Intro: Whispered, Waterphone screech + Yaybahar drone, heartbeat kick] Yeah... they used to laugh... (Yaybahar hummin' like the basement door won't close) Remember his name though... (You shouldn't have laughed at him) Shhh... [Verse 1] He Was a regular kid with a regular name, Hand-me-down shoes, tryna play the same game, Lunch table cold, they would point and they grin, Locker note read "freak", he would fold it again, Laugh track loud every time that he spoke, Hallway joke, punchline, always the butt of the joke, Teachers look away, yeah they never saw pain, Mama said "be strong" but that strong turned to strain, Backpack heavy, but not just with books, Carryin' years of those dirty looks, Notebook full of names, not for class, for the list, Smile cracked, said "one day y'all gon' get it" [Chorus 1] Don't laugh now, don't laugh now, Halls so quiet, hear a pin drop now, Used to be prey, but the wolves out now, Porch light flicker when he step out now, Don't laugh now, don't laugh now, Every whisper that you said comin' back now, Yaybahar drone when the black out - BOOM, You made a monster, look what you made now. [Verse 2] Same kid, different eyes, see the shift in the lens, Said he done prayin', ain't got no more friends, Took that pain and he twisted it tight, Basement lights low, plannin' all night, Said "they want a villain, imma give 'em a show", That innocent kid that they knew - gone though, Heart turned cold like the floor that he sit on, Hear the Waterphone scream every thought that he spit on, Backpack zip, hallway last walk, No more talk, no more "please just stop", They gon' know what it feel like to fear, When the quiet kid finally make it clear. [Chorus 2: Louder, distorted, aggressive] Don't laugh now, DON'T LAUGH NOW, Blood on your sneakers, can't run now, Every joke that you told comin' due now, Knock knock - who's there? Not you now, Don't laugh now, don't laugh now, Lockers rattlin' like a haunted house now, Yaybahar draggin' chains on the ground now, You made a monster, look what you made now! [Verse 3] Late night, school empty, lights buzz and flicker, Shadow in the corner gettin' sicker and sicker, List on the wall with a slash and a mark, He the reaper in the halls after dark, No more bully, bully beggin' please, That tough talk gone when you down on your knees, Savage payback for the savage years, Drownin' in the echo of your own damn sneers, Wanna play? Let's play hide and never seek, King of the school? Nah, king of the weak, Final lesson that he carve in stone, Don't ever laugh at a kid alone. [Breakdown: Instrumental, whisper, Waterphone scream + Yaybahar vibration] Shhh... shhh... shhh... You hear that? That's karma breathin'... (heartbeat stops - 2 beats silence) [Chorus 3: Epic, Choir layered, shouting] DON'T. LAUGH. NOW! (don't laugh now) DON'T. LAUGH. NOW! (hear him comin' now) This the price when the quiet get loud now, Playground justice, lights out now, DON'T LAUGH NOW! [Outro: Waterphone glissando, Yaybahar long reverb, whispered] He was a normal kid... til y'all made him that way... Footsteps fade down the hall... door slam... (whisper in ear) your turn... [Instrumental Outro with Yaybahar BOING]
