[Intro: clock ticks, a chain drags, monks hum low] Eleven forty Listen close [Hook: weary male lead, monastic choir chants under every line] Lock me in, lock me in, turn it twice and walk away Key goes on the nail and you don't touch it till it's day If you hear me sayin', "Buddy, open up, it's all clear" That ain't Daddy talkin'. Lock me in. I'm not here [Verse 1: low, tired, every word heavy] Every nineteen years the moon comes full on Halloween First time it took me, I was nineteen, skinny and mean Daddy drug me down these steps by the collar of my coat Bolted me to the joist and hummed a hymn from his throat Sat all night on the bottom step and hummed it, never let up Woke up in my own torn clothes, and he handed me a cup Daddy's on the hill now. Only hand to turn the key is nine years old In a rubber wolf mask, and God damn, that joke is cold [Flow switch: double-time rules list, clock ticks get louder] Rule one, don't come down, rule two, don't come near, rule three, if the door starts bendin', run to Miss Rose, she knows why you're here Rule four, when the sun is up, check my eyes through the crack, if they yellow, go back up, count to a thousand, don't look back [Hook: monastic choir under] Lock me in, lock me in, turn it twice and walk away Key goes on the nail and you don't touch it till it's day If you hear me sayin', "Buddy, open up, it's all clear" That ain't Daddy talkin'. Lock me in. I'm not here [Verse 2: eleven fifty-two, chains pull tight] Eleven fifty-two and I'm sweatin' through my shirt Fingernails gettin' thick and my jaw beginnin' to hurt He's on the bottom step with a pillowcase of sweets Mask pushed up on his forehead, tellin' me about the streets He asked me, "Does it hurt?" I said, "Nah," and fixed his ears Wolf mask on my baby, I been dreadin' it for years Worst part ain't the bones, and the worst part ain't the teeth It's I can smell his little heartbeat, and it smells like somethin' sweet [Flow switch: stutter-repeat, his breath breaking up] Go on, go on, go on up, go on, buddy, go on up the stairs Turn it, turn it, turn it twice, don't you look at me, I'm not there Hum it, hum it, hum it loud, that old hymn, then hang the key If you hum it, I remember. If you stop, there ain't no me [Beat Switch: midnight strike, drums double, full monastic choir] Midnight hit the cellar like a truck through a wall Chain snapped tight on the joist, but the joist didn't fall Little voice at the top step hummin' Granddaddy's tune Every note a little shaky, every note against the moon And the thing inside my chest is learnin' how to use my voice Practicin' my "buddy" like it's got another choice [Half-time crawl: tempo halves, choir holds one low note] Six hours to sunrise, and the hummin's gettin' faint Buddy? Buddy, keep it goin'. Buddy, don't you... wait He stopped. The house is quiet. And it's breathin' real slow And it's clearin' my old throat like it's got somewhere to go [Final Hook: choir alone first, then his voice, rougher] Lock me in, lock me in, you turned it twice, I heard Key is on the nail, so don't you trust a single word If you hear me sayin', "Buddy, open up, it's all clear" That ain't Daddy talkin'. Daddy ain't here [Outro: choir cuts, a calm warm voice at the door] Buddy It's all clear Open up
