[Intro — immediate, close female vocal; one low piano note] Wake up. There is still time. [Verse 1 — restrained; metallic pulse beneath the piano] A yellow kitchen, third-floor light, Your daughter fighting sleep that night. Her little coat beside the door, Your work boots drying on the floor. I struck the window with my wing; You pulled her close and turned the key. [Pre-Chorus — distant strings rising like an alarm] I had no words your mouth could make, Only the glass that I could break. [Chorus — crushing guitars; mournful, powerful] You called me death above your homes— I came to make you leave. I tore my wings against the glass; You only heard a beast. Wings over the silent city— How loud must mercy scream? [Verse 2 — heavier mechanical rhythm; growing desperation] You raised a chair; I struck once more. The neighbors crowded at your door. Behind my wings, the sky burned white; You held her tighter at the sight. She watched me trembling through your sleeve— The only one who tried to leave. [Pre-Chorus — urgent; drums briefly drop out] Forget the photographs, the keys. Take her downstairs. Please. [Chorus — full band; layered female harmonies] You called me death above your homes— I came to make you leave. I tore my wings against the glass; You only heard a beast. Wings over the silent city— How loud must mercy scream? [Bridge — half-spoken female vocal; bass and distant machinery] The buses took you down the road. You carried all your arms could hold. I watched until the last was gone, Then flew back where your lights stayed on. [Brief instrumental rise — alarm-like strings; pounding steel percussion] [Final Chorus — towering, desperate female belt] You called me death above your homes— I came to make you leave. I'd tear these wings a thousand times To hear that child breathe. Wings over the silent city— Let silence fall on me! [Hard cut — all instruments stop except a solitary piano] [Outro — almost whispered] Your window's open now. There's no one left to warn. [Piano alone repeats the chorus melody once, incomplete]
