fuller Instrumentation]
Oh, the gall and bitter sting,
To mourn the life the angels bring,
And be harried for a penny spent,
A broken spirit, heaven-sent.
The doctor’s plea, the clerk’s harsh hand,
Lost in this unforgiving land.

[Outro][Fading Piano][Resignation]
(Piano fades out slowly, leaving a lingering sense of sorrow)
A penny spent... he's gone... he's gone...