[Intro | sparse piano, one voltage snap, 8-bit rain, choir on a dry vowel] [Choir, hummed] Ah—ah—ah— the bark has teeth. [Verse 1 | sung, low, piano only, bass pulsing under the floor] The field went white without a cloud The air began to run A yellow mane cut through the rain And said the dark was done I followed sparks across the grass I thought I found a door I didn’t hear the thunder answer I only asked for more [Pre-Chorus | sung, rising, bass climbing against the piano] Don’t bless the bark that finds you Don’t praise the beast that waits It only loves the living pulse Still climbing in your chest [Chorus | lead + storm choir, pulsing bass on the backbeat, piano in stabs] Raikou, Raikou Saint of the thundering mile You wear a raincloud like a lie And smile a voltage smile Raikou, Raikou Mercy made of wire You teach the lost to outrun night Then strike them where they tire [Verse 2 | sung, piano and bass locked] They find them standing in the wet With hair like lifted thread Their mouths still open from a hymn The barking never said The fence-posts lean for half a mile The puddles smoke and black A little 8-bit hymn still ticks Inside a smoking back [Pre-Chorus | sung, rising, bass climbing against the piano] Don’t look too long into the mane A cloud that learned to pray If you can taste the metal rain You’re already the prey [Chorus | lead + storm choir, pulsing bass on the backbeat, piano in stabs] Raikou, Raikou Saint of the thundering mile You wear a raincloud like a lie And smile a voltage smile Raikou, Raikou Mercy made of wire You teach the lost to outrun night Then strike them where they tire [Verse 3 | sung, quieter, piano alone, bass gone] It doesn’t hunt along the ground It hunts the need to flee It waits until you beg the sky To spare the open field It drinks the pulse before the flesh It files you with the rain It leaves a spark-print in the mud To show the next one where you came [Bridge | spoken, one held bass note, piano almost silent] Ho-Oh was the rainbow. The tower was the debt. Zapdos owns the bolt. Raikou is the beast that learned the strike and called the running holy. [Chorus | bigger, bass and piano together, still not triumphant] Raikou, Raikou White chapel, no way home You fold a body into thunder And wear it while you roam Raikou, Raikou Static learned a tune You leave the lowland quieter And hungrier too soon [Final Chorus | lead + full choir, bass and piano together, still not triumphant] Raikou, Raikou Saint of the thundering mile You wear a raincloud like a lie And smile a voltage smile Raikou, Raikou Say it if you dare The cloud bows. The cloud bows. The saint is still hungry. [Outro | piano dying, 8-bit rain ticking, bass fading last] Ah—ah—ah— the saint is still hungry.
