[OCTOPUS POP — 106 BPM • 8/8 body heart, 3+3+2 footsteps and displaced 5+3 pull • intimate romantic body-horror, never theatrical] [EIGHT ARMS — 1 piano Crown remembers the male hook; 2 bowed-glass Mirror carries the female answer; 3 fretless-bass Body pulls palaceward; 4 viola regenerates “I know you—”; 5 skin-drum Ground follows her; 6 sucker-clicks wait behind doors; 7 reed-organ Skin recolors harmony; 8 formant-string Mouth consumes male vocal edges.] [VOCAL RULE — Female mezzo is the uninterrupted primary singer. Male high-tenor appears only in labeled four-line support blocks. Never transfer female lyrics to male. Male human voice stays tender while a lower creature stack trails his words. Female remains uninfected.] [INTRO — Piano regenerates the final “Run” from Part I] (Run…) (Ru—) (Un…) [Female Vocals — Intro] I did. [VERSE 1 — Female Vocals] I ran beyond the courtyard Past the orchard and the well Made it halfway through the village With your blood across my sleeve Washed my hands in vinegar Stole the jailer’s iron ring Mapped the eastern rooms from memory Wrote down everything If I’m not back by morning Burn the coat and bar the road Then I turned toward the palace While they begged me not to go [PRE-CHORUS 1 — Female Vocals] I knew your crooked finger You knew my bitten thumb I heard the man beneath the mouths Still fighting them to say “run” One voice wanted distance One tried pulling me inside I heard both intentions clearly Neither one decides [CHORUS 1 — Female Vocals] You told me to run You made it to the gate Made it halfway through the village You came back anyway I know what you are I know what i did But something in your warning Still sounded like him Keep your teeth behind you Keep both hands where I can see You don’t have to make me fearless Just remember me [“Me” becomes bowed glass; male stacks remain wordless] [VERSE 2 — Female Vocals] The captain faced the wallpaper And softly counted tongues Every room had learned my breathing But each one said it wrong I kept my gloves above my elbows Kept the iron at my side Found me chained inside the chamber Trying not to come untied Four pupils fixed upon you Only two looked glad you came You pulled until the flooring cracked Then went rigid at my name My mouth opened much too widely Two instructions left at once: One was begging me to leave you One was asking me to come [MALE SUPPORT BLOCK 1 — Male Human Vocals With Lower Creature Stack — Exactly Four Lines] Perish, leave— (Come touch the bars…) Don’t let me near you— (Come where you are…) [Female Vocals Resume — Dry And Firm] Neither one of you decides for me. [REGENERATIVE PHRASE — Female Vocals] I know you— I know you still— I know you’re under— I know you will— [INK-CLOUD — Male stacks become wordless; female remains clear] [Female Vocals] Look at me Keep looking here Let every other mouth go loose Until mine is all you hear [CHORUS 2 — Female Vocals] You told me to run You came back prepared Four locks behind my body And the fifth key in your hair I know what you are I’m learning what it does It copies how you hunger But it cannot copy us Keep your teeth behind you Let the other mouths complain You don’t have to say you love me Say my middle name [VACUUM — Every arm stops; creature stack fails wordlessly] [BRIDGE — Female Vocals] I wore green the night you met me You spilled wine across your cuff You lied and said you liked the color Then bought six more shirts because— I won’t finish it for you I won’t answer in your place I’ll Find the word I used that evening Push it through the borrowed face [JET IMPACT — Eight arms compress] [MALE SUPPORT BLOCK 2 — Male Human Vocals Fighting Lower Creature Stack — Exactly Four Lines] Green against your skin— (Closer…) Made your eyes look— Gold. [VACUUM SILENCE] [Female Vocals — Barely Audible] There you are. [FINAL CHORUS — Female Vocals] You told me to run I came back anyway You can break the room around us But you still know what to say I know what you are You know I’m still in here Put your hand against the iron Mine is waiting here Keep your teeth behind you Let the borrowed voices leave You don’t have to make me fearless Just remember me [OUTRO — Female Vocals] I know you— Keep looking here— I know you— I’m still here— [MALE SUPPORT BLOCK 3 — Male Human Vocals, Creature Stack Fading — Exactly Four Lines] I came back— I told you, “Run”— I know you— Perish. [All eight arms change identity around one shared vowel; female remains dominant] [Female Vocals — Against The Bars] There you are.
