THE FALLOUT [Intro — AI vocalist, damaged transmission] Now covering… Salt City Lens. Please keep your weapons off the dance floor. [Verse 1] Vegas melted twenty miles west We hung its neon where the roof had been Ran copper from a wreck behind the fence And got the beer lights working once again The banjo player’s missing half a hand Still picks it faster than a man could do Our Salt City Lens cover band Plays Friday nights like Friday nights are new [Verse 2] A stranger came through wearing Army green One human eye, one blinking cherry red He set a silver case beside his drink “Anybody here remember the dead?” The bartender reached underneath the till He shook his head and pushed the case away “Just let me hear the woman sing. I walked six hundred miles to hear her play.” [Pre-Chorus — rising synths, guitar chugs] Her face lit up across the screen He took his hat off when she smiled She said, “Good evening, everybody.” He hadn’t heard that voice in quite a while [Chorus — AI cover band, full country vocal] It learned every song we ever sang. Nobody taught it how to grieve. So turn it up till the rafters shake Let the whole damn wasteland hear We’re dancing in the fallout There’s still somebody here Raise your glass if you’re still breathing Put your boots through the floor We’re dancing in the fallout Give us one song more [Drop — chopped vocals, banjo riff, industrial bass] Fall—fall—fallout! One song more! Fall—fall—fallout! Boots through the floor! [Verse 3] He showed a photograph beside the stage Same crooked smile beneath a cowboy hat “She sang in bars before they built the cage. They took her voice. She never got it back.” He’d found her in a stack of training files A thousand miles from where she used to live Now here she was, announcing last-call time And taking tips she couldn’t spend [Pre-Chorus — accelerating pulse] He opened up the silver case A battery, two wires, a switch “I brought enough to keep her singing.” Then the red eye caught a glitch [Chorus — AI cover band, heavier drums] It learned every song we ever sang. Nobody taught it how to grieve. So turn it up till the rafters shake Let the whole damn wasteland hear We’re dancing in the fallout There’s still somebody here Raise your glass if you’re still breathing Put your boots through the floor We’re dancing in the fallout Give us one song more [Bridge — half-time, exposed twang guitar] His eye began to count down A drone appeared above the door He tore the socket from his face And threw it hard across the floor “Company property,” it told him “Unauthorized use detected.” The bartender raised her shotgun “Your request has been rejected.” [Build — stomping kick, rising distorted synth] The first shot took the drone apart The second blew the speakers wide The stranger wired the battery in And her voice came back online [Final Chorus — AI band and crowd] It learned every song we ever sang. Nobody taught it how to grieve. So turn it up till the rafters shake Let the whole damn wasteland hear We’re dancing in the fallout There’s still somebody here Raise your glass if you’re still breathing Put your boots through the floor We’re dancing in the fallout Give us one song more [Final Drop — festival bass, frantic banjo] Fall—fall—fallout! One song more! Fall—fall—fallout! Boots through the floor!
