Song Cover Image

The Caterpillar

[Theme: chrysalis claustrophobia; histolysis as sacred terror; identity crushed into usable matter] [SONG FORM: Intro β†’ Verse 1 (Rigid) β†’ Chorus 1 (Full) β†’ Verse 2 (Mirror) β†’ Chorus 2 (Collapsing) β†’ Bridge (Histolysis) β†’ Chorus 3 (Collapsed) β†’ Outro] [Intro - EMO:Apprehension - Requinto Solo - bone-dry F# minor 4-note motif] (Fingertip drags raw across copper-wound strings) (A slow swallow, too close to the microphone) [Verse 1 - EMO:Apprehension - Crawling Voice - rigid couplets, 6-beat pressure] The copper wire wins, The silk decides and binds. The silver seals the seam, I blister in the dream. The cuticle grows cold, The little armor old. The ecdysone draws near, Its chemistry is fear. The fiber forms a frame, I molt my given name. The hormone enters deep, I sink below the sleep. A liquid in the lung, A bitter on the tongue. A shadow finds the wall, I wait inside the fall. The stomach learns to starve, The acids learn to carve. The tether tightens tight, I swallow down the light. (Wet, labored inhalation) [Chorus 1 - EMO:Unease - Crawling Voice & Low Double - 35Hz sub-bass arrives] The ceiling circles down, A calcified white crown. The heavy hollow hum, The underneath-drum. The dark is digging deep, The body begs for sleep. The quiet, creeping numb. The thing I carried was the thing I would become. The thing I carried was the thing I would become. [Verse 2 - EMO:Vulnerability - Crawling Voice - mirror form, identity reversing into matter] I swallow down the light, The tether tightens tight. The acids learn to carve, The stomach learns to starve. I wait inside the fall, A shadow finds the wall. A bitter on the tongue, A liquid in the lung. I sink below the sleep, The hormone enters deep. I molt my given name, The fiber forms a frame. Its chemistry is fear, The ecdysone draws near. The little armor old, The cuticle grows cold. I blister in the dream, The silver seals the seam. The silk decides and binds, The copper wire wins. (Teeth grinding together slowly) [Chorus 2 - EMO:Dread - Crawling Voice & Low Double - collapsing structure] The ceiling circles down, A calcified white crown. The heavy hollow hum, The underneath-drum. The dark is digging deep, The body begs for sleep. The thing I carried was the thing I would become. [Bridge - EMO:Dissolution - Ghost-Choir & Crawling Voice - low-pass closing; caesura as wound] The flesh β€” forgets its border, The muscle β€” melts to brown. The marrow β€” loses memory, The bone β€” begins to drown. The fracture β€” finds the form, The shudder β€” nurses storm. The tissue β€” loosens thin, The water β€” wears the skin. The chrysalis β€” keeps cracking, The copper wire β€” snapping. The acid β€” in the vein, The sugar β€” in the pain. The liquid β€” is the lock, I listen β€” to the clock. The enzyme β€” eats the eye, The old machine β€” must die. The organs β€” come undone, The many β€” make the one. The soup β€” is getting warm, I lose β€” my former form. (Slow, rhythmic throat swallow) [Chorus 3 - EMO:Recognition - Crawling Voice - collapsed form] The heavy hollow hum, The underneath-drum. The dark is digging deep, The body begs for sleep. The thing I carried was the thing I would become. [Outro - EMO:Emergence - Ghost-Choir & Crawling Voice] The thing I carried... (Gasping breath) The thing I carried... Was the thing I would become. The thing I carried... Was the thing I would become. The thing I carried... Was the thing I would become. (High frequencies vanish into warm tape hiss) (Absolute silence)