[Key Center: Ambiguous A / F# Minor] [Tempo: 94 BPM] [Production: No-Wave Art Rock, Female Gang Vocals, Dry Post-Punk Bass, Distorted Tambourine, Detuned Piano, Saturated Room Mics, Floor-Tom March, Angular Guitar Stabs, Ribbon-Mic Lead Vocal, Tape Decay, Uneasy Harmony Stacks, Ritualistic Repetition, Beautiful Threat] [Verse 1] [A11] White clothes in the candlelight [A11] Everybody looking purified [Amaj9] Talking circles around the dark [Amaj9] Like they never had a hungry heart [A11] Soft words and sacred signs [A11] Everybody selling peace of mind [Amaj9] But every saint I’ve ever known [Amaj9] Had something buried under stone [Production: Dry bass carries the groove. Floor tom on quarter notes. Harmony singers answer only the final word of each line. Guitar enters as short abrasive stabs.] [Pre-Chorus] [Gm7] You can call a cage a temple [F#m7] If the paint is fresh enough [Gm7] You can call control compassion [F#m7] If you whisper it enough [Production: Tambourine distorts. Piano detunes slightly. Harmonies widen and become less sweet.] [Chorus] [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] Say it till you almost buy it [F#m7] Say it till you think it’s true [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] The shadow doesn’t disappear [F#m7] It just changes clothes for you [Production: Female gang vocals double “love and light.” Room mics slammed into compression. Bass becomes more aggressive.] [Verse 2] [A11] Everybody wants the truth [A11] Till the truth points back at you [Amaj9] Everybody wants to heal [Amaj9] Till the wound becomes too real [A11] Everybody draws a line [A11] Calls their side the grand design [Amaj9] Every age creates a saint [Amaj9] Then watches all the paint peel away [Production: Angular guitar scrapes. Harmony singers begin sounding more accusatory than supportive.] [Pre-Chorus] [Gm7] You renamed envy discernment [F#m7] You renamed fear a sign [Gm7] You renamed anger boundaries [F#m7] Till the anger wasn’t mine [Production: Brief dropout of drums. Bass and voices only.] [Chorus] [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] Everybody wants a halo [F#m7] Nobody wants appetite [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] The darkness never left the room [F#m7] It just learned to be polite [Production: Gang vocals chant “polite, polite, polite” as a rhythmic hook. Distorted tambourine continues underneath.] [Bridge] [Gm7] I trust the hand that’s shaking [F#m7] More than one that’s always still [Gm7] I trust the wolf that knows it’s hungry [F#m7] More than one that says it never kills [Gm7] We’re all carrying something [F#m7] We’re all capable of harm [Gm7] The honest ones admit it [F#m7] The rest just call it charm [Production: Everything drops except bass, floor tom, and a near-spoken lead vocal. Harmonies become a low chant.] [Breakdown] [A11] Love and light [A11] Love and light [Amaj9] Love and light [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Say it long enough [F#m7] Nothing has to change [Gm7] Say it long enough [F#m7] You forget your own name [Production: Detuned piano hammers eighth notes. Tape wobble increases. Voices begin overlapping.] [Final Chorus] [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] We are made of contradiction [F#m7] We are made of want and fear [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] The shadow isn’t the enemy [F#m7] The lie is saying it isn’t here [Amaj9] Love and light [Gm7] Love and light [F#m7] The lie is saying it isn’t here [F#m7] The lie is saying it isn’t here [Outro Production: Gang vocals continue chanting “love and light” while the lead repeats “the lie is saying it isn’t here.” Bass drones. Guitar feedback slowly overtakes the harmonies until only tape hiss remains.]
