EL DORADO FUNERAL [INTRO — WIND / SHOVEL / HARMONICA BREATH] THUM... THUM... [Low male voice] They said there was gold out west... Funny. Nobody told us what we'd bury to get there. [HARMONICA BENDS] WAAAAH— [VERSE 1] Everybody came with a shovel, everybody came with a dream, digging their hands through the rubble for something they'd never seen. Some brought a map to heaven, some brought a bottle and gun, some spent their whole damn lifetime chasing the setting sun. I watched a poor man find mercy. Watched a rich man lose control. Everybody wanted El Dorado— Nobody asked what it cost their soul. [PRE-CHORUS] So knock— KNOCK. From underneath. Knock— KNOCK. Is anybody listening? There's something still alive down here— and, baby, it ain't the gold we're missing. [DROP / CHORUS] DIG THAT HOLE— BUT DON'T BURY ME YET! I owe the devil nothing, and the daylight a debt. EL DORADO! Let the dead man dance! One hand on the coffin, one hand on chance. Gold in the dirt, dust in the lung— PLAY THAT HARP 'TIL THE FUNERAL'S DONE! [HARMONICA HOUSE RIFF] WAAH—DAH—WAH—DAAAH! [IDM STUTTER] WAH—WA—W-W-W-WAH! [VERSE 2] I met a rich man underground. Asked what his fortune bought. He opened both his empty hands: “Everything I thought.” I said, “Where'd your kingdom disappear?” He smiled beneath the dirt: “Gold survives the body, son— that doesn't mean it's worth.” So I emptied out my pockets. Let every bright thing fall. Turns out when you're leaving— you can't carry shit at all. [PRE-CHORUS] Knock— KNOCK. I heard it underneath. Knock— KNOCK. Something begging me to breathe. Maybe heaven isn't somewhere waiting when we're done— Maybe El Dorado was never in the sun. [CHORUS] DIG THAT HOLE— BUT DON'T BURY ME YET! I've still got a heartbeat this world hasn't spent. EL DORADO! Let the dead man dance! One hand on tomorrow, one hand on chance. Gold in the dirt, fire in the lung— PLAY THAT HARP 'TIL THE FUNERAL'S DONE! [HARMONICA SOLO — RAW BLUES] WAAAAAAH— [Electronic echo answers] —ah—ah—ah—ah [Harp] WAAH—DAH! [Sequencer] WA-WA-WA-WA-WA— [Harp] WAAAAAAAAH! [Machine predicts the next phrase BEFORE the harp plays it.] [ALL SOUND CUTS] [Zerxi, whispered] ...How'd you know? [BRIDGE — HALF-TIME] Maybe we're all prospectors, digging underneath our skin, looking for some golden answer to explain the shape we're in. Maybe there's no buried kingdom. Maybe there's no promised door. Maybe having one another was the fucking gold before. [Silence] KNOCK. Then why are we still digging? [FINAL DROP] DIG THAT HOLE! Let the whole world hear it! If love's still breathing underneath— THEN DIG UNTIL WE'RE NEAR IT! EL DORADO! LET THE LIVING DANCE! We spent our lives on certainty— TONIGHT WE CHOOSE THE CHANCE! No crown! No throne! No kingdom won! Just dirt beneath our fingernails and faces toward the sun! Gold in the dirt! Blood in the lung! PLAY THAT HARP— PLAY THAT HARP— PLAY THAT HARP 'TIL THE FUNERAL'S— [ALL SOUND CUTS] ...done. [OUTRO — INSIDE THE COFFIN] knock. ... knock knock. A tiny harmonica plays from underground: wah... wah... waaaaaah... [Whisper] Maybe... we were the gold. [TAPE DEATH]
