[Verse 1] [MALE LEAD — low, close, controlled] There’s a murmur in the plaster, where the pipes run through the room. It gets clearer after midnight, then it stops again at noon. [MALE LEAD] I pressed my ear against it, thought the neighbours had the news. Then it told me what I’d eaten, what I’d hidden, what I’d lose. [Pre-Chorus] [MALE LEAD] I moved into the kitchen. It followed through the brick. I turned the water running. It started counting six. [MALE LEAD — spoken] Six... five... four... [Chorus] [MALE LEAD — melodic, stronger] There’s a voice from the walls, and it talks when I’m alone. Through the concrete, through the plaster, in a tone I’ve never known. [MALE LEAD] It says, [FEMALE GHOST — distant whisper] Come a little closer. [FEMALE GHOST — whisper from opposite side] You’ve heard me before. [MALE LEAD] Then the wallpaper starts breathing and the ceiling drops an inch toward the floor. [FEMALE GHOST — breathy, broken, distorted laugh] [MALE LEAD — quiet] There’s a voice from the walls. [MALE LEAD — rising] And tonight— [MALE LEAD — peak] it sounds like mine. [Verse 2] [MALE LEAD — increasingly uneasy] There are letters in the bathroom, pushed like bruises through the paint. Every morning there are more of them, every evening they look faint. [MALE LEAD] I scraped one with a table knife. The plaster underneath was warm. Something laughed behind the radiator, then the television changed form. [FEMALE GHOST — distant distorted laugh from behind radiator] [MALE LEAD] The hallway has grown narrower. The bedroom has grown deep. And something keeps discussing me whenever I pretend to sleep. [FEMALE GHOST — several faint overlapping whispers, words unclear] [Pre-Chorus] [MALE LEAD] I counted every window. I counted every chair. There’s one more room this evening. [MALE LEAD — quieter] It wasn’t always there. [Chorus] [MALE LEAD — bigger] There’s a voice from the walls, and it talks when I’m alone. Through the concrete, through the plaster, in a tone I’ve never known. [MALE LEAD] It says, [FEMALE GHOST — distant whisper] Come a little closer. [FEMALE GHOST — warped whisper] You’ve heard me before. [MALE LEAD] Then the wallpaper starts breathing and the ceiling drops an inch toward the floor. [FEMALE GHOST — longer distorted laugh, moving left to right] [MALE LEAD] There’s a voice from the walls. [MALE LEAD — rising harder] And tonight— [MALE LEAD — stronger peak] it sounds like mine. [Bridge] [MALE LEAD — very close, restrained] I found a gap behind the wardrobe. Too thin for anyone to fit. I put my fingers through it. Something held them. Wouldn’t quit. [MALE LEAD — spoken] I pulled. [MALE LEAD — frightened] It pulled harder. Then the whole room gave a groan. And from somewhere past the plaster— [FEMALE GHOST — directly behind listener, intimate whisper] Why did you leave me alone? [FEMALE GHOST — low breath followed by a fractured, unnatural laugh] [Build] [MALE LEAD — urgent] The pipes start knocking. The floor starts humming. The lightbulbs pulse. Something is coming. The paint begins to split in lines. The walls repeat each word of mine. [MALE LEAD] I say, “Stop.” [FEMALE GHOST — left] Stop. [MALE LEAD] I say, “Please.” [FEMALE GHOST — right] Please. [MALE LEAD — demanding] I say, “Who are you?” [MALE LEAD — silence] [FEMALE GHOSTS — three distorted female voices from different directions] ME. [Final Chorus] [MALE LEAD — full power] THE VOICE FROM THE WALLS ISN’T WHISPERING NOW. Every pipe in the building is screaming out loud. The plaster bends inward. The floorboards buckle below. Every room has learned my voice. Every room knows where I go. [FEMALE GHOST — faint underneath, repeating fragments of his words] [MALE LEAD — largest peak] THE VOICE FROM THE WALLS— getting closer each time. THE VOICE FROM THE WALLS— using words that are mine. [FEMALE GHOST — distorted copy] Mine... [MALE LEAD — suddenly small] Then everything stops. No pipes. No floor. No sound at all. [REAL SILENCE] [MALE LEAD — close, exhausted] Until somebody new moves in— and I speak [MALE LEAD — transformed into distant wall voice] from the wall. [FEMALE GHOST — very close, quiet breath] [FEMALE GHOST — soft broken laugh]
