Holding Midnight Hostage
HOLDING MIDNIGHT HOSTAGE Baylox | Dark Alternative Roots Rock [Intro – Faint ticking clock, low electrical hum, a single detuned guitar note] [Spoken, exhausted, almost conversational] They say tomorrow’s another chance. Funny. Nobody ever asks if I want one. [Verse 1 – Low, intimate baritone, sparse acoustic guitar] I keep stealing hours from tomorrow, Like there’s something left tonight to save. Everybody says that sleep brings peace, But peace just brings another day. There’s a dirty glass beside the bed, A ceiling full of things I never said. The refrigerator hums like distant traffic, And the silence makes a racket in my head. Three seventeen, the walls are breathing, Four oh two, the dark won’t leave. I’ve been bargaining with the morning For a little more time I don’t believe in. [Pre-Chorus – Bass enters, slow rising tension] And I know the sun will find me, Like a debt collector at the door. Every morning comes demanding What I couldn’t give the day before. [Chorus – Huge, distorted roots-rock guitars, raw emotional vocal] I’ve been holding midnight hostage, Keeping morning at the door. ’Cause tomorrow always wants from me A little more than I have anymore. I’ve got nothing left to bargain, Nothing beautiful to say. If I close my eyes for five damn minutes, They’ll open on another day. And I’m not ready. God, I’m not ready. So I’m holding midnight hostage Till the darkness goes away. [Verse 2 – Heavy drums, gritty bass, increasingly bitter delivery] I got laundry in the corner, Got a paycheck spent by noon. Got a list of things I’m failing Pinned beneath a fridge magnet moon. Got a phone full of unanswered people, A thousand things I ought to do. Everybody’s got a little piece of me, And every piece is overdue. They say get up, get out, get moving, Take a walk, go find some air. Like I haven’t tried a hundred different ways To make myself want to be there. [Pre-Chorus – Tension builds, drums drop out on final line] I don’t need another sunrise With its motivational lies. I need one night without a question, One hour I don’t have to justify. [Chorus – Full band, darker harmonies] I’ve been holding midnight hostage, Keeping morning at the door. ’Cause tomorrow always wants from me A little more than I have anymore. I’ve got nothing left to bargain, Nothing beautiful to say. If I close my eyes for five damn minutes, They’ll open on another day. And I’m not ready. God, I’m not ready. So I’m holding midnight hostage Till the darkness goes away. [Bridge – Instruments collapse into a low drone, voice nearly whispered] I don’t think I’m scared of dying. I’m just tired of losing days. Tired of waking up already Three steps behind a life I can’t explain. And there’s a difference between living And just being here to stay. I used to dream about tomorrow. Now I just negotiate. [Instrumental Break – Feedback, distorted slide guitar, pounding floor toms, ticking clock accelerating beneath the mix] [Final Chorus – Strained, nearly breaking vocal; no polished harmonies] I’ve been holding midnight hostage, But the morning found a way. Crawled beneath the bedroom curtains, Put its hands around the day. And tomorrow wants its payment. And I haven’t got a thing. Just a heartbeat and a headache, And a phone that’s gonna ring. I’m not ready. No, I’m not ready. But the light is on the ceiling, And the clock says six oh eight. [Outro – All instruments cut except ticking clock and faint guitar] [Spoken, dry, exhausted] I think the reason I stay awake so late… Is because going to sleep Means tomorrow gets here faster. [Long silence] [Whispered] And tomorrow’s already here. [Clock stops]
