Poison

[Key: F minor | 88 BPM | 4/4 | dark trip-hop, dub-soul, leftfield hip-hop] [Low male lead, dry close verses, layered hook, restrained distortion] [INTRO - vinyl dust, tremolo guitar motif, sub pulse] [TAPE HISS] [LO-FI DRUM LOOP] [DETUNED WAH GUITAR SWELL] ª ªªªª ª ªª ª ª ªªªª ª ªª ª haa…haa… ª rmmm… ª nana… ª nana… ª ª ª ª ªªªª ª ªª ª ª ªªªª ª ª ªª uu…uuuu haa… ª ªª uu…uuuu haa… huu… huu… haa-aa… wake slow…a [Flute phrase bends upward] (Yeah…) Still doin’ it-mm ※ [INTRO - vinyl dust, tremolo guitar motif, sub pulse] (whisper) Sweet on the tongue, cold in the blood. I knew your name before I knew what it was. [VERSE 1 - dry drums enter, syncopated bass] You came in slow with a coat full of rain, half little miracle, half little stain. Said, "Don't ask questions, just follow the taste," so I let one bad minute turn into a waste. Now every room keeps a trace of your skin, every good warning arrives too thin. I put my hand where the fever began, you smiled like trouble already had plans. [PRE-CHORUS - bass opens, harmony rising] I know the color, I know the sign, I know what happens when your mouth meets mine. Still I lean closer, still I don't move, some kinds of danger got nothing to prove. [CHORUS - wide guitars, layered vocal] POISON you make it sweet enough to swallow. POISON you leave me one step from tomorrow. Slow in my blood, sharp in my head, I hear every warning and choose you instead. POISON I know exactly what you are. [POST-CHORUS - chopped vocal] (Po-po-poison) One drop, two drops, under my tongue. (Po-po-poison) Too old to run, too young to be done. [TAPE HISS] [LO-FI DRUM LOOP] [DETUNED WAH GUITAR SWELL] ª ªªªª ª ªª ª ª ªªªª ª ªª ª haa…haa… ª rmmm… ª nana… ª nana… ª ª ª ª ªªªª ª ªª ª ª ªªªª ª ª ªª uu…uuuu haa… ª ªª uu…uuuu haa… (huu… huu… haa-aa… wake slow…) [DJ BACKSPIN - drums slam in] [VERSE 2 - heavier kick, guitar answers] You never promised me heaven or home, you just made loneliness feel less alone. Black coffee cooling beside the bed, your little laugh still turning in my head. I tried clean hands, I tried leaving at dawn, counted the hours till the wanting was gone. But want is a liar with perfect teeth, it says, "Just one more," then it cuts underneath. [PRE-CHORUS - rising strings, doubled lead] I know the color, I know the sign, I know what happens when your mouth meets mine. Still I lean closer, still I don't move, some kinds of danger got nothing to prove. [CHORUS - bigger drums, harmony stack] POISON you make it sweet enough to swallow. POISON you leave me one step from tomorrow. Slow in my blood, sharp in my head, I hear every warning and choose you instead. POISON I know exactly what you are. [INTERLUDE - distorted guitar solo, dub delay on snare, bass vamp] [BRIDGE - drums thin out, spoken then rising] (spoken) No doctor, no priest, no friend at the door. I know what heals me. I still want more. (sung) So cut the glass clean, let the last drop fall, I won't blame love for the shape of it all. If I walk away, I walk on my own, with your bitter little kingdom out of my bones. [BUILD - toms, arpeggiated synth, crescendo] You taste like mercy, you hit like truth. You took my balance, I gave you proof. One final second, one final choice I feel the burn and I find my voice. [FINAL CHORUS - full band, higher harmony, guitar counterline] POISON you made it sweet enough to swallow. POISON but I can see past tomorrow. Slow in my blood, clear in my head, I hear every warning and leave you instead. POISON I know exactly what you are. POISON and now I know exactly where you end. [OUTRO - bass and guitar motif, diminuendo] (half-whisper) Sweet on the tongue, gone from the blood. I knew your name. Now I know what it was.