[Opening — fluorescent hum / drumsticks clicking like a broken clock] 12:00. No cloud. No shadow. No mercy. [Verse I — dry, almost spoken; drums enter one hit at a time] The crosswalk melts beneath my shoes, traffic lights blink sickly blue. A soda can on the sidewalk is hot enough to leave a mark. No birds on cables. No cars in line. The whole block shakes inside the shine. Kuroi shōgo, the noon has teeth. I taste dust where water used to be. [Pre-Chorus — rising, impatient] Tongue like paper— lungs like glass. Don’t slow down. Don’t look back. [Chorus — bright, aggressive, English only] BLACK NOON! BURNING THROUGH MY HEAD! BLACK NOON! THE SUN WON’T LET ME REST! No shade, no rain, no cold in sight— I’m wide awake inside the white! BLACK NOON! I WON’T GO BLIND! I’ll tear a hole through the heat tonight! [Verse II — high/low exchanges, unstable phrasing] The river is a scar of stone, dry fountains cough up coins and bones. A billboard smiles above the street while everybody fights to breathe. Hikari wa uso o tsuku, the light is lying. It looks like gold but leaves us dying. My phone says “weather: clear.” I laugh too loud. There’s no weather left— only a burning crowd. [Breakdown — stomping, heat-haze vocal effects] DRINK! NOTHING THERE! BREATHE! BURNING AIR! MOVE! DON’T STOP NOW! THE SUN— IS WATCHING DOWN! [Final Chorus — full-speed return] BLACK NOON! BURNING THROUGH MY HEAD! BLACK NOON! THE SUN WON’T LET ME REST! No shade, no rain, no cold in sight— I’m wide awake inside the white! BLACK NOON! I WON’T GO BLIND! I’ll tear a hole through the heat tonight! [Exit — all instruments drop except a single ringing high note] 12:01. Still no shadow.
