The Comedy of Tragedy
[Verse 1] Keep both hands locked on the wheel Count backwards at the red lights Smile at strangers, bite my tongue Try to look “normal” at the right times Every bridge I pass at night Starts a quiet conversation Every exit sign feels less Like directions… more temptation Every bad thought buried deep Comes back clawing through the floor I keep acting like I’m shocked Like I ain’t heard them all before [Pre-Chorus] What if I let them win? Would it really be that bad? Maybe all this fighting back Is what’s driving me mad What if every warning sign Was just fear wearing a mask? What if letting go for once Feels better than fighting back? [Chorus] Half of me stops at the edge The other half swan dives Half of me calls for help And hopes we won’t survive Smile like everything’s fine While the static amplifies Half of me still hits the brakes The other cuts the lines [Post-Chorus] [Car radio static begins underneath the music. Vocals become layered, distant, and slightly distorted, like multiple stations bleeding together.] You call it self-destruction I call it finally free It’s okay to blur the lines Between tragedy and comedy [Brief burst of radio static and unintelligible whispering.] [Verse 2] The static used to scare me Now I need it just to sleep Chaos wraps around my chest Like something comforting I slow danced with the sirens Like they wrote the song for me Started laughing at the moments That used to terrify me Everybody screams “don’t jump” Like they can’t see me leaning Like the edge stopped looking dangerous The night it started feeling freeing [Chorus] Half of me stops at the edge The other half swan dives Half of me calls for help And hopes we won’t survive Smile like everything’s fine While the static amplifies Half of me still hits the brakes The other cuts the lines [Bridge] [Instrumentation pulls back. The hum of tires on asphalt and faint radio interference remain. Vocal delivery becomes calmer, almost relieved.] Maybe I got tired Of pulling myself back Maybe peace feels empty When your mind’s wired like that The band keeps playing softly While the ceiling’s caving in And I can’t tell anymore If this is loss… or confidence [Post-Chorus] [Voices now sound fully embedded in the car radio. Some lines pan left and right like changing stations. Occasional static cuts through certain words.] You call it self-destruction I call it finally free It’s okay to blur the lines Between tragedy and comedy [Whispered under static:] “What if you stopped fighting?” “What if this is who you are?” [Final Chorus] [Full instrumentation returns bigger and more triumphant, but the radio voices remain buried underneath.] Half of me stops at the edge The other half swan dives Half of me calls for help And hopes we won’t survive Smile like everything’s fine While the static amplifies Half of me still hits the brakes The other cuts the lines [Outro] [Music strips down to low ambient synth/drone, distant tires on wet pavement, and heavy radio static. The final lines sound like they’re coming through a failing car speaker during a late-night drive.] You call it self-destruction… I call it finally free… [Static crackles.] It’s okay to blur the lines… Between tragedy… and comedy… [Long stretch of static. A faint laugh or exhale buried deep in the mix.]
