Haifisch (1986) 12-inch single

HAIFISCH [INTRO extended building beat and synths] [Cold analogue synth pulse] [Dry electronic kick — steady four-on-the-floor] [Deep melodic bass enters, slightly overdriven] [Short gated noise burst every 8 bars] [Single clipped guitar note] Forward. Forward. Still. [Sequencer starts moving] Lung burn— Run. Gills burn— Swim. [VERSE 1] [Driving bass] [Minimal electronic drums] [Detached female vocal] I don't sleep, I circle I don't stop, I sink Water in my lungs Too much time to think Streetlights blur around me Red against the glass Everybody's going somewhere Nobody asks where I am [Electronic percussion enters] They say, you're driven They don't see the teeth They say, so productive They don't see what wakes beneath [PRE-CHORUS] [Synth arpeggio gradually opens] Keep moving Keep moving Don't look down Keep moving Keep moving Don't slow down [CHORUS] [Huge bassline] [Bright analogue synth hook] [Four-on-the-floor electronic drums] [Layered female vocals] HAIFISCH Swim, swim Don't ever stop HAIFISCH Move, move Until the morning comes As long as I'm moving I'm still alive As long as I'm moving I don't have to feel tonight HAIFISCH Swim. [POST-CHORUS] [Instrumental hook] Haifisch. Haifisch. [Drum machine + bass + sequencer] Move. [VERSE 2] [Pull arrangement back slightly] I don't chase the future I don't chase the past I only chase the feeling That I can make it last Busy hands Busy days Busy years No still frame I fill the room with music So I don't hear my name [Short distorted vocal fragment] My name. My name. [PRE-CHORUS] Keep moving Keep moving Don't look down Keep moving Keep moving Don't slow down [CHORUS] HAIFISCH Swim, swim Don't ever stop HAIFISCH Move, move Until the morning comes As long as I'm moving I'm still alive As long as I'm moving I don't have to feel tonight HAIFISCH Swim. [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK — 32 BARS] [Deep sequenced bass] [Mechanical electronic drums] [Bright minor-key analogue synth sequence] [Angular chorus guitar enters and repeats three-note figure] [Percussion becomes increasingly syncopated] [Processed vocal fragments] Move. Move. Move. Don't— Stop. [Short silence] [Beat returns] [BRIDGE] [Everything suddenly drops except bass pulse] If I pause— I choke. [Single synth note] If I pause— I remember. [Beat] If I stop— The outside rushes in. [Silence] I don't want to know What's waiting there. [BUILD] [One electronic pulse every beat] Forward. Forward. Forward. [Drums gradually return] Water hides everything. Salt keeps secrets. [Distorted guitar enters] A shark can't cry— [Beat] But I do. [CHORUS — FIRST HALF] [Huge full arrangement] HAIFISCH Swim, swim Don't ever stop HAIFISCH Move, move Until the morning comes As long as I'm moving I'm still alive [Everything drops] As long as I'm moving— [Whisper] —I don't have to feel. [FINAL BUILD] [Massive analogue sequence] [Four-on-the-floor beat returns] [Deep bass becomes more aggressive] [Layered vocals] Swim— Breathe— Swim— Don't think— Swim— Breathe— Swim— Don't stop— [Final chorus] HAIFISCH Swim, swim Don't ever stop HAIFISCH Move, move Until the morning comes As long as I'm moving I'm still alive As long as I'm moving I'm still alive HAIFISCH I don't chase prey. I'm outrunning time. HAIFISCH I don't chase prey. I'm outrunning time. [FINAL INSTRUMENTAL] [Extended dance section] [Deep bass] [Electronic kick] [Analogue sequencer] [Sharp synthesizer stabs] [Chorus guitar] [Mechanical percussion] [Processed vocal] Forward. Forward. Still. [Beat] Forward. Forward. Still. [OUTRO] [Everything gradually disappears except bass] A shark can't cry— But I do. You just can't tell In all this blue. [Beat stops] [Silence] [Very quiet] I keep moving... [Pause] ...to stay alive. [Single analogue synth pulse] [END]