[Intro: Scratching turntables mixed with a slow, eerie music box melody. A heavy, industrial drum machine beat kicks in.] [Vocals: Rhythmic, breathy, angst-ridden rap delivery, like Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park] [Verse 1] Walking home with a bloody nose, another afternoon Same heavy boots kicking me under the crescent moon. I took a shortcut through the cemetery, hiding in the weeds Found a leather-bound book wrapped in parasitic seeds. I read the Latin backward, dripping blood upon the page Summoned up an entity to manifest my rage. Seven feet of granite, rusted iron, rotting wood Standing at attention exactly where I stood. I told it, "Keep me safe, don't let them hurt me anymore." It nodded with a sound like a slamming vault door. [Chorus] [Massive wall of drop-tuned guitars. Screaming, melodic vocals like Chester Bennington or Tommy Vext of Bad Wolves.] Sticks and stones will break my bones! But you’re the heavy armor that I claim as my own! Crush the opposition, turn the bullies into dust! A monument of vengeance built on adolescent trust! Keep me protected from the violence and the pain! A monster in the shadows standing out in the rain! [Verse 2] [Music strips back to just a heavy, distorted bassline and turntable scratches.] [Vocals: Back to rhythmic rap, but faster, more anxious] Monday morning by the lockers, Tommy shoved me at the bell The golem came crashing through the concrete like a shell. It didn't throw a punch, it just wrapped him in the roots Dragged him down into the floorboards, leaving just his boots. Nobody even touched me, everybody walked away I finally had some quiet, I survived another day. But it’s looking at me constantly, it never shuts its eyes I think it lacks the logic to properly compromise. A falling branch, a speeding car, a scrape upon my knee It calculates the danger and it violently disagrees. [Chorus] [Massive distorted chorus, full volume] Sticks and stones will break my bones! But you’re the heavy armor that I claim as my own! Crush the opposition, turn the bullies into dust! A monument of vengeance built on adolescent trust! Keep me protected from the violence and the pain! A monster in the shadows standing out in the rain! [Bridge] [Music slows into a crushing, doom-metal breakdown. Dissonant, grinding guitars.] [Vocals: Whispering, terrified] I told it I was safe now. I told it to go back. It grabbed me by the shoulders. Everything went black. It doesn't understand life. It only understands preservation. [Outro] [Rhythm section becomes chaotic and heavy, simulating being buried] [Vocals: High-pitched, desperate screaming] It’s dragging me down! Six feet in the dirt! It built a cage of human ribs so I could not be hurt! Locked inside the marrow! Safe from the sun! Safe from the living! The protection is done! I'm perfectly safe! I'm perfectly safe! [Guitars grind down to a slow, suffocating halt, ending with a single gasp for air]
