[Intro - single metronome tick, then silence] Tick. Tick. Tick. [Verse 1 - tight, clipped, riding the click] Tick. The second hand finds me Tick. A shadow cuts the hallway Tick. My name in the quiet Tick. The quiet doesn’t stay I count the beats I’m given I lose them on the way Every click is closer Every click is today [Pre-Chorus - vocals punch on the beat, then stop] Stop. Start. Stop. It’s already late [Chorus - full band slam, then hard cuts to the tick] Death on the downbeat Death in the dark Death in the doorway Death on the mark Tick - I’m still breathing Tick - not for long Tick - the shadow lengthens Tick - and I’m gone Tick. Tick. Tick. Then nothing. [Verse 2 - faster diction, same stop-start grid] Tick. The mirror lags a second Tick. The face comes back wrong Tick. A shape blocks the streetlight Tick. The shape knows my song I bargain with the rhythm I beg it to skip one It answers with the same sound The sound that can’t be undone [Pre-Chorus] Stop. Start. Stop. The clock doesn’t run It hunts [Chorus - full band, harder cuts] Death on the downbeat Death in the dark Death in the doorway Death on the mark Tick - I’m still breathing Tick - not for long Tick - the shadow lengthens Tick - and I’m gone Tick. Tick. Tick. Then nothing. [Bridge - almost only the metronome, voice close and dry] Tick. This was always coming Tick. I just heard it now Tick. No devil. No verdict Tick. Just the how How small a life sounds When you strip it to a click How long a shadow stands there Before it learns your trick [Breakdown - band drops out on each “tick”] Tick - lights out Tick - lungs tight Tick - no one answers Tick - goodnight [Final Chorus - frantic, then the last hits land alone] Death on the downbeat Death in the dark Death in the doorway Death on the mark Tick - I’m still breathing Tick - not for long Tick - the shadow lengthens Tick - and I’m gone Tick. Tick. Tick. [Outro - metronome alone, slowing by a hair, then cut] Tick. Tick. —
