Smile for Me (Casta)

[Intro, soft, intimate, unsettling] Come now, Jake… Don’t look away. You know I hate it when you look away. There it is… Almost. Smile for me. [Verse 1, smooth, dark, restrained] We were rooftop kings with our knees all bruised, Two little ghosts with nothing to lose, You cried in the corner, I bloodied my hand, I was your shelter in that rotten old land. Then came silver with a violet shine, Cold little teeth sinking under my spine, I woke up smiling, you called it grace, But something else learned the shape of my face. [Pre-Chorus, quiet, obsessive] You stepped back, I reached in, You said no, I wore your skin inside my memory, soft and sweet— Now every road brings you back to me. [Chorus, big, haunting, catchy] Smile for me, darling, smile for me, Show me the boy that you used to be, Before the roofs, before the gun, Before you learned how far to run. Smile for me, love, don’t make me beg, I’ll cut every shadow wrapped round your legs, You can hate me, curse me, flee— Just don’t you dare forget me. Smile for me. [Verse 2, more venom, elegant menace] I took your poem, I stole your dream, Signed my name where yours should’ve been, They called me son in a house full of light, While you stayed quiet in the belly of night. Oh, the Harrington walls burned pretty and red, Such delicate screams from the family bed, You ask me if I did it, I’ll only say this: Fire has always had excellent taste in gifts. [Pre-Chorus, rising, sickly tender] I learned manners, I learned grace, I learned how to wear another face, But you, sweet Jake, you still can see the boy who died and smiled back at me. [Chorus, stronger, theatrical] Smile for me, darling, smile for me, Show me the boy that you used to be, Before the roofs, before the gun, Before you learned how far to run. Smile for me, love, don’t make me beg, I’ll cut every shadow wrapped round your legs, You can hate me, curse me, flee— Just don’t you dare forget me. Smile for me. [Bridge, slow, intimate, dangerous] I never wanted all of them, Their coin, their beds, their family name, I wanted you to turn around and say you missed me just the same. I know, I know, I broke the door, I left you locked beneath the floor, But weren’t we always better bruised? Weren’t we born to be misused? [Breakdown, whispered, almost loving] You think I hunt for money? No. Coin is dull. Blood is noisy. Fear is common. But you… You make such beautiful silence. [Final Chorus, explosive, obsessive, grand] Smile for me, darling, smile for me, Let all the ruined angels see, The city took you, made you cold, But I knew your heart when it was gold. Smile for me, love, I’m at your door, I’ve been here since we were twelve years old, You can shoot me, break me, bleed— But you’ll never be free of me. Smile for me. Smile for me. [Outro, soft, chilling] There… That little tremble. That little hate. That’s close enough, Jake. That’s close enough.