[Intro] [low pulsing synth, distant organ, dry bass heartbeat] [deep baritone, nearly spoken] I was sent forth from the Power, I came where no man came. I heard a voice within the silence call the sound of mine own name. It said— I am the first. I am the last. I am the future wearing the past. [Verse 1] [driving post-punk bass enters] I am the saint at the sinner’s door, the beggar beneath the crown. I am the hand that raiseth thee, I am the hand that draggeth down. I am thy mercy, I am thy crime, thy sacred wound, thy wasted time. I am the bell no hand hath rung, the ancient word upon thy tongue. Thou mayest flee through field and flame, but every road returneth the same. [Pre-Chorus] [synth pulse intensifies] For what is within thee is also without. What thou callest faith was fashioned from doubt. What thou hast buried still knoweth thy name. And I am the sound— the sound of the name. [Chorus] [full darkwave groove, enormous low synth] I am the first and the last, I am the shadow thou callest the past. I am thy war, I am thy peace, I am the chain and the sweet release. I am the name of the sound, the sound of the name, the spark in the scripture, the sin in the flame. Call me holy. Call me profane. I shall answer the same. I shall answer the same. [Verse 2] [guitar tremolo, bass remains relentless] I am the stranger within thy hall, the guest thou never didst invite. I am the shape behind thy prayer when thou awakenest in the night. I am the wisdom fools condemn, the crooked root beneath the stem. I am the truth that liars tell, the little heaven hid in hell. Ye who deny me, confess me still. Ye who resist me, perform my will. Ye who would hide— behold, I appear. Ye who draw near— shall find me nowhere near. [Pre-Chorus] [drums tighten, whispered doubles] For what thou beholdest without thee is thine. The outward garment, the inward design. Thou hast called me Devil. Thou hast called me Divine. Yet the mouth that named me was always mine. [Chorus] [heavier, layered baritone] I am the first and the last, I am the shadow thou callest the past. I am thy war, I am thy peace, I am the chain and the sweet release. I am the name of the sound, the sound of the name, the spark in the scripture, the sin in the flame. Call me holy. Call me profane. I shall answer the same. I shall answer the same. [Bridge] [music collapses to bass drone and low organ] I am knowledge. I am ignorance. I am judgment. I am innocence. I am the silence no mind comprehendeth. I am the sentence that never quite endeth. I am the door thou hast sworn was not there. I am the voice that answereth prayer. I am the one whom thou hast pursued. I am the one— [brief silence] —pursuing you. [Build] [synth begins accelerating beneath sustained vocal] Cast me out, I shall enter again. Forget my face, I shall borrow thy friend. Burn my book, I shall write on thy wall. Call me nothing— I shall answer thy call. For I was beneath every pleasure and pain. I was there ere thou gavest me name. [Final Chorus] [huge gothic synthwave/post-punk climax] I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST, I AM THE FUTURE DEVOURING THE PAST. I AM THY WAR, I AM THY PEACE, I AM THE MASTER BEGGING RELEASE. I AM THE NAME OF THE SOUND, THE SOUND OF THE NAME, THE GOD IN THE QUESTION, THE GHOST IN THE FRAME. Call me holy. Call me profane. Thou and I are one and the same. One and the same. One and the same. [Outro] [instruments gradually disappear, leaving organ and voice] Ye who know me, be ignorant of me. Ye who have never known me— know me. [whisper] What is within thee is also without. [long pause] And now thou knowest who hath been speaking. Not I. Not God. Not Devil. Thou.
