# BOULEVARDIER [Intro - Bowed Cello, Three Crystal Taps, Low Female Whisper] Three turns. No toast. (Count them.) [Verse 1 - Low, Controlled Female Vocals] Crystal lanterns above the tiles Held by wire no thicker than hair Every guest applauds the ceiling Not a soul asks what keeps it there You arrive with cufflinks flashing And a surname like a stolen key I don't need a view of your face To hear the metal in your speech [Pre-Chorus - Ascending Strings, Mechanical Percussion] Rye lays down the opening note Campari cuts the whiskey red Sweet vermouth rounds out the edges Orange oils bloom above the rim (Stir it.) [Chorus - Hypnotic Melody, Heavy Industrial Trip-Hop] Boulevardier Red turning circles round the ice Boulevardier I won't make the same offer twice Nobody questions the stitching Till the whole room starts to sway What you mistook for decoration Is the thread that holds the weight (Holds the weight) [Post-Chorus - Glitched Female Whispers, Metallic Percussion] (Measure by measure.) (Not a sound.) [Verse 2 - Rhythmic, Precise Female Delivery] The orchestra drops half a measure When your contract crosses mine You have numbered every doorway Never traced a single line I leave a ring upon the paper Where the crimson meets the white You can buy the invitations Not the structure of the night You keep reaching for your pen Like the answer's yours to write But the strings above the table Have been listening all night [Pre-Chorus - Cello Tremolo, Rising Distortion] Set the spoon across the saucer Hear the instruments withdraw Now you're staring at the ceiling Like you've never seen it before (Now you see.) [Chorus - Layered Female Harmonies, Deep Sub-Bass] Boulevardier Red turning circles round the ice Boulevardier I won't make the same offer twice Nobody questions the stitching Till the whole room starts to sway What you mistook for decoration Is the thread that holds the weight (Holds the weight) [Instrumental Break - 8-Bar Dark Classical Cello Solo] [Violent bowed cello tremolo develops into an intricate descending solo. Industrial percussion fractures into irregular metallic strikes. Contrabass pulses beneath dissonant string harmonics. Abrupt digital silence.] [Bridge - Nearly Spoken Female Vocals, Exposed Cello] You mistook the veil for blindness And my stillness for consent Never counted all the tension In the ornament overhead I could turn a single fastener Let the crystal hit the floor But what's the point of having power If you have to prove it's yours? (Prove it's yours...) [Final Chorus - Cold Orchestral Crescendo, Crushing Trip-Hop Drums] Boulevardier Red turning circles round the ice Boulevardier I won't make the same offer twice Nobody questions the stitching Till the whole room starts to sway What you mistook for decoration Is the thread that holds the weight (Don't test it.) (Stay perfectly still.) [Outro - All Instruments Cut, One Crystal Tap] The ice is melting. The ceiling isn't. (Boulevardier.)
