[Intro — three slow knocks against an old wooden door] [A faint, detuned harpsichord plays a crooked melody] [A hollow wooden clack answers each phrase] [Bassoon and bass clarinet begin a mischievous, unsettling 6/8 figure] [Pizzicato strings join, circling the melody] [Heavy distorted guitars and pounding drums burst into a frantic gothic jig] [Verse 1 — sly, nimble female vocals, rhythmic theatrical phrasing] Three knocks struck the old oak door The fiddles started up once more White ribbons brushed the windowpane A horse's skull sang out my name The mayor dropped his cup of wine The mare held out a crooked line I gave the room my sweetest smile And sang it back in perfect time [Pre-Chorus — skittering strings, sharp brass accents] She holds the note I match the pitch The latch begins To turn an inch The mare at the door Can wait one verse more! [Chorus — enormous dark melodic hook, heavy guitars and tumbling orchestration] SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! DON'T LET HER HAVE THE LAST WORD! A HOLLOW JAW, A RIBBONED SKULL AND THE SWEETEST SONG YOU'VE HEARD! SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! THE FROST IS ON THE FLOOR! AND EVERY TIME WE FIND A RHYME SHE KNOCKS ONCE MORE! [Post-Chorus — eerie layered female harmonies, bouncing 6/8 rhythm] SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! [Three rhythmic wooden clacks] [Instrumental — crooked harpsichord and bassoon duet, answered by crunchy guitar riff] [Verse 2 — increasingly mischievous, rapid rhythmic vocals] She praised the bread, condemned the gin And named the dead among our kin I gave her rhyme a sharper end She snapped her jaw and sang again The kettle whistled out of key The rafters answered after me From every wall the chorus came In voices I could almost name [Pre-Chorus — increasingly frantic strings, unsettling female harmonies] She holds the note I match the pitch The latch begins To turn an inch The mare at the door Can wait one verse more! [Chorus — bigger distorted guitars, full orchestra, haunting harmonies] SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! DON'T LET HER HAVE THE LAST WORD! A HOLLOW JAW, A RIBBONED SKULL AND THE SWEETEST SONG YOU'VE HEARD! SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! THE FROST IS ON THE FLOOR! AND EVERY TIME WE FIND A RHYME SHE KNOCKS ONCE MORE! [Post-Chorus — layered female voices, dissonant harpsichord accents] SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! [Instrumental — frantic bassoon and violin runs over pounding guitars] [Breakdown — crushing syncopated guitars, stomping 6/8 drums, sinister low brass] [The harpsichord motif twists into a darker minor-key variation] I HAD ONE VERSE SHE HAD ONE MORE THE FROST CREPT IN BENEATH THE DOOR I HELD MY BREATH TO SING AGAIN THE EMPTY SKULL KNEW HOW IT ENDS! [The mare's hollow jaw clacks three times] [Sudden half-beat silence] [Full band explodes] [Extended Instrumental — frantic gothic orchestral-metal duel] [Harpsichord and bass clarinet exchange rapid chromatic phrases] [Bassoon answers with a mischievous descending melody] [Distorted electric guitar interrupts with a heavy syncopated riff] [Violins race against the guitar, brass interrupts with dissonant fanfares] [The opening melody returns, now played by the full orchestra in increasingly unsettling harmony] [The entire band locks into a powerful, irresistible 6/8 groove] [Final Chorus — enormous female lead, haunting layered harmonies] SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! WE GAVE HER THE LAST WORD! A HOLLOW JAW, A RIBBONED SKULL AND A HUNDRED VOICES MORE! SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! THE FROST IS ON THE FLOOR! THE DOOR SWINGS WIDE THE SONG WALKS IN SHE DOESN'T KNOCK ANYMORE! [Final Refrain — infectious, increasingly uncanny full-band singalong] SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! SING IT BACK! [Frantic orchestral flourishes, heavy guitars and pounding drums] [Outro — the harpsichord melody becomes quiet and slightly detuned] [The wooden door closes] [Three soft knocks come from inside the room] [One hollow jaw-clack] [Silence]
