[Verse 1: Pansori male lead, raw and hard over a booming barrel drum and a heavy kick] Every mornin' 'fore the roosters, I go climbin' to the falls Forty minutes up the mountain, slippin' on the mossy walls And my teacher said, "The day I hear you down here in the town That's the day you have a voice, son," and he set his teacup down So I stand there in the spray, and I open up my chest And the water roars right through me like I'm nothin', like a guest First year I spit up red, and I couldn't talk for days Second year I came back hoarser, but I came back anyways Eolssigu, that's the word the old ones holler when it's good And he never said it to me once, he never said I could [Hook: Pansori male lead, full drums] I'm gonna break the water, break the water every day Every voice is born in water, that's what all the old ones say Till the mountain hears me holler and the village hears me too Eolssigu, crack the mountain open, I'll be comin' through [Verse 2: Pansori male lead, harder, barrel drum and sub bass pounding] Third year I'm a fist against a wall that doesn't move Every note I throw, it swallows, every scream it don't approve And the waterfall don't care about my teacher or my name It was roarin' 'fore the kingdom, it'll roar long after fame So I'm yellin' till my ribs ache, and I'm cussin' at the stone And the stone just keeps on fallin', and I'm losin' on my own Then one mornin' I'm too tired to fight it, so I hum And beneath the roar I hear it, there's a note in there, just one It's been holdin' that one note since before my teacher's birth And I'd been fightin' it three years like a man who's fightin' earth [Hook: Pansori male lead, full drums] I'm gonna break the water, break the water every day Every voice is born in water, that's what all the old ones say Till the mountain hears me holler and the village hears me too Eolssigu, crack the mountain open, I'll be comin' through [Verse 3: Pansori male lead, noise wall, the roar rises to white noise and he sings over it] So I find the water's note, and I don't fight it, I just ride Like a boat that drops the paddle and goes out on the tide And my voice goes off the cliff with all the water, all of it Down the mountain, through the pine trees, past the farmers where they sit Down the alley to the teahouse where my teacher has his tea And he sets the teacup down and says one word, and it's for me Jota, that's the word he said, the word that means it's good Three years fightin' with the water, now I'm singin' like I should Wasn't louder than the falls, I never beat it, not a day I just found the note it's singin', and I let it lead the way [Final Hook: Pansori male lead, full drums] I'm gonna break the water, break the water every day Every voice is born in water, that's what all the old ones say Till the mountain hears me holler and the village hears me too Eolssigu, crack the mountain open, I'll be comin' through [End]
