The Sound and the Fury

[Intro - ticking clock, soft piano, distant cry] [Verse 1 - slow, melodic, clean tenor, piano and cello] Benjy hears the word "caddie" — the fire burns again. His sister's light is the only name he can say. The pasture fence is broken, the golfers call in vain. He holds a faded slipper, and he waits. [Chorus - group vocal, calm, almost choral, full band] All sound and fury, a tale told by a fool. The house of Compson crumbles — no one keeps the rule. All sound and fury, the shadows on the wall. We rage, we fall, we disappear, and no one hears the call. [Verse 2 - rapid spoken word, anxious, jazz beat, syncopated bass] Quentin winds his watch again — the glass is cracked, the hands are still. He broke the glass to kill the time, but the time keeps killing him. His father said, "It's a man's duty to live," but the river smells like shame. The shadow of his sister wraps around his throat — a beautiful, a terrible frame. He thinks: "I will not be ashamed." [Chorus - same, but with more intensity] All sound and fury, a tale told by a fool. The house of Compson crumbles — no one keeps the rule. All sound and fury, the shadows on the wall. We rage, we fall, we disappear, and no one hears the call. [Verse 3 - aggressive, shouted, distorted guitar, industrial beat] Jason counts the money every night, every hour, every cent. Caddy's bastard daughter is a debt that never ends. "You ruined us, you whore, you thief!" his voice is a razor, his heart is a stone. He'll burn the family with his own cold hand — and he'll bury the crime alone. "God never meant for me to be this small," he screams. "But here I am, the king of nothing at all." [Bridge - spoken, dry, over bass drone, then layered whispering] Dilsey locks the door at night, she prays on her knees. "Lord, I have borne the burden. Lord, I have paid the fees." The fire in the kitchen, the children in the yard. The Compsons are just a whisper in a churchyard card. [Chorus - full, chaotic, then breakdown] All sound and fury, a tale told by a fool. The house of Compson crumbles — no one keeps the rule. All sound and fury, the shadows on the wall. We rage, we fall, we disappear, and no one hears the call. [Outro - single piano note, clock tick, fading voice] Benjy… Benjy… the pasture is closed. The fire went out. The story goes.