[INTRO - music box playing a crooked lullaby, distant calliope, low cello drones, faint carnival bells, whispered female vocals] Three months old… And I already knew his throne was wrong. [VERSE 1 - sparse piano, pizzicato strings, warped music box, quiet theatrical percussion] He made me down in Hellfire, not from a mother’s womb. Called me his little masterpiece, then locked me in a room. Three months… that’s all it took. Three months and half his army started listening when I spoke. I wanted his crown. Thought I could do better. Funny thing about rebellion… you don’t win just because you’re clever. [PRE-CHORUS - strings tightening, low choir, distant thunder] So he threw me out. No family. No throne. No second chance. Just Hell behind me and nowhere to go. Then I found the lights. [CHORUS - sinister carnival waltz, full orchestra, calliope, brass stabs, pounding drums, theatrical female lead] Come on in… The show’s about to start. Leave your troubles at the gate, leave your name and lose your heart. Come on in… There’s room beneath the tent. Everybody gets a ticket. Everybody pays their rent. I lost everybody once. I won’t make that mistake again. [VERSE 2 - warmer carnival melody, accordion, celesta, strings, gentle percussion, nostalgic but unsettling] They found me by the roadside, tired, dirty, scared. They didn’t ask what made me. They just took me there. Canvas over our heads, sawdust underneath our feet. Cheap prizes, busted rides, something always burning to eat. They became my family. I didn’t have to ask why. I had somewhere to wake up. Someone waiting when I’d arrive. Then the sickness came. One bed empty. Then another. Then another. And one morning… there wasn’t anybody left. [PRE-CHORUS - music drops, solo cello, distant heartbeat, wind through empty tents] I screamed their names until my throat went raw. Nothing answered. Then something did. [VERSE 3 - siren melody, minor-key waltz, haunting choir, deep strings, increasingly sinister percussion] They were out there. All those voices in the dark. Lost souls. Lonely souls. People nobody came looking for. So I sang. And they came closer. I sang again… and they stayed. [CHORUS - darker, larger orchestra, distorted calliope, heavy drums] Come on in… The show’s about to start. You look lonely. So do I. Funny how we got this far. Come on in… Don’t worry about the end. When the curtain falls, you’ll never have to leave again. I lost everybody once. I won’t make that mistake again. [POST-CHORUS - seductive siren vocals, music box, reversed bells, whispering choir] Follow the music… Follow the light… Just one more game… Just one more night… [VERSE 4 - sinister carnival march, low brass, aggressive strings, pounding toms, distorted organ] At first they walked the midway, ran the rides, worked the games. I gave the empty carnival a thousand borrowed names. But flesh doesn’t last. I learned that pretty quick. So I found a little recipe to make the problem stick. No more rotten faces. No more empty seats. No more watching everything I love disappear beneath my feet. Just souls. That’s all I keep. [BREAKDOWN - almost silent, music box and single piano notes] But children? No. Never them. They’ve already lost enough. [SOFT VERSE - innocent celesta, warm strings, music box, gentle female vocal] They get the clean food. They get the clean drinks. They get the warm lights. They get one night where nobody hurts them. I don’t keep them. I let them go. Because I know what it’s like to be three months old… and have nobody come back. [FINAL BUILD - orchestra swelling, calliope accelerating, bells, choir, rising strings] You can call me monster. You can call me demon. I don’t really care. Just don’t turn off the lights. Because when the music stops… I can hear the empty seats. [FINAL CHORUS - enormous gothic carnival orchestra, sinister choir, pounding drums, distorted calliope, theatrical climax] SO PLAY THE MUSIC! LIGHT THE TENTS! LET THE DEAD WALK THROUGH THE GATES! LAUGH TOO LOUD! RING THE BELL! GIVE THE LOST A PLACE TO STAY! The show’s not over. Not tonight. Not while I’m still here. [OUTRO - music box returns, distant calliope slowing down, empty carnival ambience] Three months old… I just wanted somewhere to belong. [whisper] Now everybody belongs to me.
