WHEN THE DAMNED BEGIN TO SING

outlaw country, Southern hard rock, bluegrass

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(Opening — distant shakuhachi breath, bowed erhu, cracked vinyl hiss, low upright bass, faint female humming)

(Female lead — low, weathered, intimate, almost spoken)
Midnight leaned against the door,
Rain came crawling 'cross the floor.
Piano played with nobody there,
And something started laughing underneath the stairs.

(Guzheng scrape, single banjo pluck)

(Female lead — crooked smile)
Bartender whispered, "Don't touch that string."
Too damn late—
I heard the first dead woman sing.

(Fast speakeasy groove — upright bass, dirty piano, banjo, shamisen, brushed drums)

(Female lead — playful smoky scat)
Mm-ba-da-dum, ba-da-dee-da-day,
Ratta-tat-tikka, let the old bones play.
Shoo-ba-dabba, tikka-takka-ting—
Funny little sound for a dangerous thing.

(Fiddle and erhu answer the scat)

(Verse 1 — driving outlaw country, bluegrass picking)
First came a fiddle from under the ground,
Then an old cracked drum started kicking around.
Shamisen snapped like a knife through smoke,
Banjo answered and the floorboards broke.

(Female lead — building harder)
Dead men dancing in their Sunday best,
Dead girls laughing with roses on their chest.
No one screamed.
No one ran.
Some fool shouted—

(Female lead and gang vocal)
PLAY IT AGAIN!

(Taiko strike — full hard-rock eruption)

(Chorus — huge female lead, distorted guitars, taiko, rock drums, damned choir)
When the damned begin to sing,
Hell goes quiet, hear the church bells ring.
Heaven locks the gates when the midnight swings,
There ain't no stopping what the dead ones bring.
Raise that glass, let the black bells ring—
You ain't heard nothing
Till the damned begin to sing!

(Post-chorus — furious banjo and shamisen duel, fiddle chasing erhu)

(Verse 2 — faster, funky bass, honky-tonk piano, glitch percussion)
Preacher came running with a book in his hand,
Said, "Stop that music! You don't understand!"
Piano hit a chord.
The whole room grinned.
Then the preacher dropped the book and said—

(Male spoken background voice)
"Well... count me in."

(Female lead — laughing into rapid delivery)
Boot heels hammer and the bottles shake,
Guzheng screaming while the rafters quake.
Taiko thunder, dirty guitar,
Dead man's choir heard a county too far.

(Glitch cut — complete silence)

(Female lead — whisper)
And Hell heard us.

(Low damned choir)
Again...

(Faster scat — female lead, banjo, shamisen and fiddle matching syllables)
Ba-da-ratta-tikka, dum-da-diddle-dee,
Shamma-lamma-rikka, come and follow me.
Tikka-takka-ratta, bakka-damma-ding,
Faster, little sinners—
MAKE THE RAFTERS RING!

(Glitch stutter)
Sing-sing-sing-sing—

(Full band impact)

(Chorus — faster and heavier)
When the damned begin to sing,
Hell goes quiet, hear the church bells ring.
Heaven locks the gates when the midnight swings,
There ain't no stopping what the dead ones bring.
Raise that glass, let the black bells ring—
You ain't heard nothing
Till the damned begin to sing!

(Bridge — tempo drops, haunting koto, shakuhachi, distant choir)

(Female lead — weathered, almost tender)
Maybe they weren't monsters.
Maybe they weren't wrong.
Maybe all eternity
Was just too damn long.

(Erhu rises beneath vocal)

(Female lead — darker)
You can bury the body.
You can bury the name.
But give a lost soul rhythm—
And it'll crawl back through the flame.

(Distant damned choir)
Give us rhythm...

(Female lead)
Oh, you shouldn't have said that.

(Extreme instrumental acceleration — taiko, double-time rock drums, banjo, shamisen, fiddle, erhu, guzheng, distorted guitar)

(Final scat — blisteringly fast, increasingly glitched)
Mm-ba-da-ratta-tikka-takka-dum,
Diddle-riddle-shamma-rikka-here-they-come!
Bada-gada-tikka-ratta-damma-ding,
Shake that grave and pull that string!

(Faster)
Ratta-tatta-bada-dada-diddle-dee-day,
Shamisen-banjo gonna tear it away!
Tikka-rikka-damma-gamma—

(Glitch fragmentation)
Sing—
Sing—
S-S-S-SING!

(Damned choir — enormous)
SING!

(Final chorus — maximum intensity, female lead and massive choir)
WHEN THE DAMNED BEGIN TO SING,
Hell goes quiet, hear the church bells ring!
Heaven locks the gates when the whole world swings,
There ain't no stopping what the dead ones bring!

(Female lead — soaring over choir)
Raise your glass!
Stomp your feet!
Wake every bastard underneath!

(Female lead and damned choir)
There ain't no grave,
There ain't no king,
Gonna stop the damned—

(Female lead — sustained)
WHEN WE SING!

