"Return to Sender" [Interlude - Sam (female)] (A lone, distorted acoustic guitar picks a slow, dark blues riff. A heavy chain drags across a wooden floor in the background. Spoken word, calm and dangerous.) They say death comes for every man, that the reaper always collects his debt. But they don't tell you what happens when the reaper pulls a man who is too heavy, too angry, and too damn mean to stay down. Sometimes, hell takes one look at the intake, shakes its head, and sends the monster right back to the surface. [Verse 1 - Matt (male)] (The kick drum drops in like a hammer hitting an anvil. Matt's voice is gravelly, dragging through the dirt.) I’ve been standing on the borderline of breathing and the grave I was never one to beg and I was never one to save I took the hot lead in the dark, I took the cold steel in the side I took the tickets to the ferry, but I never took the ride They zipped the bag up on my chest and tried to turn the page But I woke up spitting brimstone and a different kind of rage I walked right up to heaven’s gate, they locked the pearly door So I took the elevator down to settle up the score. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (A distorted harmonica wails over the heavy, chugging rhythm.) (Matt - male) I looked the devil in the eye... (Sam - female) ...down in the burning black. (Matt - male) He saw the fire in my lungs... (Sam - female) ...and then he sent him back. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The full band explodes. Heavy outlaw-metal riff, massive crashing cymbals, talk box squealing.) (Matt - male) Cause I was too damn mean for the devil to keep! (Sam - female) He’s the nightmare that wakes up the monsters from sleep! (Matt - male) He stamped "Return to Sender" on my heavy iron soul, Said, "Get him out of my kingdom before he takes control!" (Both) I died a dozen times, but the dirt just wouldn't stick! Hell didn't want me, cause I made the devil sick! [Verse 2 - Matt (male)] (The rhythm drops back to that slow, threatening march. A slide guitar moans in the background.) They tried to crush me in the street, ran me over with the tires Felt the rubber and the pavement and the burning of the wires But I just stood back up, cracked my neck and walked away Told the reaper he was gonna have to try another day Hit the impact on the highway, went flying through the glass Tore the windshield into shrapnel in a catastrophic crash Landed solid on the highway without a single scratch or scar Just a pissed-off mechanic looking back at a broken car. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The bass gets louder, driving the tension upward.) (Matt - male) The doctors couldn't understand... (Sam - female) ...they couldn't read the chart. (Matt - male) They couldn't measure out the violence... (Sam - female) ...pumping through his heart. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (Maximum overdrive, every instrument pushing the redline.) (Matt - male) Cause I was too damn mean for the devil to keep! (Sam - female) He’s the nightmare that wakes up the monsters from sleep! (Matt - male) He stamped "Return to Sender" on my heavy iron soul, Said, "Get him out of my kingdom before he takes control!" (Both) I died a dozen times, but the dirt just wouldn't stick! Hell didn't want me, cause I made the devil sick! [Bridge - Matt (male)] (The band cuts out entirely. Just Matt's voice and the slow, heavy stomp of the kick drum.) Shot. Stabbed. Run down. Thrown out. I ain't a ghost. I'm the consequence. Satan took one look at my file... And told me to get the hell off his property. [Outro - Sam (female) & Matt (male)] (The heavy blues riff kicks back in for one final, grinding instrumental loop. Sam’s voice floats over it.) (Sam - female - singing high and haunting) He’s walking on the surface... he’s walking in the sun... (Matt - male - spoken, a low, arrogant chuckle) I guess I’m just too stubborn to die. (A heavy, final chord strikes. The sound of a match striking and catching fire. Total silence.)
