[Intro - horror carnival, pinball bumpers, ball-launch thwack, broken music-box winding down, distant calliope, ghostly organ chord, no drums] (click... click... click...) Step right up, step right up Wind me up [Verse 1 - sparse kick, creepy graveyard organ, close-mic whisper, toy-box clicks, tape-stop glitches] Rusty gates and a rotten moon The carousel plays the wrong old tune Porcelain doll with a cracked-up smile Winds me up for a little while Every light in the tunnel flickers on You said forever, and then you were gone Ticket in my hand says "No Way Out" So I dance in the dark and I scream it loud [Pre-Chorus - air-raid siren rising, alarm klaxon pulses, snare roll accelerating, pinball bumpers speeding up, pitch rising] Tilt, tilt, hear the alarm Tilt, tilt, feel the charm Lights go red, lights go red Ball's in the dead [Drop 1 - siren-lead rave stomp, heavy sub-bass, broken music-box hook, instrumental, vocal laughs chopped] (Ha-ha-ha-ha) (Wind me up, wind me up) [Chorus - big stacked vocals, child-choir echoes, pipe organ chords, siren swells, call and response, euphoric-dark] Wind me up, wind me up, let me go Spin me round till the ghosts say no (Let me go) Wind me up, wind me up, one more time Dead man's carnival, and the ball is mine (One more time) Wind me up, wind me up, let me go Haunted heartbeat on a pinball show (Let me go) [Hook - bitcrushed chopped vocal, pitched-down demon double, music-box stalls and restarts, tape-stop at the end] Wi-wi-wind me Wi-wi-wind me up Wi-wi-wind me Game over [Verse 2 - rolling bass returns heavier, rusty chain percussion, whispered doubles, distant calliope warping] Candy-floss ashes in the midnight air Clown in the mirror with my own blank stare Every bumper lights up with a name I know Every ricochet pulls me down below Graveyard organ plays my favorite song Funeral polka, and I sing along You can lock the doors, you can kill the lights I'll be spinning forever in these neon nights [Pre-Chorus - klaxon alarm, siren rising, snare roll, reversed cymbal swell, bumper blips faster] Tilt, tilt, hear the alarm Tilt, tilt, feel the charm Lights go red, lights go red Ball's in the dead [Drop 2 - siren-lead rave stomp with extra percussion, organ stabs, instrumental, laughing vocal chops] (Ha-ha-ha-ha) (Wind me up, wind me up) [Chorus - bigger, octave harmonies, gang vocals, creepy child-choir doubles, full organ] Wind me up, wind me up, let me go Spin me round till the ghosts say no (Let me go) Wind me up, wind me up, one more time Dead man's carnival, and the ball is mine (One more time) Wind me up, wind me up, let me go Haunted heartbeat on a pinball show (Let me go) [Breakdown - drums drop out, lone organ in cathedral reverb, broken music-box slows to a stall, whispered, eerie, slow] When the music box runs down And the carnival lights fade out I can hear the quiet breathing Of the thing that lives in doubt If the dark is where we dance Then I'll dance with you till dawn Wind the key one final time Till the ghosts are gone [Build - siren rising, snare roll, alarm klaxons stacking, reversed vocal suck, silence for one beat before the drop] Closer, closer, closer Closer, closer, closer Tilt! [Final Drop - half-time heavy switch, massive organ-and-bass wall, full siren lead, full vocal stack, maximum energy] Wind me up, wind me up, let me go Spin me round till the ghosts say no (Let me go) Wind me up, wind me up, one more time Dead man's carnival, and the ball is mine (One more time) Wind me up, wind me up, let me go Haunted heartbeat on a pinball show [Hook - chopped vocal, pitch-shifting upward, stutter effect, pinball bumpers, tape-stop at the end] Wi-wi-wind me Wi-wi-wind me up Wi-wi-wind me Game over [Outro - music box winds down, organ fades, sirens far away, whispered, glitch, loop-ready ending] Wind me up (click... click...) Wind me up (game over)
