[Intro: chiptune arpeggio riff, deep triangle-wave sub-bass, rising pitch-bend howl sweep, fast blip-cricket pulse] [Verse 1: aggressive female chip-rap, 8-bit hi-hats and triangle-bass, square-wave arpeggio stabs, blip-cricket pulse] They tax the seed till the farmer bleeds dry Burn the ranch under a blackened sky Smash every barrel that catches the rain Chain the green leaf, put the soil in chains No drop for the root, no sip for the vine Empire of Dust with the blood-tax design Chiptune howls sweep the names of the ones they erased [howl sweep FX] But this greenhouse lady ain’t leavin’ no space [Pre-Chorus: vocal pulls back, chip-choir pad enters low, chip-string swell] I feel the cricket’s cry… the bird’s last flight… [blip-cricket chirp, bird-call bleep] The howl in the dark that refuses the night [howl sweep, chip-choir swell] [Chorus: explosive belting, kobushi pitch wobble on “rain,” full chip-choir, boss-battle beat, triangle-bass hits, arpeggio weaving] Empire of Dust — you can’t tax the rain! Empire of Dust — you can’t tax the rain! Roots rise up through the ash and the pain! Lady Verdant raps and the wild stakes its claim! [howl sweep echoes, chip-choir accent] [Hook: chantable group vocal, stomping NES-drum percussion, arpeggio and choir locked, howl sweep as rhythm] You can’t tax the rain! You can’t tax the rain! Howl FX blares it loud — you can’t tax the rain! [howl sweep punctuates each line] [Verse 2: faster chip-rap, drums intensify, bird/cricket blips keep tempo, arpeggio stabs] You outlaw the water that falls from the sky Call it a crime when the thirsty plants cry Torch the old ranch hands, scatter their bones But the Greenhouse Groovers are sharpening tones Bird bleeps chirp the beat, cricket blips keep time [bird chirp, cricket blip] Howl sweep at my back while I spit this rhyme [howl sweep] Overreaching crown with the withering hand I’m the last free leaf in this dust-choked land! [Bridge: near silence, solo arpeggio and sustained chip-choir note, howl sweep and wind noise, cricket blip fading, building dread] Ooooh… the ranches are smoke… the barrels are broke… [distant howl sweep] But the root remembers the rain… [cricket blip fades, chip-choir begins to swell] [Final Chorus + Hook: max intensity, bitcrushed kobushi belting, full chip-choir, triangle-bass, arpeggio, all blips combined — driving boss-battle percussion] Empire of Dust — you can’t tax the rain! Empire of Dust — you can’t tax the rain! We’ll water the free with the storm in our veins! You can’t tax the rain! You can’t tax the rain! [howl sweeps, bird bleeps, chip-choir, arpeggio swell into fading pixel-glitch outro]
