[INTRO — 2:00 A.M. / NO TEMPO] [Close-mic breathing] I can’t sleep… [one detuned piano key] The jester in me… is calling again. [far-left whisper] Again… [far-right whisper] Again… [CENTER — smiling] He wants his head— to play with the dead. [LOW SUB THROB BEGINS] While I just grin… I hand it over again. [VERSE 1 — 74 BPM / BROKEN TRIP-HOP] I applaud the grave, I thank the day, then urge myself— “Go on… run off and play.” Bare feet through the cemetery, bells tied around my teeth, something keeps laughing from somewhere underneath. I know that laugh. I know that sound. It sounds like mine— with its mouth underground. [PRE-CHORUS — ARP BEGINS STUTTERING] So I— I-I-I— rip off my head— and give it to me. [ALL MUSIC CUTS] HAHAHA— what a beautifully… gruesome… scene. [DROP — BROKEN-BEAT HOUSE / DISTORTED BLUES HARP] CLAP! My hands start clapping. CLAP! But they aren’t keeping time. CLAP! Every grave starts opening— like mouths learning how to smile. [CHORUS — THRASHING MELODIC SCREAM] THERE I AM— STANDING BESIDE MYSELF! HOLDING THE HEAD THAT’S HOLDING ME! WHO HAVE I BEEN? WHO HAVE YOU SEEN? WHO’S WEARING WHO IN THIS BEAUTIFUL SCENE?! [SCREAM — LONG NOTE] GIVE ME MY HEEEEEEEEEEAD! [distortion stretches “head” into the synth] So I can lose it again. [VERSE 2 — HALF-TIME / UPRIGHT PIANO + RESONATOR] I carried it gently like something divine. A skull full of yesterday, still begging for time. One eye remembered. One eye dreamed. The mouth just whispered— “You’re not what you seem.” [WHISPER EXCHANGE] “Is this yours?” No. “Is this mine?” No. “Then whose is it?” [STUTTERING ARP ACCELERATES] I-I-I-I-I— don’t— know. [JESTER — DRY, DEAD CENTER] “Then WHO have we been wearing this whole fucking time?” [ABSOLUTE SILENCE] [BRIDGE — FREE TIME] I look toward the grave. The grave… looks back. I bow. [one clap from underground] It applauds. [second clap] I bow lower. [hundreds of warped claps emerge] And somewhere beneath my feet— something starts laughing… in my voice. [LAUGHTER GRANULARIZES INTO RHYTHM] Ha… ha-ha… h-h-h-ha— HA-HA-HA-HA— [SECOND DROP — 148 BPM DOUBLE-TIME FEEL] [STUTTERING SEQUENCER ARP BECOMES MAIN RIFF] RUN! Run off and play! Give your head to the end of the day! DANCE! Dance with the doubt! Turn yourself inside— LET THE JESTER OUT! [THRASHING SCREAM] I’M NOT GOING DOWN TO WAKE THE DEAD— I BROUGHT THE DEAD UP HERE TO DANCE INSTEAD! [VIOLIN SCREAM / HARMONICA ANSWERS] [FINAL CHORUS — HALF-TIME, HUGE] There I am— standing beside myself. No crown. No name. No head on the shelf. The dead never asked me to lie in their grave. They kicked open the dirt and screamed— “GO PLAY!” [INSTRUMENTS DROP EXCEPT PIANO] So maybe the dead were never asking me to join them. Maybe they were waiting for the living to finally come out… and play. [FINAL BUILD] So here— you can have my head again. [ARP STUTTERS] H-h-have— my— head— again— [WHISPER] Just bring me back… something I’ve never thought before. [FALSE END — 4 SECONDS SILENCE] [CHILD-SIZED MUSIC BOX PLAYS THE ARP MELODY] [JESTER — BEHIND LISTENER] “…found it.” [ONE VIOLENT SAX / VIOLIN UNISON SHRIEK] [END]
