[Verse 1: Horror-punk male lead, howled horror-punk vocal] Basement show on Halloween, the ceiling sweatin' black Three hundred kids in rubber masks and paint from front to back Club got one rule since last year when a werewolf threw a chair At the stroke of twelve the masks come off, we gotta see who's there So we tear into the last set and the floor begins to bend Every zombie in the pit is pickin' up a fallen friend Drummer counts it, guitars roar, the bass is shakin' every beam And the clock above the door is crawlin' up to twelve, it seems [Pre-Chorus: Horror-punk male lead, howling higher] Clock says twelve, I grab the mic Everybody, now, you know the rule tonight [Chorus: Horror-punk male lead, full force] Show me your face for the last song Peel it back, the night is almost gone Every mask on the floor, every pretender done Show me your face for the last song [Verse 2: Horror-punk male lead, howled horror-punk vocal] Three hundred rubber faces hit the floor like fallen leaves Kids with acne, kids with braces wipin' sweat across their sleeves But four big boys in the front row, gray as week-old bread Grabbed their chins and pulled and pulled and nothin' left their heads Drummer looked at me, the bass man backed into the amp One had stitches round his collar like the seams around a stamp One had eyes that didn't blink and a voice that scraped like stone He said rule says no masks, brother, and these faces are our own [Pre-Chorus: Horror-punk male lead, howling higher] Clock says twelve, I grab the mic Everybody, now, you know the rule tonight [Chorus: Horror-punk male lead, full force] Show me your face for the last song Peel it back, the night is almost gone Every mask on the floor, every pretender done Show me your face for the last song [Bridge: Horror-punk male lead, front-row harmony, low voices under the lead] So we played it one more time and the front row sang along Low and rotten harmonies on every word of every song Knew the lyrics to our demo that we never pressed or sold Knew the B-side from the basement we recorded in the cold Four gray faces, mouths wide open, singin' louder than the rest And the whole room sang it with 'em, every kid with a sweat-soaked chest [Verse 3: Horror-punk male lead, howled horror-punk vocal] When the lights came up at one, the four of 'em were gone Just four piles of soil on the floor where they were standin' strong Club still got the rule, the masks come off at twelve o'clock But we save four spots up front, nobody stands there, nobody talks And every Halloween at midnight when the masks are on the floor Four gray faces in the front row scream it louder than before [Final Chorus: Horror-punk male lead, full force] Show me your face for the last song Peel it back, the night is almost gone Every mask on the floor, every pretender done Show me your face for the last song [End]