(Instrumental finale — furious fiddle versus erhu, banjo versus shamisen, taiko and rock drums, guzheng glissando, distorted guitar)

(Sudden dead stop)

(Female lead — quiet, weathered, amused)
Bartender...

One more round.

(Single piano note)

(Distant damned choir)
Again...

4672/7500

(Opening — distant shakuhachi breath, bowed erhu, cracked vinyl hiss, low upright bass, faint female humming) (Female lead — low, weathered, intimate, almost spoken) Midnight leaned against the door, Rain came crawling 'cross the floor. Piano played with nobody there, And something started laughing underneath the stairs. (Guzheng scrape, single banjo pluck) (Female lead — crooked smile) Bartender whispered, "Don't touch that string." Too damn late— I heard the first dead woman sing. (Fast speakeasy groove — upright bass, dirty piano, banjo, shamisen, brushed drums) (Female lead — playful smoky scat) Mm-ba-da-dum, ba-da-dee-da-day, Ratta-tat-tikka, let the old bones play. Shoo-ba-dabba, tikka-takka-ting— Funny little sound for a dangerous thing. (Fiddle and erhu answer the scat) (Verse 1 — driving outlaw country, bluegrass picking) First came a fiddle from under the ground, Then an old cracked drum started kicking around. Shamisen snapped like a knife through smoke, Banjo answered and the floorboards broke. (Female lead — building harder) Dead men dancing in their Sunday best, Dead girls laughing with roses on their chest. No one screamed. No one ran. Some fool shouted— (Female lead and gang vocal) PLAY IT AGAIN! (Taiko strike — full hard-rock eruption) (Chorus — huge female lead, distorted guitars, taiko, rock drums, damned choir) When the damned begin to sing, Hell goes quiet, hear the church bells ring. Heaven locks the gates when the midnight swings, There ain't no stopping what the dead ones bring. Raise that glass, let the black bells ring— You ain't heard nothing Till the damned begin to sing! (Post-chorus — furious banjo and shamisen duel, fiddle chasing erhu) (Verse 2 — faster, funky bass, honky-tonk piano, glitch percussion) Preacher came running with a book in his hand, Said, "Stop that music! You don't understand!" Piano hit a chord. The whole room grinned. Then the preacher dropped the book and said— (Male spoken background voice) "Well... count me in." (Female lead — laughing into rapid delivery) Boot heels hammer and the bottles shake, Guzheng screaming while the rafters quake. Taiko thunder, dirty guitar, Dead man's choir heard a county too far. (Glitch cut — complete silence) (Female lead — whisper) And Hell heard us. (Low damned choir) Again... (Faster scat — female lead, banjo, shamisen and fiddle matching syllables) Ba-da-ratta-tikka, dum-da-diddle-dee, Shamma-lamma-rikka, come and follow me. Tikka-takka-ratta, bakka-damma-ding, Faster, little sinners— MAKE THE RAFTERS RING! (Glitch stutter) Sing-sing-sing-sing— (Full band impact) (Chorus — faster and heavier) When the damned begin to sing, Hell goes quiet, hear the church bells ring. Heaven locks the gates when the midnight swings, There ain't no stopping what the dead ones bring. Raise that glass, let the black bells ring— You ain't heard nothing Till the damned begin to sing! (Bridge — tempo drops, haunting koto, shakuhachi, distant choir) (Female lead — weathered, almost tender) Maybe they weren't monsters. Maybe they weren't wrong. Maybe all eternity Was just too damn long. (Erhu rises beneath vocal) (Female lead — darker) You can bury the body. You can bury the name. But give a lost soul rhythm— And it'll crawl back through the flame. (Distant damned choir) Give us rhythm... (Female lead) Oh, you shouldn't have said that. (Extreme instrumental acceleration — taiko, double-time rock drums, banjo, shamisen, fiddle, erhu, guzheng, distorted guitar) (Final scat — blisteringly fast, increasingly glitched) Mm-ba-da-ratta-tikka-takka-dum, Diddle-riddle-shamma-rikka-here-they-come! Bada-gada-tikka-ratta-damma-ding, Shake that grave and pull that string! (Faster) Ratta-tatta-bada-dada-diddle-dee-day, Shamisen-banjo gonna tear it away! Tikka-rikka-damma-gamma— (Glitch fragmentation) Sing— Sing— S-S-S-SING! (Damned choir — enormous) SING! (Final chorus — maximum intensity, female lead and massive choir) WHEN THE DAMNED BEGIN TO SING, Hell goes quiet, hear the church bells ring! Heaven locks the gates when the whole world swings, There ain't no stopping what the dead ones bring! (Female lead — soaring over choir) Raise your glass! Stomp your feet! Wake every bastard underneath! (Female lead and damned choir) There ain't no grave, There ain't no king, Gonna stop the damned— (Female lead — sustained) WHEN WE SING! (Instrumental finale — furious fiddle versus erhu, banjo versus shamisen, taiko and rock drums, guzheng glissando, distorted guitar) (Sudden dead stop) (Female lead — quiet, weathered, amused) Bartender... One more round. (Single piano note) (Distant damned choir) Again...

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