When?

[INTRO — cinematic | sparse minor/modal groove | BOOMING DREADNOUGHT low-string ostinato | deep bass | lazy snare behind beat] [DISTANT WHISTLE — lonely 1→♭3 phrase | huge reverb] [PEDAL STEEL — faint ♭5→5→6 across bar line | sustain 6] Verse 1 [ BARITONE — conversational, lazy, behind beat] Ten miles outside of Tombstone, Moon hanging hard and white, Had the highway to myself On a warm September night. Seventy miles an hour— Engine smooth as it could be. Then every light went black at once... And the motor simply ceased. [DREADNOUGHT STOPS] No smoke. No bang. No warning light. No reason I could see. [PEDAL STEEL — ♭5 begins beat 4 → crosses bar through 5 → lands on 6] Just desert in both directions... And Tombstone ahead of me. Verse 2 [DRY PERCUSSION joins walking pulse | dreadnought resumes sparsely] Phone said NO SERVICE, So I left the car behind, Figured town was close enough And walking beat wasting time. Then somewhere past the next rise I heard a piano play. Saw yellow windows farther on— Thought I'd finally found my way. [DISTANT WORDLESS MALE CALL one note, enormous reverb] Horses tied along the railing. Lanterns burning by the doors. [PEDAL STEEL — begin ♭5 BEFORE transition | cross bar through 5] Funny... I didn't see a single car. [ARRIVE 6 — sustain] Chorus [SPAGHETTI WESTERN widens | restrained,] Something ain't right in Tombstone, Something ain't right tonight. Too many boots on the boardwalk, Too many shadows in the light. Every clock says something different. Every doorway changes when— I know exactly where I am... [HARD STOP] I just don't know when. [PEDAL STEEL — long 5→6 | unresolved] Verse 3 [PIANO faint inside saloon | dreadnought + bass only] Walked into a crowded saloon, Asked the barkeep for a phone. Every card stopped on the table. Every eye said I didn't belong. He stared like I'd spoken nonsense. Said, “Phone? Ain't heard that one before.” Somebody laughed behind me. [TELE/STEEL — short ♭5 sting] Then I noticed the hole in the shirt that he wore. No blood. No wound. Just daylight through the cloth— [PEDAL STEEL — ♭5→5→6] And that grin never once came off. Verse 4 [BOOTHEELS + sparse dreadnought | scenery begins slipping between eras] I stepped outside. The street was empty. Turned around— The bar was gone. Boarded windows, dust and darkness. Then that piano carried on. A woman passed in old black lace. Smiled and said, “Evening, sir.” Ten steps later she passed again— Same smile. Same words. Same turn. [PEDAL STEEL — ♭5 begins early | gliss crosses TWO measures] Third time she stopped beside me. Looked me dead between the eyes— [STEEL ARRIVES ON 6] Said, “You ain't supposed to be here.” [ONE BAR SILENCE] Neither was she. Instrumental — Time Slips [BOOMING DREADNOUGHT — VOODOO riff 1–♭3–4–♭5–5–6 | sparse, dry, percussive] [PEDAL STEEL LEAD — TIME itself | ♭5→5→6 glissandi CROSS BAR LINES | arrive deliberately late on 6 after harmony changes | eerie wide vibrato] [DISTANT WHISTLE adopts ♭3→♭5→6] [FIVE-STRING BASS gradually catches VOODOO vocabulary | NEVER busy] [BOOTHEELS appear/disappear independently of groove] [ONE DRY SNARE CRACK — could be gunshot] Bridge [HALF-TIME VOCAL | instruments nearly disappear] Somewhere down behind the buildings, Three shots cracked against the night. Nobody even turned to listen. [PAUSE] Guess they'd heard that fight. Then I saw a man down yonder, Standing where the street went black. Didn't wave. Didn't call. Just raised one hand... [PEDAL STEEL — slowly rising ♭5] And pointed the way back. [5→6] That's when I ran. Verse 5 [DREADNOUGHT becomes urgent but TEMPO DOES NOT INCREASE] Piano followed half a mile. Then the hoofbeats disappeared. Last thing I heard was that woman laughing— Or maybe that's what I feared. Then I saw my car beside the highway. Headlights burning white. Engine idling smooth and steady. Driver's door open wide. [PEDAL STEEL — familiar 5→6, unexpectedly WARM] I didn't ask who started it. Didn't care to understand. Got behind the wheel and drove— Never looked back at that land. Final Chorus [FULL GROOVE — VOODOO vocabulary now throughout ensemble] Something ain't right in Tombstone, Something ain't right tonight. Some folks never left that town, Some never left that night. Let the historians count the years. Let the clocks explain it then— I know exactly where I've been... [DROP] I just don't know when. Outro [DAWN | dreadnought + five-string | supernatural textures recede] Stopped for coffee after sunrise At a place outside of town. Told the old man at the counter What I'd seen while walking down. He said, “Town gets quiet near midnight. Not much open after ten.” I said, “Mister, I saw Tombstone living.” He studied me awhile... Then: “When?” [PEDAL STEEL — ♭5→5→6 crossing bar line] Reached inside my jacket pocket. Found a token, worn and thin. One side bore an old saloon name. On the other, scratched by hand: NEXT TIME— WAIT FOR MORNING. [DRY WHISTLE — 1→♭3→6] [PEDAL STEEL holds 6 against final minor chord] [NO RESOLUTION]