[Opening Insturmental — ] The sea is too quiet. That’s how it starts. [Verse I — close, conversational panic] The beach is wearing rust tonight, dead silver flashing in the foam. My little brother skips a stone— it lands and doesn’t sink. A gull drops hard beside the pier. Nobody moves. Nobody speaks. Akashio ga kita, the red water reached the shore before we knew what it could keep. [Build — drums tighten, bass pulses] Don’t touch it. Don’t breathe deep. The tide has teeth underneath. [Pre-Chorus — rising vocal trade] Hey—hey! Back away! Hey—hey! Not today! The water’s red, the sky is clean— that’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. [Chorus — English only, direct and chantable] RED TIDE! DON’T LET IT IN! RED TIDE! IT’S UNDER MY SKIN! The ocean looks alive tonight, but nothing living moves inside. RED TIDE! I CAN’T OUTRUN THE POISON IN THE RISING SUN! [Verse II — frantic, overlapping lines] The harbor smells like burning coins, the engines cough, the radios die. Someone is yelling from a boat, then the sound gets swallowed whole. Umi wa mou aoi janai, the sea is no longer blue. I watch the red climb up the steps and turn the daylight into bruises. [Drop — drums cut to kick pulse] Hold your breath. Count to four. There’s something moving at the door. [Breakdown — heavy, call-and-response] TOO LATE! (Too late!) TOO CLOSE! (Too close!) THE WATER KNOWS! (It knows!) NO SAFE SHORE! (No safe shore!) NO CLEAN AIR! (No clean air!) THE SEA IS EVERYWHERE! [Final Chorus — fast return, layered hook] RED TIDE! DON’T LET IT IN! RED TIDE! IT’S UNDER MY SKIN! The ocean looks alive tonight, but nothing living moves inside. RED TIDE! I CAN’T OUTRUN THE POISON IN THE RISING SUN! [Exit — buoy bell warping, one exhausted voice] The sea keeps moving. Like nothing happened.
